The Christchurch earthquakes not only rocked the foundation of a beloved city, they had also placed additional uncertainties on property owners, financiers and insurers. In the last 26 months, terms such as ‘Z factor’, ‘seismic ratings’, ‘NBS’, ‘IEP’, had flooded the property industry lexicon. As Bayleys’ latest B Informed article Earthquake Aftershocks Rock Property Markets states, “…valuers… now face a whole new challenge in ascertaining just what effect the seismic shake up is having on property prices.”
Now that the Kiwi property market slowly sheds itself of the leaky home shackles, minds of buyers, tenants, insurers, councils and bankers are now turning to earthquake readiness. Recent reports suggest the property industry could be hit hard by the magnitude of seismic repairs which could be as much as $100b.
The earthquake readiness of a property not only affects the value of the property, it also impacts insurance levy and prospect of tenancy. Especially in the case of commercial buildings, banks and councils would also want accurate seismic information.
Now that the Kiwi property market slowly sheds itself of the leaky home shackles, minds of buyers, tenants, insurers, councils and bankers are now turning to earthquake readiness. Recent reports suggest the property industry could be hit hard by the magnitude of seismic repairs which could be as much as $100b.
The earthquake readiness of a property not only affects the value of the property, it also impacts insurance levy and prospect of tenancy. Especially in the case of commercial buildings, banks and councils would also want accurate seismic information.
Seismic information is gathered using a Two-Steps Process
Step 1: Initial Evaluation Process (IEP)
Banks and local councils commonly use IEP as a method of seismic assessment. Basically, IEP is a percentage of the measure of a building’s earthquake resilience over the National Building Standard (NBS). 
Step 2: The Seismic Hazard Z Factor
Now we are no seismologists (and...
