The COVID-19 virus has
pushed a number of key issues to the back burner. Principal among those is the
issue of Climate Change in Florida.
For some detail on the
current thinking check out: Tampa Bay Times by Emily L. Mahoney: Tampa Bay area properties at high risk of losing value due
to sea-level rise, report finds.
The Report cited in the Mahoney
article from the McKinsey Global
Institute: “Will mortgages and markets stay afloat in Florida?
is a must read.
The Report provides a
global perspective in five major areas: Livability and Work Ability, Food
Systems, Physical Assets, Infrastructure Services and Natural Capital. The
Florida report is under Physical Assets.
The climate scientists
have been warning us for years about the likely impact of climate change and sea-level
rise on Florida.
The primary focus here
is real estate property values, and the disclosure of information related to
the current value and future value of real property.
In Florida there is no
law requiring the disclosure of flood plain information. So, if you’re a home
buyer and if you’re looking at beachfront or waterfront property, you may or
may not be told by the seller or the seller’s representative the property status
regarding flooding or climate change.
You can check out more
of our climate change posts at BAYPOST
Climate Change.
More importantly it is extremely critical that the real
estate industry does not become the driving force in the climate-change discussion in
Florida.
While no one
would argue the importance of protecting property value, that cannot be
the guiding principle of a climate-change
policy.
The building of seawalls,
dikes and other physical flood preventative measures is, for the most part,
neither practical nor cost efficient.
While there is certainly
a place for the real estate industry in climate change and flooding discussions,
in no way should they be in command of setting the climate-change response
agenda.
According to the Tampa Bay Times article, the Pinellas Realtor
organization is establishing a voluntary program to inform homeowners and
potential buyers about properties' flood risk, evacuation level and whether or
not it requires flood insurance.
Currently, there is no
indication that a similar program exists in the other major metropolitan areas
along the West Coast of Florida.
The state of Florida has
established a fund that cities and counties can request support from to provide
money for purchasing sea-level rise in danger of waterfront property and
converting it into green space.
This is more than likely
the most cost-effective in the long run approach to managing the sea-level rise
problem at or near the coastline.
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