Sustainable timber use in the Australian housing market: Are consumers willing to pay the price?

Thomas, D; Ding, GK; Crews, KI

Sustainable timber use in the Australian housing market: Are consumers willing to pay the price?

Thomas, D Ding, GK

Crews, KI

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Publisher:: Istanbul Technical University
Publication Type:: Conference Proceeding
Citation:: Proceedings of the XXXVIII IAHS World Congress: Visions for the future of housing : Mega cities, 2012, pp. 1076 - 1082
Issue Date:: 2012-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Thomas, D	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Ding, GK https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2697-9395	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Crews, KI https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1450-1423	en_US
dc.contributor.editor	Ural, O	en_US
dc.contributor.editor	Sahin, M	en_US
dc.contributor.editor	Ural, D	en_US
dc.date	2012-04-16	en_US
dc.date.issued	2012-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Proceedings of the XXXVIII IAHS World Congress: Visions for the future of housing : Mega cities, 2012, pp. 1076 - 1082	en_US
dc.identifier.isbn	978-975-561-417-5	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/23233
dc.description.abstract	A large proportion of traditional Australian homes contained timber floors and timber exterior cladding until the advent of the standard concrete slab/brick veneer house. Up to 95% of new homes are built by project home companies and the majority of these contain an external envelope consisting of concrete flooring, clay brick walls and concrete tile or steel sheet roofing. This design is currently driven by consumer's expectation of low cost, durable homes that are completed within restricted time limits. There is now a price premium on bespoke housing projects that differ materially or otherwise from a limited set of designs offered by project home firms. The adoption of concrete and brick homes originated from a perceived advantage of longevity, low maintenance and thermal comfort. Innovation in wood treatments, wood protection and insulation have provided solutions to these issues so that timber is now a viable option with added benefits such as environmental sustainability and erection speed. Australian consumers have a growing awareness and desire to live in a way that is sustainable and are making choices that reflect this attitude. This has been demonstrated through the high adoption rate of recent government-supported schemes such as subsidized insulation and solar panel installation. This paper aims at investigating homeowner's perception of timber as a sustainable building product, the desire of homeowners to use sustainable building products, and the willingness of homeowners to pay a premium to live sustainably. This paper highlights Australian homeowners reluctance to use the most sustainable building materials even when they are willing to pay for a more environmentally sustainable home. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey to homeowners in the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and some strategies on how to increase the use of timber in new housing projects in Australia.	en_US
dc.publisher	Istanbul Technical University	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Proceedings of the XXXVIII IAHS World Congress: Visions for the future of housing : Mega cities	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	IAHS World Congress on Housing Science	en_US
dc.title	Sustainable timber use in the Australian housing market: Are consumers willing to pay the price?	en_US
dc.type	Conference Proceeding
utslib.location	Istanbul, Turkey	en_US
utslib.location.activity	Istanbul, Turkey	en_US
utslib.for	1202 Building	en_US
dc.location.activity	Istanbul, Turkey	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/e-Press
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building/School of Built Environment
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CBI - Centre for Built Infrastructure
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CCDP - Contemporary Design Practice
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.finish-date	2012-04-19	en_US
pubs.place-of-publication	Istanbul, Turkey	en_US
pubs.start-date	2012-04-16	en_US

Abstract:

A large proportion of traditional Australian homes contained timber floors and timber exterior cladding until the advent of the standard concrete slab/brick veneer house. Up to 95% of new homes are built by project home companies and the majority of these contain an external envelope consisting of concrete flooring, clay brick walls and concrete tile or steel sheet roofing. This design is currently driven by consumer's expectation of low cost, durable homes that are completed within restricted time limits. There is now a price premium on bespoke housing projects that differ materially or otherwise from a limited set of designs offered by project home firms. The adoption of concrete and brick homes originated from a perceived advantage of longevity, low maintenance and thermal comfort. Innovation in wood treatments, wood protection and insulation have provided solutions to these issues so that timber is now a viable option with added benefits such as environmental sustainability and erection speed. Australian consumers have a growing awareness and desire to live in a way that is sustainable and are making choices that reflect this attitude. This has been demonstrated through the high adoption rate of recent government-supported schemes such as subsidized insulation and solar panel installation. This paper aims at investigating homeowner's perception of timber as a sustainable building product, the desire of homeowners to use sustainable building products, and the willingness of homeowners to pay a premium to live sustainably. This paper highlights Australian homeowners reluctance to use the most sustainable building materials even when they are willing to pay for a more environmentally sustainable home. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey to homeowners in the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and some strategies on how to increase the use of timber in new housing projects in Australia.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/23233