Hurricane Irma was a very damaging storm and Florida’s housing industry is assessing how they can protect their houses against future storms. Irma ripped off roofs, flooded coastal cities, and knocked out power to more than 6.8 million people. We talked with Brian Wood, a professional agent from Sarasota Florida, to get local insight on the state that some Florida properties are in, and what he thinks Floridians can do to brace themselves for future hurricanes to come.
M: How is Irma affecting the future of Real Estate in Florida?
B: I can only speak for my local area at this time. I am anticipating that this may affect insurability of older structures particularly on our barrier islands like Casey Key, Longboat Key, Lido Key and Siesta Key. Long term affects may result in additional code changes that further bolster current construction.
M: Inland homes and properties were damaged as well, how will this affect construction needs?
B: Inland homes here in Sarasota and Manatee counties did suffer some damage. Mostly from blown down trees. There are a high percentage of homes that are older inland and the effects of the storm on these structures will no doubt be examined. It may very well affect insurance rates and possibly motivate existing homeowners in investing in Hurricane shutters and updating their roof structures to further strengthen their roof.
M: Florida has obviously seen hurricane damages before. Based off the effects of previous hurricanes, do you think the effects of Irma will be different in regards to the state of the real estate industry?
B: The building codes have changed so dramatically since the last major hurricane impacted Florida. It appears that all of the new homes that were built after 2006 and were built to the new building code standards have fared very well in the storm. In fact, based on my conversations with local builders, none of their newer homes built to today's building code standards sustained any damages. I think the Real Estate industry may actually see an uptick in New Construction sales as a result of the impact of Hurricane Irma. I have spoken with many of the local builders since Hurricane Irma hit and they are reporting an increase in inquiries and meetings with buyers that have expressed an interest in purchasing a new home that meets today’s Building Codes and Hurricane compliances. The Building Codes changed in 2006 so a lot of the homes from the last construction boom do not benefit from the new Building Code requirements, like Impact Windows. I think a lot of existing homeowners are questioning whether or not they want to retrofit their existing home or possibly look at purchasing a new home instead. Keep in mind that beyond the Hurricane Code changes in new construction these homes are far more energy efficient due to improvements in insulation, windows and energy efficient appliances.
M: Disasters and damages like Irma tend to bring communities together. Have you seen evidence of this so far in your community?
B: Locally in Sarasota we have seen a tremendous response from the local community to support folks that had damage from the storm or lost power. One of our local produce markets hosted a free BBQ Chicken dinner for all people affected by the storm and all first responders. Sarasota is a main staging area for FPL, our power company, and its personnel to assist in restoring power throughout the state. They have stationed themselves at our local fairgrounds with hundreds of trucks and personnel and the community has offered its support and appreciation to all of these brave personnel who are tirelessly working to restore power to our residents in the State of Florida.
M: Do you think upgrades and improvements on not only new homes being built,but also current-standing homes, will increase? For example: Roofing, foundation, window, and garage upgrades.
B: I believe that this may be the biggest thing that occurs from Hurricane Irma. I think there are a lot of homeowners that may elect or be required to improve their existing home to meet the new building codes. This may also spur a good percentage of homeowners to consider purchasing a new home instead of improving their existing home. The insurance of homes that no longer meet today's codes will no doubt be a hot topic. This will issue will also weigh heavily in buyer's minds when making a decision to purchase an existing home vs. a new home.
M: How is vacation traffic going to be affected?
B: The Sarasota area did not sustain heavy damage overall so tourism and vacation traffic will not be affected. Since the storm hit in September, our slowest off-season month of the year, I don’t anticipate any problems on this front.
M: How soon do you think it will be until things are increasingly being rebuilt?
B: I think most of Sarasota sustained minor damage from the storm, however, Sarasota was already suffering from a labor shortage in the construction industry so I would expect this may delay some repairs in the near future.
If you would like to help donate to those who lost their homes, loved ones, and communities to Hurricane Irma, the following are links to more information: