A Record Year Of House Building

According to economists at the Housing Institute of Australia (HIA), a record number of detached housing starts will occur in the 12 months to September 2021.

“More than 146,000 detached houses commencing construction. This is more than 20 per cent higher than the peak of the previous boom in 2018,” stated HIA Economist, Angela Lillicrap.

This forecast is contained in HIA’s economic and industry Outlook Report. The State and National Outlook Reports include updated forecasts for new home building and renovations activity for Australia and each of the eight states and territories.

“This large volume of work will ensure that the industry remains very active through until at least the second half of 2022,” added Ms Lillicrap.

Ms Lillicrap cites a number of factors driving the level of activity, namely, the HomeBuilder scheme and low-interest rates, as well as consumer preferences shifting away from high-density areas.

“The extension of HomeBuilder’s commencement deadline will help limit the impact of constraints imposed by land, labour and materials and ensure the elevated volume of detached homes will be sustained for longer.”

However, the increase in building is not something that is shared between the detached and multi-unit sector, the latter expecting a decline in 2020/21.

“The timing and speed of a recovery in overseas migration will have a significant impact on these forecasts.

The return to stable and certain population growth is central to stable economic growth,” concluded Ms Lillicrap.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is selling his Northern California estate, which was listed Monday for $24.5 million.

Located in Atherton, an extremely affluent town northwest of Palo Alto and about 30 miles south of San Francisco, the 3.36-acre property is made up of three parcels that Schmidt acquired over the years, according to public records and Compass, who has the listing.

Schmidt, 69, and his wife, businesswoman Wendy Schmidt, purchased the main home in 1990 for $2 million, according to public records accessed via PropertyShark. They remodelled the 1969 home in 2007, and at that time, bought a neighbouring parcel of land, allowing an expansion of the main house and the addition of a guest house, according to Compass, who holds the listing. A third parcel was later acquired, on which the Schmidts added an English garden house and landscaped grounds overlooking the Eastern Hills.

“Finding three contiguous parcels in Atherton is rare. Even rarer are those with views of the Eastern hills,” said listing agent Katharine Carroll of the reSolve Group at Compass. “The location of this residence is ultra private, at the back of a cul-de-sac with the main house built into a hillside that provides privacy and very good security.”

Across the estate, there are five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and six half bathrooms.

The 5,265-square-foot main house also offers a number of private outdoor spaces on its upper level, including a large terrace off the primary suite, another large terrace off a secondary bedroom, plus a third smaller terrace and two balconies.

Behind the main house is a patio with a pool and spa. For even more outdoor space, there’s an entertaining pavilion, an open lawn and an outdoor fireplace area near the guest quarters.

The grounds themselves are also a standout feature, with an array of mature plants and specimen trees. The upper portion of the property’s landscaping is designed around an Amdega-designed conservatory, which was imported from the U.K. Around the greenhouse, there is a garden of raised beds and fruit trees, Carroll said.

“From the moment you step onto the grounds, it feels as if you’ve been transported to a private botanical sanctuary,” she said.

Schmidt served as Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011, and then became the company’s executive chairman until 2015. He could not be reached for comment.

This article first appeared on Mansion Global

A Record Year Of House Building

Australia is poised to set a new record for detached homebuilding in 2020/21.