The spatial and temporal variability of residential real estate values in response to flooding

A relationship between residential property values and the incidence of flooding is represented, using a case study of two Californian communities that were flooded following a levee break. Analysis of the real estate market before and after the flood shows that the flood was capitalized into housing values, whereby both list and selling prices dropped immediately and have recently begun to recover. However, recovery of the market is not uniform throughout the floodplain. Houses that suffered eighteen inches of water recovered to near pre-flood values in less than one year. In contrast, houses that had approximately ten feet of water in them have not recovered to the same extent, indicating that capitalization and recovery do not occur evenly. These findings suggest that policies and programs should address these spatial and temporal differences in recovery, which are expected to vary with different flood frequencies and magnitudes.