Inclusive Design and the New Home Market: The West Australian Situation

This paper examines the design of typical new houses in Western Australia to determine if the designs are taking into account the needs of older adults. Older adults who move to a new suburban house are generally ‘pulled’ to move by the perceived benefits of the new home. A sample of new homes in the ‘New Homes’ weekly supplement of the West Australian Newspaper was reviewed and analysed to determine what emphasis had been given to designing houses that could be adapted to the needs of older adults. The findings indicate that there has been no change in the project home market between 2005 and 2007 in relation to considering the diversity in age and ability of prospective home occupants and that older people commissioning new homes do not appear to be demanding that the homes be designed on universal design principles.