Sea Level Rise Already Costing Texas Property Owners, Study Says

Ongoing research into the loss of coastal property assets has been expanded to the state of Texas.

1 minute read

April 26, 2019, 7:00 AM PDT

Nataliia Martseniuk / Shutterstock

Perla Trevizo shares the findings of a study by First Street Foundation and Columbia University that calculates the cost of sea level in 18 other coastal states. Trevizo focuses on Texas for the Houston Chronicle after researchers added Texas property data to its expanding dataset.

The bad news: Homeowners have already lost $76.4 million in potential property value, with the biggest losses coming in Galveston.

Using a combination of real estate transactions and tidal flooding exposure, [the study] found that from 2005 to 2017, homes in Galveston lost $9.1 million in potential value, followed by Jamaica Beach (which lost $8.6. million) and the Bolivar Peninsula ($8.1 million). It’s not necessarily that these coastal homes decreased in value by these amounts, the authors say, but that they didn’t appreciate as much as similar homes not exposed to tidal flooding. Researchers factored in square footage, proximity to amenities and economic trends like the 2008 housing recession.

Trevizo's article includes more details about sea level rise in Texas.

FULL STORY: Study: Sea level rise causes Texas coastal homeowners to lose millions in potential property value

Tuesday, April 23, 2019 in Houston Chronicle

Environment Infrastructure Land Use Texas Galveston Sea Level Rise Climate Change View More

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