Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Rising Seas Are Lowering Massachusetts Home Values


New reports show that rising sea levels are drastically lowering Massachusetts property values. Boston's Seaport hasn't been affected by flooding this year like it was at the start of 2018, however new reports have come out displaying how rising seas are hurting New England property values. The report, first published by New York-based First Street Foundation, a non-profit that studies rising sea levels, revealed that New England homes have dropped more than $400M in value due to tidal flooding and rising sea levels.

First Street Foundation studied 2.5 million properties throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine coast lines, ultimately determining sea levels had accounted for $403.1M in home price depreciation between 2005 and 2017. Massachusetts faced the greatest amount of property loss, with an estimated $273.4 in lost value. Furthermore, property values are expected to continue decreasing from rising sea levels, unless adaptation and precautionary measures are being taken to stop it. The study stated that homes next to, but not yet in, flood prone areas are still highly susceptible to the damages and depreciating home values brought along from flooding and water damage.

Currently, Boston real estate leaders are going through several storm resiliency studies to determine the best way to prevent $80B of liable commercial real estate from getting damaged by regular flooding in the future. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh revealed a comprehensive plan in October that requested more private-public partnerships to build and protect the city around rising sea levels and flood damage.

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