Housing Market Response to Sea-Level Rise in Florida

Description

South Florida continues to attract new residents despite its susceptibility to sea-level rise. This book explores the views of real estate agent with respect to how prospective homebuyers assess the risk of flooding. It reports on their observations as to whether house prices are stagnant or falling in coastal areas vulnerable to flooding, and their conclusions after working with prospective homebuyers as to whether coastal south Florida is a good place to find a home or, alternatively, a risky investment in a place that will eventually be submerged by rising seas. The book reports on a 2020 survey of real estate agents and concludes that it is not clear that the housing market has integrated flood risk either into reduced demand for housing or in reduced prices for houses susceptible to flooding. These conclusions have important implications for understanding how the risks of climate change and sea-level rise are reflected in the housing market both now and in the near-term future.  Acknowledgments Contents List of Figures List of Tables About the Authors Chapter 1: Introduction References Chapter 2: The Development of Vulnerable Real Estate in South Florida 2.1 A Legacy of Vulnerability 2.2 Do Florida Residents Perceive Their Homes as Vulnerable to the Impacts of Climate Change? 2.3 Resolving the Conflict: A Survey of Real Estate Agents References Chapter 3: House Price Trends in Coastal US Cities 3.1 The Coast as an Amenity in the Pricing of Houses 3.2 Flood Insurance as an Additional Cost in Coastal or Riverine Flood-Prone Areas 3.3 Flood Insurance in Florida 3.4 Does the Cost of Flood Insurance Influence Home Buyer Behavior or House Prices? 3.5 Summary References Chapter 4: Effective Communication About Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise 4.1 Beliefs About Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise 4.2 How the Concept of Climate Change Became Polarized 4.3 Using Visual Imagery to Convey Risks of Sea-Level Rise 4.4 The Addition of Visual Imagery About Flood Hazards to realtor.com 4.5 Summary References Chapter 5: The Role of the Real Estate Agent 5.1 The Real Estate Sales Profession 5.2 Real Estate Agents in Florida 5.3 How Real Estate Agents Influence the Search for a New Home 5.4 The Duty to Disclose by the Seller and the Real Estate Agent 5.5 Are Florida Homebuyers Concerned with Flood Risk? 5.6 Summary References Chapter 6: Methodology: Survey of South Florida Realtors 6.1 Respondent Characteristics 6.2 Submarket Differences 6.3 Summary References Chapter 7: Information About Sea-Level Rise and Its Effects on Home Search Behavior 7.1 Information Available to Homebuyers About Flood Risk 7.1.1 Familiarity with the Area: Most Homebuyers Are Local 7.1.2 Information from Federal and Local Government 7.1.3 Elevation Certificate in the Process of Purchasing Flood Insurance 7.1.4 Information from the Real Estate Industry 7.2 Response of Buyers and Sellers 7.3 Realtor Support for the New Website 7.4 Do Prospective Buyers Avoid Seeking Property in Low-Lying Coastal Areas? 7.5 Do Investors Differ from Owner-Occupiers? 7.6 Do Buyers of Less Expensive Houses Avoid Low Elevation Property More Frequently? 7.7 Real Estate Agent Characteristics and Opinions About Buyer Behavior and Flood Factor 7.8 Summary References Chapter 8: The Housing Market in Coastal South Florida from the Perspective of the Real Estate Agent 8.1 Has the Threat of Sea-Level Rise Affected Florida House Prices? 8.2 Do Lenders Consider Flood-Risk in Their Home Mortgage Decisions? 8.3 Do Appraisers Consider Elevation or Susceptibility to Flooding in Their Assessment of Value? 8.4 What Do Real Estate Agents Predict for the Next 5-10 Years? 8.5 In Their Words 8.6 Impact of Demographic, Locational and Attitudinal Characteristics on Responses 8.7 Summary References Chapter 9: Four Communities: Vulnerable by Design 9.1 Apollo Beach 9.2 Cape Coral 9.3 Hollywood 9.4 Punta Gorda 9.5 Summary References Chapter 10: Implications of Housing Market Response to Sea-Level Rise in South Florida 10.1 Key Findings 10.2 Looking to the Future References Appendices Appendix 1: Questionnaire Appendix 2: Survey Experiment Appendix 3: Predictors of Views About SLR and Climate Change