How to protect your home for less than $300

HOUSEHOLD crimes have been grabbing national headlines, and new data shows many homes are impacted, but you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to be secure.

HOME security is one of the world’s fastest-growing consumer markets and household crimes are affecting more than one million Australians each year.

New Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that last financial year 458,000 households, or 5 per cent of all households, reported suffering at least one incident of malicious damage. Another 420,000 reported a break-in or attempted break-in, while 253,000 experienced other theft.

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Many people believe protecting their home costs thousands of dollars, but falling technology prices have cut back the costs significantly in many cases, and some measures are free.

Security and electronics firm Swann’s vice president of global marketing, Jeremy Stewart, said there was a large industry with a vested interest in selling expensive products and services, but home security no longer required a big investment.

“Now, you can install CCTV surveillance starting from a few hundred dollars in price and do it all by yourself,” he said.

Falling technology costs have made home security more affordable.

“Prices range anywhere from $20 for an imitation camera all the way up to thousands of dollars for an ultra-HD wired system that covers all aspects of the property.

“If you just want to add some external protection, then you can invest in just one camera and some sensor lights which you can get for a total of about $300.”

Mr Stewart said free ways to beef up home security included getting to know your neighbours and keeping an eye on each other’s properties, ensuring your home looked lived in, cutting back bushes to remove cover for burglars, putting security stickers on windows and near the front door, and locking doors and windows even when at home.

Buyologists founder Mike Chalmers said home security systems could also allow people to save on insurance.

“Most insurance companies offer discounts to homes that have security systems, so before making any decisions check your policy first,” he said.

Mr Chalmers said buyers should also ask if there were discounts for cash or prepayment upfront.

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“Like most people, security companies love to get more of your money now rather than later, so they will generally happily offer a discount if you choose to pay upfront,” he said. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.”

Mr Chalmers said households could also save money by restricting their security measures to entry points and ground floor rooms.

Originally published as How to protect your home for less than $300