Economic Impact of Florida Hurricanes

[DrStool]

I think FL real estate will definitely take a short term hit. Some people will move away, and others will be discouraged from moving here. But that will all change in December, as the weather once again turns miserable up north. People will forget. Florida will recover. The state's largest metropolitan area with the strongest growth had manageable to minimal impacts from the storm. I think the impact to Dade Broward and Palm Beach counties, an extended metro area with over 5 million people will be minimal. For coastal areas to the north, it will be a bigger problem. However, the hardest hit counties, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River, have a combined population of only around 500,000, with only about 20% of that in coastal areas. The Panhandle has been known for fierce hurricances for decades, and it has never stopped growing. Southern Miami Dade county bounced back strongly after Andrew virtually destroyed it, to everyone's surprise.

 

No doubt higher insurance costs and utilities lie ahead, and that will impact both marketability and property values probably for several years.

[depends]

If the hurricanes slow the population growth appreciably in this state I will be surprised even though the population is outstripping the environment here. I would like to see less growth, but not this way.

 

However, another year or two like this one and I'll be ready to move.

 

My insurance is up $300 this year. $%^&*@@#$#

[Bearman]

fla real estate is like any other bubble

 

the strong hands will take from the weak hands

 

trouble brewing in the sunshine state

 

caveat winters

[Guest]

A local news station claimed that in a poll they conducted, 31% of respondents said they were thinking about moving out of FLA. The same was surely true in Cali. after the San Francisco Earthquake. It does seem the if insurers are allowed to raise rates for homeowners in high risk area on a "per occurance" basis, the cost of ownership here will become prohibitive for some, and if this occurs in concert with flattening or declining RE prices (certainly for a time in FLA, and potentially as a national trend), Florida RE ownership could look like a bad investment for quite a while.

 

I'm assuming this winter will be a renters paradise in Florida for anyone contemplating selling a home elsewhere and renting for a while (adundant supply and no demand). Expect a horrible winter for tourism, followed by the state being mostly empty next summer/fall, as anyone with the option to be elsewhere during the next hurricane season, will be. The next year will take a major economic toll on this state, and something will have to give on the revenue side of the equation for the State to pay its bills, unless King George just continues to write blank checks to Jeb The Lesser.