Rising Tides Will Sink Thousands of Maryland Homes Worth $20 Billion: Report

Rising sea levels mean it may not be the best time to make long-term real estate investments along the Maryland Coast, according to a new report from Zillow, the real estate website.

The website used data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to look at the 23 states in the U.S. along the coast to examine which parts would be underwater if sea levels rise by as much as six feet.
Zillow said that benchmark was picked because some researchers say that is how much sea levels could rise by 2100.

In Maryland, 64,299 homes would potentially be underwater, website says. The total value of those homes would be $19.6 billion.

Only five states would be more drastically affected than Maryland if the scientific predictions come to pass.

New York could lose 96,708 houses. South Carolina and Louisiana would both see home losses around 80,000 per state. New Jersey would lose an estimated 190, 429 houses. And most affected would be Florida, with the loss of nearly 1 million homes.

Miami and Honolulu are the two cities that would be most endangered by rising sea levels, the report says.

Report highlights on creeping sea levels:

• If sea levels rise as much as climate scientists predict by the year 2100, almost 300 U.S. cities would lose at least half their homes, and 36 U.S. cities would be completely lost.
• One in eight Florida homes would be underwater, accounting for nearly half of the lost housing value nationwide.
• The median value of a home at risk of being underwater is $296,296. The value of the average U.S. home is $187,000.

Nationwide, almost 1.9 million homes (or roughly 2 percent of all U.S. homes) – worth a combined $882 billion – are at risk of being underwater by 2100. More than 1 in 8 properties in Florida are in an area expected to be underwater if sea levels rise by six feet, representing more than $400 billion in housing value. In Hawaii, almost 1 in 10 homes are at risk.

»Photo - Maryland Natural Resouces