The Hamptons Hits The Highlands

Few properties epitomise classic Hamptons style and grandeur as elegantly as this superb Bowral estate.

Dubbed ‘Bathampton’, the 5-bedroom, 4-bathroom, 2-car garage home is located on a 5.6-acre plot that combines the traditional codes of luxury with bespoke contemporary finishes.

These codes are displayed through the combination of custom window furnishings, imported wallpaper and light fixtures, herringbone parquetry, bamboo wool carpets and marble mosaic tiles underfoot. Wainscoting, wallpaper, deep-stacked cornices and skirtings further add to the home’s character.

The end result is a magnificent pile that delivers an overwhelming sense of refinement while retaining the essence of family living.

Entering through the stately entrance hall, a sweeping staircase ascends into a double storey landing. The lower-level plays host to an elegant home office and study and a sitting room adjacent.

Elsewhere the lower floor sees the gourmet kitchen and adjoining butler’s pantry — the former fitted with Carrara marble benchtops, Nicolazzi tapware, Ilve gas cooker and Smeg combi oven.

The kitchen is pointed towards a large dining space, sunroom and, via French doors, the alfresco entertaining space set on a silver granite paved area that overlooking the manicured English style gardens and indulgent 12×8-metre in-ground saltwater pool.

The master bedroom, also found here, sees a deluxe walk-in robe and lavish ensuite with a clawfoot bath, separate shower and toilet plus a generous ‘his’ and ‘hers’ stone-topped vanities, heated floors and towel rails.

Each bathroom and the mudroom boast underfloor heating, a guest powder room, adorned with a porcelain pedestal basin and mosaic marble tiles.

On the second floor comes a further four bedrooms, a craft room or nursery and a gallery space.

Outside, the aforementioned English style gardens are supported by a substantial shedding, a bore and irrigation system, a dam and invisible dog fencing alongside arguably the largest display of hydrangeas in the highlands.

The listing is with First National Real Estate’s Reece Woods (+61 423 851 197); POA. firstnationalrealestate.com.au

Australia’s commodity-rich economy recorded its weakest growth momentum since the early 1990s in the second quarter, as consumers and businesses continued to feel the impact of high interest rates, with little expectation of a reprieve from the Reserve Bank of Australia in the near term.

The economy grew 0.2% in the second quarter from the first, with annual growth running at 1.0%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. The results were in line with market expectations.

It was the 11th consecutive quarter of growth, although the economy slowed sharply over the year to June 30, the ABS said.

Excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period, annual growth was the lowest since 1992, the year that included a gradual recovery from a recession in 1991.

The economy remained in a deep per capita recession, with gross domestic product per capita falling 0.4% from the previous quarter, a sixth consecutive quarterly fall, the ABS said.

A big area of weakness in the economy was household spending, which fell 0.2% from the first quarter, detracting 0.1 percentage point from GDP growth.

On a yearly basis, consumption growth came in at just 0.5% in the second quarter, well below the 1.1% figure the RBA had expected, and was broad-based.

The soft growth report comes as the RBA continues to warn that inflation remains stubbornly high, ruling out near-term interest-rate cuts.

RBA Gov. Michele Bullock said last month that near-term rate cuts aren’t being considered.

Money markets have priced in a cut at the end of this year, while most economists expect that the RBA will stand pat until early 2025.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned this week that high interest rates are “smashing the economy.”

Still, with income tax cuts delivered at the start of July, there are some expectations that consumers will be in a better position to spend in the third quarter, reviving the economy to some degree.

“Output has now grown at 0.2% for three consecutive quarters now. That leaves little doubt that the economy is growing well below potential,” said Abhijit Surya, economist at Capital Economics.

“But if activity does continue to disappoint, the RBA could well cut interest rates sooner,” Surya added.

Government spending rose 1.4% over the quarter, due in part to strength in social-benefits programs for health services, the ABS said.

The Hamptons Hits The Highlands

This stylish abode in the Southern Highlands oozes classic charm.

Excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period, annual growth was the lowest since 1992