The Impact of Hurricanes on Miami’s Residential Real Estate Market

Hurricane Dorian Won’t Have a Lasting Impact on Miami’s Buyers and Sellers

For about a week everyone in Miami and South Florida was bracing for a possible Category 4 or 5 landfall of hurricane Dorian. Thankfully, our city was spared such ordeal and daily life is picking up again.

Although Hurricane Dorian missed Miami, many people are asking: “What is the impact of hurricane Dorian on the Miami real estate market?”  Miami Real Estate expert and top producing agent David Siddons answers this question.

Buyers are not reconsidering Miami, they are reconsidering particular areas in Miami and particular properties.

As with previous hurricanes the panic comes and goes at a rapid pace. We have never really seen a decline in buyers after a hurricane. Now, with hurricane Dorian we also see that our relocation clients are still interested in moving on with their deals. Even though the potential threat of rising sea levels and hurricanes does not scare buyers away, it does make them more conscious of safe products and hurricane proof construction styles.

Buyers want to make sure they protect their investment and therefore we hear a lot of questions about flood zones and hurricane requirements; think of elevation levels, hurricane impact windows and doors etc.  Buyers are looking for homes that meet the current zoning and hurricane requirements; requirements often met by the newer built homes, making them more desired than ever.

Zoning laws and elevation levels are changing, instilling more trust in the Miami real estate market

South Florida’s building codes as well as initiatives like the “Miami Forever Bond“, which support infrastructure projects that will keep our property values high and our streets dry have been extremely helpful projects. As we are surrounded by water, the reaction of builders and government has been extremely prompt and vigorous leading to new laws and codes.

Another promising new trend is an increasing number of Miami homes that are being designed with higher elevation levels to protect residents from flooding and rising sea levels. The Real Deal South Florida reported recently that this trend follows a July city ordinance that eased a height limit restriction beneath single-family homes.

Under the previous code, the allowable space between the ground-floor and the home’s first floor could not exceed seven feet. The newly passed ordinance allows for homes to be lifted farther off the ground, but only with city Design Review Board approval.

For now, Miami Beach’s elevated home designs mostly cater to luxury construction because of prohibitively high costs. But in the future, industry experts said, those projects will become more common as designs are modified, prices drop and flood insurance rates rise.