Western Australians are increasingly assessing the green factor when buying apartments with sustainability being considered alongside price and location.
The Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute recently conducted a survey to determine whether people in Perth would buy into green developments. Along with the usual criteria of affordability, location and size, findings indicate buyers are also looking for ‘sustainability characteristics’ in apartment projects.
Research fellow from the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute (CUSP) Jemma Green, who conducted the survey, said research indicated developments that included sustainability features attracted more buyers. She explained that developers providing a product that offered more in terms of sustainability better matched consumer demand with the sustainable product being viewed as a premium product.
For instance, social worker Jenny Marsh recently purchased a one-bedroom apartment off the plan at Evermore WGV, a development in White Gum Valley that will deliver 24 highly sustainable apartments powered by cutting-edge solar photovoltaics and lithium battery technology. Reducing her carbon footprint in everyday life is an important motivation for Marsh who recycles water with buckets in the shower and rides her bike everywhere.
Looking to buy an apartment that was developed with sustainability in mind, Marsh found that the White Gum Valley development with their aim to be zero-carbon and use of the shared solar technology, showed a clear commitment to sustainability.
More than half of the 24 apartments on offer at Evermore WGV have been sold since launching in July 2016 and Co-Director of Yolk Property Group Pete Adams said purchaser interest remains strong. Feedback from buyers suggests that the transparent and tangible sustainability initiatives attracted them to the development.
The solar PV lithium battery technology utilised at Evermore WGV is forecast to produce approximately 80 per cent of the apartments’ required power, allowing residents to benefit from significant savings on their electricity bills.
The Bioregional One Planet Living framework is being implemented at Evermore WGV to guide development and aid in a holistic and long-term approach to sustainability. Other initiatives include real-time measurement and recording of water and power consumption to ensure maximum energy-efficiency; site-wide bore water system to reduce potable water and use in landscape irrigation; electric vehicle charging point; compost tumblers, worm farm and vegie planters; bicycle repair station; and communal bicycles for residents’ use.
Evermore WGV will play a role in a pilot program led by Curtin University at the WGV estate, examining how to increase the uptake of solar photovoltaics in strata residential developments.
Yolk Property Group has partnered with Curtin University, LandCorp, Solar Balance, Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), Low Carbon Living Cooperative Research Centre and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Centre (CSIRO) to deliver Evermore WGV, with ARENA providing a $280,000 grant to support project delivery.
Image: Evermore WGV
