Zillow: 1.5% of R.I. homes at risk of being underwater from sea level rise

RHODE ISLAND has 4,853 homes at risk of being underwater, according to Zillow, while Florida leads coastal states with 12.6 percent of homes at risk. / COURTESY ZILLOW
RHODE ISLAND has 4,853 homes at risk of being underwater, according to Zillow, while Florida leads coastal states with 12.6 percent of homes at risk. / COURTESY ZILLOW

PROVIDENCE – A total of 1.5 percent of Rhode Island homes, or 4,853, are at risk of being underwater due to sea level rise, according to a recent analysis by Zillow.
The Ocean State is included in the real estate website’s list of coastal states that would be affected by a 6-foot rise in sea level based on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Approximately 2 million U.S. homes would be lost if the oceans rose by six feet as scientists expect by the year 2100, Zillow said. The endangered homes represent just under 2 percent of the national housing stock, and are worth a cumulative $882 billion.
In Rhode Island, the value of the homes lost amounts to $2.9 billion, with the median value of a home at risk of being underwater at $454,559.
Zillow said that based on the data, nearly 300 cities would lose at least half their homes and 36 U.S. cities would be completely lost. Florida has the most homes at risk of being underwater at 12.6 percent, or 934,411. One in eight Florida homes would be underwater, accounting for nearly half of the lost housing value nationwide.

In Hawaii, more than 9 percent of homes would be underwater, with 81 percent in the capital city of Honolulu.
In Massachusetts, 3.1 percent of homes are at risk of being underwater, or 62,069.
The nationwide median value of a home at risk of being underwater is $296,296 compared with $187,000, which is the value of the average U.S. home.
Zillow said that the at-risk homes along the waterfront are 58 percent more valuable than the average U.S. home, with Maine having the biggest difference in home values. There, homes at the water’s edge are worth $436,798, more than three times the statewide median home value of $138,900.
In comparison, homes at risk of rising oceans are less valuable than the typical home in Hawaii, Maryland, Washington and Oregon.
“As we move through this century, homeowners will have to consider another factor when it comes to their homes – whether rising sea levels have any impact on them,” Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell said in a statement. “It’s easy to think about how the ocean levels can affect the coasts in an abstract sense, but this analysis shows the real impact it will have on nearly two million homeowners – and most likely more by the time we reach 2100 – who could lose their homes.”

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