Natural disasters are impacting home values in high-risk areas at a time when home prices are soaring across the United States, according to a realtor.com analysis released Monday. The value of homes in high-risk flood areas grew at 5 percentage points lower than homes in similar areas with less flood risk, while the values of homes in high risk fire areas increased at 3 percentage points lower. In 78 flood-risk counties across the country, realtor.com found that homes with hurricane-related disaster declarations experienced a cumulative sales price per square foot growth of 25 percent, compared to 29 percent for homes with a moderate or major risk, and 30 percent for homes with a minimal or low risk. Realtor.com also found…
Led by homeowners and renters in the Northeast, more than a quarter of Americans say they want to or have already moved due to the recent spate of fires, floods and hurricanes, according to a new report by Redfin. The survey found that 27 percent of Americans said the natural disasters made them want to move, 23 percent said they like where they live more and half said it has had no impact. “Climate change still doesn’t feel like an immediate threat to a lot of people, but as more folks come face to face with wildfires, hurricanes and floods, we’ll see an increase in the number of Americans who consider moving due to natural disasters,” said Redfin chief economist…
In the wake of Hurricane Delta, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are reminding homeowners of the mortgage assistance and disaster relief options available to them. Relief options include: Homeowners may request mortgage assistance by contacting their mortgage servicer following a disasterMortgage servicers are authorized to suspend or reduce a homeowner’s mortgage payments for up to 90 days – even without establishing contact – if the servicer believes the homeowner was affected by the disasterHomeowners affected by a disaster are often eligible to reduce or suspend their mortgage payments for up to 12 monthsDuring this temporary payment break:Homeowners will not incur late feesForeclosure and other legal proceedings are suspended “Hurricane Delta will mark the fifth hurricane to hit the U.S. so…
