Buying in Miami with concerns over sea level

Buying in Miami with concerns over sea level

Investor · Miami Beach, FL · Member since 2014 · 123 posts · 19 votes

I moved to Miami a few years ago and absolutely love it here. With what I'm seeing in the new construction projects here, I am very bullish on Miami right now and what it could become. My first instinct was to invest heavily in the market down here. I hesitated and missed the big boom, but don't want to continue to miss out, as the prices are still skyrocketing. My main concern that has been keeping me back has been on rising sea levels and how long Miami is actually going to be around for. 

What are other's thoughts on this? Is Miami a good place to invest for income as well as buying a personal residence to live in longterm? I'm looking mainly on the beach and city. We're already seeing a lot of flooding as it is, I know nobody has a crystal ball, but when would Miami start getting to the point of not being habitable anymore? Are with talking fairly soon within 10 years, 20 years, or 50+? And what would happen in that case, would owners just be sitting on worthless property? How can I become more educated on this too? Thanks!

0Reply
32 views

Investor-friendly agents in Miami, FL

See the agents BiggerPockets members work with in Miami, FL.

Most Popular Reply

Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes
11y

Buy inland. When the ocean rises, soon you will have prime waterfront you can sell for a few billion dollars:)

See this reply in the discussion

8 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Investor/Accountant/Builder · Meno, OK · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 918 votes
    11y

    I read today that at the current rate of the Antartic ice melting, the seas will rise at least 1 millimeter per year. Be very afraid, in a couple of centuries, Miami will be under water.  

  • Real Estate Agent · Miami, FL · Member since 2015 · 15 posts · 11 votes
    11y

    Miami have transformed a lot in past few years. I suppose the prices will continue to climb up, yet the growing current and planned inventory (25000 plus condo units will pour into market in next two years) will slow down the growth and maybe its for the better in the long run. The rising sea levels are more of the threat in Miami Beach locations, from what I heard, but I'm sure it controllable. Be aware tho, the good deals are hard to find, as so many people are chasing the properties to invest in. 

    Good luck. 

  • David MidgettPro Member
    Real Estate Investor · Ocala, FL · Member since 2012 · 41 posts · 67 votes
    11y

    The whole city has been built on a swamp.  They've done OK so far...

  • Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    11y

    Buy inland. When the ocean rises, soon you will have prime waterfront you can sell for a few billion dollars:)

  • Investor · Miami Beach, FL · Member since 2014 · 123 posts · 19 votes
    11y

    My understanding is that Miami is built on pervious ground, so rising sea levels would slowly sink the mainlands too eventually. I'm just trying to get an idea of whether this is a near term occurrence, or something I don't have to worry about for 20+ years. 

  • Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    11y

    @Ray S. 

    in all seriousness, rising seas should not have any effect for long past our lifetimes. Now, for the ones with a future eye for appreciation and passing on VERY LONG TERM generational wealth: the Gulf of Mexico has sediment being deposited over time. Once this gets to a certain level, a geographical event called an orogeny should occur. What this means is: today the gulf of mexico is tomorrow's mountain range. This is why you can find oceanic fossilized forms of previous life in mountain ranges such as the Rocky Mountains. So, for those with VERY long term outlooks...but anything along the gulf coast. In a few billion years your heirs may own prime skiing areas. Just a thought::))

  • Investor · Miami Beach, FL · Member since 2014 · 123 posts · 19 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @John Thedford:

    @Ray S. 

    in all seriousness, rising seas should not have any effect for long past our lifetimes. Now, for the ones with a future eye for appreciation and passing on VERY LONG TERM generational wealth: the Gulf of Mexico has sediment being deposited over time. Once this gets to a certain level, a geographical event called an orogeny should occur. What this means is: today the gulf of mexico is tomorrow's mountain range. This is why you can find oceanic fossilized forms of previous life in mountain ranges such as the Rocky Mountains. So, for those with VERY long term outlooks...but anything along the gulf coast. In a few billion years your heirs may own prime skiing areas. Just a thought::))

     I'm not saying NYC is going to be completely under water in our lifetime, but in the next decade or two, places like South Florida could be under inches of water consistently and the shoreline could be nearly wiped out. If that's the case I'd imagine the real estate market  here would completly crash and there would be no protection for owners. I know they are putting in pumps on the beach to mitigate the flooding, but there's only so much they can do to delay this. I'm wondering if it's wise to sink too much money in down here or not. 

  • Investor · Miami Beach, FL · Member since 2015 · 175 posts · 82 votes
    11y

    I don't think you would have to worry about it in our liftetimes, if anything you can just flip it ;))

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.