Dr. Klaus Moeltner, Virginia Tech
Seminar Title: "Special Flood Hazard Effects on Coastal and Interior Home Values: One Size does Not Fit All”
Abstract:
Existing studies that estimate losses in home values due to being located in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) focus exclusively on either coastal or interior regions, or include both, but do not estimate separate risk effects. Using a rich data set on home sales for the entire state of Connecticut, controlling for a plethora of potentially confounding effects, and applying state-of-the art doubly-robust matching methods, we show that SFHA-related risk losses can vary dramatically by location relative to the coast line, with near-coastal losses exceeding interior effects by seven-fold. We take this as evidence that, contrary to common belief, home buyers are well aware of the elevated flood risk in coastal zones, even though the official Flood Insurance Rate Map designation for those homes is identical to that of interior counterparts. Our results also provide ammunition for calls for a more refined, property-specific rate setting policy for federal flood insurance.
Friday, December 8, 2017
11:30am - 12:45pm
W.B. Young Building, room 132
View the full Fall 2017 ARE Seminar Schedule
For more information, contact: Tatiana Andreyeva at tatiana.andreyeva@uconn.edu