It looks like sea level rise is beginning to impact home prices in Miami.
Prices of single-family homes at lower elevations are rising at a slower pace than those at higher elevations, new research conducted by the Journal of Environmental Research Letters shows. James Keenan, who authored the study, told the Wall Street Journal that homeowners appear to be factoring in the future of sea level rise into their calculations.
Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Pennsylvania State University also found that properties closer to the ocean are trading at 7 percent discount compared to similar homes that are more inland.
“When your neighborhood floods and it takes you an hour to get to the grocery store and it used to take 10 minutes, it’s a hassle,” Keenan told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s hard to imagine why that wouldn’t impact your decision about where to live.”
Over the years, some municipalities and developers have made efforts to mitigate the potential impact of sea level rise. The city of Miami Beach has a $500 million storm pump system in place, and developer David Martin even built a 17-acre park near his projects in Coconut Grove to better absorb flood waters.
And while most of South Florida’s residential markets showed improvement in the first quarter of this year, closed sales fell slightly in Miami Beach and the coastal mainland, according to Douglas Elliman. [WSJ] – Amanda Rabines