A tornado-strength storm in Sydney, flooding in Geelong and devastating bushfires in Western Australia and Victoria have reminded us once again how exposed we are to natural disasters in our wide brown land. Our geography has the capacity to deliver destructive floods, bushfires, severe storms, tropical cyclones and even earthquakes.…

A record 101,000 properties — or around one in five of those put on the market in Australia last year — went to auction1. And while clearance rates vary between markets, there is no denying plenty of buyers are willing to go head-to-head with the hammer.