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As Florida continues to recover from Hurricane Helen, another hurricane is expected to hit the state.
Hurricane Milton, a Category 4 storm (weakened from a Category 5 but still “extremely dangerous”), is expected to make landfall near Tampa Bay by Wednesday. This is the latest hurdle in the state’s volatile real estate market.
Maximum wind speeds in Milton reached 160 mph on Monday. Heavy rain is expected ahead of the storm’s arrival, and flooding is expected across the region. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 51 counties, and mandatory evacuations have begun in some areas. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor also issued a stern warning that anyone who remained in the city as Milton approached would “die.”
It’s never a good time for a hurricane to strike, but preparing for a powerful storm while recovering from another storm makes things even more difficult.
Moody’s Analytics estimates Helen killed more than 220 people and caused $34 billion in damage. Meanwhile, federal agencies supposed to provide emergency aid, such as FEMA and the Small Business Administration, are facing funding crises of their own.
Chandan Khanna/Getty Images
Back-to-back hurricanes are the latest problem in the real estate market facing buyer’s remorse.
Given the threat and damage posed by hurricanes, Florida homeowners need to reevaluate if they want to remain in the state, Business Insider’s Jordan Pandy, Dan Latu, and Madeline Berg say. is writing.
One homeowner told BI he pays $7,000 a year for flood insurance on a 1,400-square-foot bungalow just south of Tampa. (The policy worked, and although her house was deemed uninhabitable after Helen’s death, she still wants to live there after its restoration.)
But those high costs, along with the annual fear of potentially losing their homes each fall, weigh on other residents. Even a small number of insurance companies have asked the state to leave, while others could raise premiums by more than 300% in the coming years.
This is representative of the extreme conditions the Sunshine State real estate market has faced in recent years. Some have complained about Florida, one of the hottest markets during the pandemic, citing climate, cost and overcrowding. (Texas is not alone in its post-pandemic downturn, as the state faces a similar fate.)
But as much as people want to leave the state, there are always others who want to enter the state. More than 8,000 miles of coastline makes this possible.
A Florida resident reduced his listing price by 40% after his home suffered nearly 3 feet of water damage from Helen. Within hours, the real estate agent received 25 calls from investors interested in the property.
