"Wealthier people are more likely to move into an area recently hit by a disaster, a study found."

"You might assume that home prices would decline in an area recently wrecked by a hurricane, but a new study finds the opposite is true, and post-storm price hikes could be a major driver of what’s known as climate gentrification.

The study, published in Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, found that home prices in Florida were 5% higher in the three-year period after a hurricane. Those hurricane-stricken housing markets attracted wealthier residents instead of scaring them away.

Researchers looked at hurricane data from NOAA, housing information on Zillow, and tax assessments in Florida from 2000 to 2016. “Using mortgage application data, we find that incoming homeowners in this period have higher incomes, leading to an overall shift toward wealthier groups,” the authors wrote in their abstract. This is a sign of climate gentrification, or when wealthier people move into area after an extreme weather event disrupts or displaces the existing community. Climate gentrification can also occur when wealthier people move into lower-income communities seeking relief from long-term climate issues like flooding."

Angely Mercado reports for Earther January 13, 2023. [2]