‘Amara’ Palm Beach is a new development with a focus on health and wellness. Picture: Supplied
Queensland homebuyers are taking the wellness trend beyond saunas and home gyms, demanding healthy homes that offer low-tox living.
Exclusive PropTrack data revealed more buyers were searching for properties that reduced their exposure to synthetic chemicals and toxins, and were willing to pay a premium for them.
In the past year, there were 5403 searches on realestate.com.au for “off grid” and 66 searches for “wellness”.
Buyers also used the keyword “passive home”, “water filtration” and “chemical free”.
Queensland home hunters searched 1350 times for “off grid” and 19 times for “wellness” in the same time period.
Jarad Malan, selling partner at Ray White Malan and Co, said he was seeing an emerging market of health-conscious buyers looking for low-tox sanctuaries to call home.
“This is a buyer that was non-existent 10 year ago but now represents a niche market that is only growing,” he said.
“Buyers once thought having a veggie garden was the epitome of a healthy home.
“Now people are more educated about toxins in everything from their water to their air and food, and they want a home that aligns with their health goals.
“As people become more aware of low-tox options in real estate, they begin to request it more regularly.”
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Inside ‘Amara’ Palm Beach, which is a new development with a focus on health and wellness. Picture: Supplied
Mr Malan said buyers were seeking inclusions such as low-tox paint, water filtration systems and low-allergen flooring.
“I’m currently selling ‘Amara’, a villa development in Palm Beach, which was built with a focus on health and wellbeing, and features low-tox paint and a water filtration system that offers double filtration and remineralisation,” he said.
“One of the purchasers specifically bought one of the villas because of its health features.
“I have found the health-conscious are willing to pay a premium for this kind of product.”
‘Amara’ Palm Beach developer, Kara Kennedy said the project was designed to be the ultimate health and wellness retreat with a focus on air, water, lighting and materials.
“It’s not enough to just install a sauna or ice bath anymore and call it a wellness inspired home,” she said.
“More and more people are wanting to invest in their health and wellbeing, and everything from the materials in the cabinetry and kitchen benches to the wiring in the walls can affect that.”
The ‘Amara’ villas feature quartz stone, natural marble and limestone, wool carpet with no synthetics and almost no paint fumes courtesy of reduced carbon based solvents on the walls.
The internal wiring has been diverted away from the bedheads to minimise electromagnetic radiation, the homes feature complete air and water filtration systems, and the metal roof and frames are grounded.
Kara Kennedy, property developer, wellness ambassador and founder of Amara by Design. Picture: Supplied
Ms Kennedy said while many modern homes offered “wellness” features, they weren’t necessarily healthy places to live.
“Particularly in new builds, there is a lot of off-gassing, which is essentially fumes that come off new products that can severally impact your air quality,” she said.
“Fluorescent and LED lighting is also not good for a circadian rhythm, (tap water) can contain contaminants such as PFAS, and we’re also being exposed to higher levels of electromagnetic radiation.
“The average Australian home now has about 25 devices connected to the internet and that’s only increasing, which increases the levels of electromagnetic radiation.
“You may think a small amount of contamination in the water or the air isn’t bad, but all these things have a cumulative effect on your body.”
Ms Kennedy said she began down the low-tox path after battling extreme allergies, which made her examine her home environment.
“I realised there is a complete nexus between our health and our environment, so it made sense to look at what’s in my home,” she said.
“Then once you know this information, it’s hard not to want a home that is going to support your health.”
‘Amara’ Palm Beach features low-tox materials. Picture: Supplied
Ms Kennedy said with more people seeking healthy homes, it made sense to create a product built to be low-tox from the ground up.
“I feel a responsible to deliver homes that are safe and aligned with my own wellness values,” she said.
“Generally synthetic materials are cheaper, but I like to pride myself on a quality build.
“So, we don’t use the cheapest products, but we definitely use products that promote health.”
Building biologist and healthy homes expert, Nicole Bijlsma said there needed to be an understanding of the relationship between the environment, weather and building materials to create a healthy home.
“Often people who want a healthy home make the assumption that sustainable equals healthy, and a lot of the time that just isn’t true,” she said.
“For example, a tight home doesn’t equal a healthy home.
“Research by Mark Dewsbury from the University of Tasmania found 40 per cent of Australian homes in temperate environments now had condensation issues.”
Building biologist, Nicole Bijlsma. Picture: Tim Carrafa
Dr Bijlsma said condensation could lead to mould, which could cause a host of health problems.
She said there was often too much of a focus on creating an atheistically pleasing and “green” home, with little thought put into creating a healthy space.
“There’s no point having home that is good for the environment but (bad) for your kids,” she said.
Dr Bijlsma said while a holistic approach should be taken when creating a low-tox home, there were smaller steps buyers and renters could do to begin improving their property.
“It’s often the contents that can contaminate the home and air quickly,” she said.
“Get rid of carpets, take shoes off, don’t have pesticides and be mindful of plastics and food packaging.
“You also have got to look at the lighting and ventilation, not just reducing chemical and allergen loads.
“The other one is furniture.
“People are buying imported furnishings that are high in chemicals and formaldehyde that are out-gassing and imprinting in carpets and walls.”
Dr Bijlsma said there had been a growing awareness about the dangers of mould in homes, but she’d like to see people also considering the impact of electromagnetic fields.
“I think this is a huge issue that hasn’t been addressed,” she said.
“We’re electrical beings finely, exquisitely tuned to the earth’s magnetic field and we’re being blanketed with electromagnetic radiation.”
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