Disasters and home prices

[ckdub]

I can say that for my husband and I, who are considering a move within the next 6 months, the fires do factor in slightly. Thinking about buying, we have started to consider more urban areas of the Springs vs areas bordering on woodlands, now. Obviously, we understand that there are different factors/risks to consider when you buy in any area, but it certainly has us thinking about wildfire risks more.

[proveick]

How about new legislation, if you plan to build in a wildfire (wooded) prone area you MUST have a brick structure with metal roofing. It would be a start. This summer has just started.

[lurtsman]

One challenge with requiring bricks is that the natural wood buildings in the area look so beautiful and perfectly in place. It causes buyers to be very interested in them. The bricks are much more expensive and may not "feel right", though in hindsight if I built a place in the woods I'd probably go heavy on the bricks/concrete. I love the quiet and heat conservation that bricks and concrete can provide, as well as the fire safety, but I don't know how the residents would feel about it. I would definitely be clearing out a a large area around the house (40 to 50 feet minimum) but of course that still isn't enough to stop these massive fires.

[Seeker5in1]

Steel shingles make good sense for the hail storms even if there's never another fire.

[hollyt00]

That's Denver. They had lots of fires downtown in its infancy. City required houses to be made of brick... there's a whole story to it that I don't know all the details, but next time you go to Denver, try to find an old wooden house. They're mostly made of brick, and if it's a super old house, it escaped fire.