An area’s propensity for natural disaster can impact its home prices and sales, reported the ATTOM Natural Hazard Housing Index, which ranks over 3,000 counties according to level of risk for earthquakes, floods, hail, hurricane storm surge, tornadoes and wildfires. The counties with the lowest level of natural hazard risk, based on the Index, are concentrated in Wisconsin:
1. Milwaukee County, Wis.
2. Kewaunee County, Wis.
3. Racine County, Wis.
4. Knox County, Maine
5. Kenosha County, Wis.
The counties with the highest level of natural hazard risk, based on the Index, are:
1. Oklahoma County, Okla.
2. Monroe County, Fla.
3. Cleveland County, Okla.
4. Nevada County, Calif.
5. Lake County, Calif.
Home sales in counties with the lowest level of natural hazard risk have risen over 4 percent this year, whereas sales in counties with the highest level of natural risk have risen just shy of 2 percent; concurrently, home prices in counties with the lowest level of natural risk have increased approximately 3 percent, while home prices in counties with the highest level of natural risk have increased over 6 percent.
In the lowest-risk counties, the median sales price of a single-family home or condo sold this year was $156,245—in the highest-risk counties, that number jumps to $255,160.
Areas prone to earthquakes, flooding, hurricanes and wildfires have seen less home sales activity overall in the last five years—areas prone to hail and tornadoes, on the other hand, have seen the opposite.
Source: ATTOM Data Solutions via @ http://rrein.rismedia.com/media/news/88651/id:121441
Nancy M. Alexander Stone Harbor and Avalon NJ Real Estate
