Climate change is making beachfront property a questionable investment.
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Much of the State of Florida is probably a stranded asset (due to Gov’t dysfunction as much as climate change). Residents just don’t know it yet.
intercst
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IMO, buying a “beach front”-anything is a bad idea. It’s usually fine on a calm day. But I remember several Malibu homes getting washed away several years ago due to storms.
We did a small kayak tour near San Diego. There were homes on a cliff perched above the cove/bay. The guide told us that the cliff was receding several inches per year, and those house eventually would tumble into the sea. But the kicker was that the sea there was some sort of nature reserve. So when those houses tumble, the owners will have to pay to get the debris removed from the reserve. Needless to say, no one is going to buy those homes. The current owners are stuck, not only losing their investments, but having to pay more once the houses fall.
1.6%
($2.5/155.52) and 1000 Kw-H
i iived on one of those sandstone bluffs overlooking the Pacific when I worked in San Diego in the late 1980’s. But as a renter, not a buyer.
intercst
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DH and I looked at a nice home in “The Bluffs” overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Incredible view…but the neighbor kindly shared an engineering report that said the bluff could be eroded as much as ten feet in one year during a storm.
Sorry. No sale.
Wendy
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The beach is not static, which is one thing people don’t seem to realize. Yes, in general never buy on a steep slope, anywhere near a historic landslide, anywhere near a historic riverbed, or in a liquefaction zone. I have a beachfront place in Hawaii, but it is protected by seawall. Even then it is kind of risky.
One of the tonier parts of Seattle is called Perkins Lane, situated on a bluff with spectacular views of Elliot Bay and Mount Rainier. Homes have been sliding off Perkins Lane almost since it was developed.
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We were in La Jolla at the time. Did the kayak to the caves. Under those homes was no beach. Just water. So when they fall, they’ll careen right into the nature preserve, and the owners will have to pay people to remove it (leaving it is not an option).
I suspect those people can afford it (those seemed to be expensive houses), but they won’t like it. And you couldn’t give me one of those homes, since it will be a total loss at some point.
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I have pre-construction ownership of a condo where I expect I will spend my “last years” on the Oaxacan coast of Mexico, up a steep rock ravine overlooking a slice of very empty Pacific Ocean. I carefully studied the geologic, seismic, and ecological reports before putting down my money. I have a “soft appointment” for some date in late Winter to inspect rebar and foundations….
I am amazed that people buying in such places simply accept what Real Estate sales people tell them.
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