The next housing crash could be caused by weather, not Wall Street – here are the places that should be worried

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November 3, 2018 3:23 PM

Coastal homes in the US are at risk of chronic flooding, and it could cause a major hit to the real estate industry.

A large coastal storm hits Massachusetts in March 2018.

300,000 coastal homes in the US could experience chronic flooding by 2045, placing $117.5 billion worth of residential property at risk.

When Hurricane Michael touched down in mid-October, it destroyed rows of homes in the Florida Panhandle, leaving behind just a few surviving structures. In Mexico Beach, Florida, only one oceanfront home was left fully intact: a two-story property made of concrete and steel cables.

Unlike other structures in the area, the miracle home — known as Sand Palace — had been ture with elevated pillars and breakaway walls that would detach in the event of a storm.

winds, few homeowners have a

s and Houston combined.

Buyers still love living by the water

When Hurricane Sandy swept the coast of New York and New Jersey in 2012, entire communities were forced to rebuild. In the seven years since, government-sponsored initiatives like the US Army Corps of Engineers and NYC Build it Back have done a remarkable job of cleaning up these communities — so remarkable, in fact, that many seem to have forgotten about the devastation.

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, Sandy was at the forefront of buyers' minds.

There are the coastal communities with the highest property values at risk due to flooding:

1. Miami Beach, Florida

2. Southampton, New York

3. Ocean City, New Jersey

4. Central Coast, California

5. San Jose, California

6. San Mateo, California

7. Miami, Florida

8. Long Beach, New Jersey

9. Upper Keys, Florida

10. Bradenton, Florida

Despite its urban location, Queens makes the top 25, with $1.2 billion worth of homes — or more than

Two years ago,

But there were no requirements that prepared the building for rising sea levels.

A year after Sandy, New York introduced a climate resiliency plan that included new building codes and to Manhattan's storm defenses. Both the costs and the guidelines are still being weighed.

In the wake of Hurricane Michael, many have identified the need for similar upgrades. While Florida's building codes were updated in 2007 to include safe construction elements like