It’s hard to imagine now, but once upon a time in the not too distant past, coastal lands were considered sub-par real estate. Unless perched high above the water line on top of rocky bluffs, most developers of middle to upper-class housing steered clear of the coast. Property near the open ocean - particularly beachfront property - was subsequently where those with little money would go to live. The reason for this was simple: the ocean, while a majestic and beautiful sight to behold, could and would turn itself into a raging monster battering the coastline with powerful winds and deadly waves. Nobody wanted to build there.
That is until the west coast of the United States was discovered. The eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean has proved to be relatively calm and free from the threats seen on shores facing the Atlantic and elsewhere. As a result, developers decided it was safe to build structures within a half a mile of water, and now some of the most valuable real estate in the world is located right on the coastline of California.
However, a new ocean-born threat looms which threatens the coastal areas all over the world, including those along California. This threat, as you might have guessed, is rising sea levels.
What do rising sea levels mean for coastal communities going forward? The honest truth is that it greatly depends on the community in question. For instance, realtors in Point Loma are probably not as worried as those down in Coronado, even though the two towns are within the Greater San Diego area. This is because Point Loma is located several hundred feet above sea level, whereas Coronado is along the waterfront.
Furthermore, major metropolises such as San Diego are likely to be both able and willing to devise engineering works to safeguard against many of the threats posed by rising sea levels. While it may ultimately come down to relocating some residences and elevating streets, the sheer necessity of keeping such cities on the map will all but guarantee most major coastal cities will manage to get through rising sea levels.
The areas to watch out for - where the local real estate market may literally end up underwater - are coastal communities which lack the means to do much about the rising sea levels. Towns and villages along the coasts of countries such as Somalia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and many others will be utterly destroyed.
In these high-risk areas, the trend of placing those in poverty closer to the water remains intact. When the ocean rises to untenable levels for these communities, it is unlikely there will be an adequate effort to relocate the residents. However, it’s safe to say that whatever the new coastline looks like, there will be real estate developers ready to seize on it for the next generation of cheap housing.
Those speculating in coastal real estate markets would be wise to turn themselves into part-time oceanographers and study how the coasts will change in the near future. They may then consider buying up tomorrow’s beachfront property.
