The Future of the Housing Industry and what it means for Home Builders Perth

The Future of the Housing Industry and what it means for Home Builders Perth
December 24, 2018 Great Living Homes
The Future of Housing Industry

As one of the leading Builders in Perth WA, Great Living Homes ensures that we stay up to date with our building methods to ensure longevity and innovation in our builds.

Australia’s housing industry is changing with global warming becoming more evident, contributing to the increase in devastating weather events and thus providing the need for resilient housing design and construction. After recent devastating weather events in Australia, the momentum towards the need to build resilient housing by Perth Builders, the rest of Australia and worldwide is being led by Governments, Environmental groups and the Insurance industry.

Housing associations worldwide are starting to act by strengthening building standards and introducing new regulations which require homes built by Builders in Perth WA and Australia wide to be more resilient to dangerous weather conditions. Home and Building Insurers are also now factoring in the resilience of a home when determining premiums, the less resilient a house is the higher the premium. One recent example of this in Western Australia, an angry long-term customer of SGIO insurance receiving his home insurance policy renewal which had jumped up a staggering 225% to over $5000 for the year! The reason for this given by the IAG owned insurer was the property’s flood risk information, despite the property having never been flooded before. SGIO put the onus on the customer to prove the home is not at risk of flooding and when confronted by the customer the quote was reduced but was still 50% higher than quotes from other insurers [1].

In the USA the “FORTIFIED Home” program has resulted in more resilient homes, with a rating which can be used to gain a reduction in the home owner’s insurance premium of as much as $9,000 p.a. At present in Australia, insurers are just starting to take into account any renovations you have completed to make your home more resilient and therefore we are finding that more homeowners are choosing not to take out insurance because they simply can’t afford to pay the thousands of dollars requested by insurance companies, despite knowing there is an increasing threat of natural disasters and global warming causing destruction to their homes [2].

Earlier this year in Australia one of our largest insurers, Suncorp, started the trend by offering 20% discounts on home insurance premiums for home owners who strengthened their homes against cyclones but this only relates to residents in the Northern areas of Queensland[3]. Given the increasing frequency of highly destructive weather events in Australia such as cyclones, bushfires and floods, it is only a matter of time before more insurers follow their lead.

Global warming has led to the increase in natural disasters around the world, but another issue it causes is rising sea levels. Cities like Miami, Florida in the United States are currently struggling with rising sea levels which causes regular flooding in the city due to high rainfall or even just high tides. Given the current estimates of sea levels rising by a minimum of 3 feet by 2100 in the area, ecologists suggest at least 1.2 million citizens will be displaced [4].

Given that eight out of the top 10 most costly disaster events in Australia were floods and storms [5], Home Builders Perth, need to focus on building and upgrading houses for resilience against those events.

1] Mercer, D. (Nov 9th, 2016). Resident claims flood risk ‘scam’ in insurer’s bill. The West Australian newspaper. Retrieved from: https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/33143754/resident-claims-flood-risk-scam-in-insurer-s-bill/?cmp=st#page1

[2] Hannam, P. (Feb 17, 2013). Flood cover rises to unaffordable levels. The Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper, Retrieved from: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/water-issues/flood-cover-rises-to-unaffordable-levels-20130216-2ejvb.html

[3] Lynn, J. (March 7, 2016). Major Insurer Suncorp rewards resilient homes. Retrieved from: http://www.insurancebusinessonline.com.au/au/news/breaking-news/major-insurer-suncorp-rewards-resilient-homes-212772.aspx

[4] Staletovich, J. (March 14, 2016). Sea rise could force millions in Florida to adapt or flee, study finds. Miami Herald Newspaper, Retrieved from: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article65948497.html

[5] Insurance Council of Australia. (2016). Catastrophe Events and the Community. Retrieved from: http://www.insurancecouncil.com.au/issue-submissions/issues/catastrophe-events