On the waterfront, prices are dropping

It might be difficult to fathom, but the price of living next to a body of water is becoming more affordable, a new report has found.

Since 2012, when waterfront premiums reached a high of 54 percent in the second quarter, costs have dropped to a 36 percent premium in the first quarter of this year, according to Bloomberg. Citing a Zillow report, the current premium is even lower than the 1996 average of 41 percent.

In Miami-Fort Lauderdale, the premium is 38 percent.

The price drop has been attributed to homebuyers fear of living near water, largely due to “catastrophic hurricanes, climate change” and “people’s changing tastes.” The Zillow report also pointed to a “tremendous bounceback in non-waterfront homes since the housing bust.”

However, in New York, developers have been flooding the areas hit by Superstorm Sandy. StreetEasy pointed to an “explosion” of new buildings in waterfront neighborhoods like Red Hook and Belle Harbor in Queens. A report last year found that 27 residential developments were built in Red Hook since 2012. [Bloomberg] — David Jeans