Rising Sea Levels Threaten South Florida Real Estate Sales

South Florida is already starting to experience the environmental effects of climate change. Before long, it will be difficult to buy and sell homes in the region.

Bloomberg reports that if sea levels continue to rise, people will start to move, property values will fall, and banks may stop issuing mortgages for coastal properties. The decline in revenue will disrupt city services, as well. Even just the fear of rising sea levels could cause a housing crisis.

Sea levels in Miami may rise by as much as three feet by 2060. Research from Zillow indicates that 934,000 existing Florida properties, worth more than $400 billion, are at risk of being submerged by the year 2100.

Sean Becketti, the chief economist at Freddie Mac, warned in a report last year of a housing crisis for coastal areas more severe than the Great Recession, one that could spread through banks, insurers and other industries. And, unlike the recession, there’s no hope of a bounce back in property values.

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