See the highlighted part for reiteration of a common issue in our journey towards environmental sustainability . . . its hard to make the changes required.
Few pay heed to ‘green’ subdivisions
Fewer than one in five buyers of new homes regards environmentally friendly subdivisions as an important factor in choosing where to live, according to a study conducted by Connection Research.
Nearly one-third of new homebuyers have never even heard of ‘green’ subdivisions and another third have heard the term but don’t know what it means, Connection Research’s The Sustainable New Home survey of 7000 households around Australia reveals.
Those respondents planning to buy or build a new home – nearly 20 per cent of the total – were asked a series of questions about the importance of various technologies and how much they’d be prepared to pay for them.
“People want to be green,” says report co-author Graeme Philipson. “They express a strong abstract desire to live sustainable lives. But when it comes to practicalities – and paying for them – these desires aren’t always translated into action.”
On the other hand, the report finds large numbers of respondents are willing to spend $5000 to $10,000 or more to add certain features to their new home. The most favoured features are solar water heating, rainwater tanks, better insulation, higher quality building materials and solar electricity.
Other key findings of the report include:
- About 60 per cent of respondents have no interest in home automation technologies, although wealthier households are much more likely to want it.
- More than 90 per cent of people say good thermal insulation is important.
- Some 80 to 90 per cent of respondents who lived in inland areas expressed a desire to move towards the coast or to a town or city suburbs.
