People Increasingly Factor Natural Disasters When Deciding Where to Live

As Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida this week – the second major hurricane in just two weeks to hit the state – some Americans say natural disasters will play a role in where they decide to live.

According to a Redfin report conducted last week, nearly a third of US residents between the ages of 18 and 34 said they are reconsidering where they want to move in the future after seeing the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, one of the deadliest storms to hit mainland America in almost two decades. About 15% of those over age 35 felt the same.

“Scores of Americans flocked to the Sun Belt during the pandemic because remote work allowed them to take advantage of the region’s relatively low cost of living. Some thought Appalachia was insulated from hurricane risk, not realizing that the area is prone to flooding and that hurricanes can sometimes cause flash flooding far away from the ocean,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Americans are beginning to realize that nowhere is truly immune to the impacts of climate change, and we’re starting to see that impact where people want to live — even people who haven’t experienced a catastrophic weather event firsthand.”

Now directly in the path of Milton, Tampa was one of the markets that attracted scores of people during the pandemic. More than 51,000 people moved to the area between 2022 and 2023, making it the fifth-largest growing metropolitan area in the country, according to US Census Bureau data. Still recovering from the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene, Tampa residents now face a second wave of destruction, and once the floodwaters recede, they will likely face increasing insurance costs as well.

Nearly a quarter of all respondents to Redfin’s survey said they expect insurance premiums in their area to increase after Hurricane Helene and 13% of respondents said they think Helene will make it harder to get homeowners insurance.

Over the past five years, the US has experienced an increase in frequency and severity of hurricanes, wildfires and convective storm activity that has driven insurers to reduce their concentration of exposure in any specific geographic area. This is resulting in some homeowners receiving non-renewal notices or facing steep premium hikes.

In Florida, securing private homeowners insurance has become so difficult that the state-run insurer of last resort is one of the largest insurers in the state. And even before Helene ravaged western parts of the state, the North Carolina Rate Bureau sought proposed insurance premium increases averaging 42% on behalf of home insurers across North Carolina, citing record-high inflation, particularly for building materials, as well as worsening storm-related losses.

While storm-fatigued residents may be ready to move away from hurricane-prone markets, the difficult insurance situation may be dissuading potential buyers from moving in. Home sales in some Florida markets have been flat for more than a year after doubling between 2017 and 2024. This housing reversal is particularly evident in Tampa, Orlando and much of the Space Coast as inventory of single-family homes and condominiums is up more than 50% year-over-year.

Adding to these concerns, institutional investors, spooked by insurance costs, are also pulling away from these markets.

“When institutional investors exit a market, it can be very quick,” said Jason Lewris, co-founder of Parcl Labs, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “If they start to ramp up dispositions, it could have a cascading effect on home prices.”