Mass. Real Estate Agents Confront Climate Risk
When Massachusetts homebuyers and sellers aren’t too worried about climate risk, despite increasingly severe floods, where does that leave their real estate agents?
Not Just Florida: Extreme Weather Raising Mortgage Risk in Mass., Too
Massachusetts has seen seven, billion-dollar weather disasters in the past two years. It’s a fundamental shift lenders can’t ignore.
FEMA Quietly Removes Access to New England Coastal Erosion Hazard Tool
At some point between February and early March, as seasonal wind and rain hammered New England coasts, a relatively new but enthusiastically embraced tool for predicting erosion slipped off the Federal Emergency Management Agency website.
Climate Change Is Moving Faster than Flood Insurance, Forcing Mass. Banks to Adapt
Worsening extreme weather, linked to climate change, is bringing catastrophic flooding to homes that have never seen it before, and it’s putting financial institutions risk of serious losses.
Fed Money to Fund Dorm-to-Shelter Lease
Nearly $2 million in federal dollars will flow into Massachusetts and Boston city coffers to tackle the migrant housing crisis, with the money arriving just over a week after Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency due to strained shelter systems.
Report: Downtown Boston needs $877M Flood Barrier to Survive Storms
A consulting team led by Arup recommends elevating a 1.5-mile section of waterfront from Christopher Columbus Park to Congress Street to ward off sea level rise and worsening storms.
Weather Weighs on Insurance, Home Lending Decisions
The cost of homeowners insurance is on the rise, and not just because property values went up – almost 20 percent across the board – during last year’s homebuying frenzy.
Boston Plans Seaport Flood Barrier – Without Money from Developers
Boston officials have submitted plans to state officials for a $20.5-million flood barrier that would hold back Fort Point Channel waters from inundating portions of the Seaport District during coastal storms.
Flood Risk Could Influence Property Prices
New research suggests Massachusetts homes face substantially higher costs from flooding over the next 30 years as climate change worsens the risk of strong storms.
Redfin Joins Realtor.com in Reporting Homes’ Flood Risk
Realtor.com is now no longer the only place to look up a home listing’s flood risk as awareness of climate change-caused flooding continues to increase.
Waterfront Development in the Age of Rising Seas
Boston’s Seaport is a thriving, robust neighborhood about to deliver more than 30 million square feet of premier office, residential and retail spaces across hundreds of acres of open space, waterfront views and cultural institutions. While commanding some of the highest rents and sales prices in the city, there is an underlying concern related to climate change, resiliency and sustainability.
FEMA Continues to Sell Flood Insurance Despite Shutdown
The National Flood Insurance Program is again open for business, despite a partial government shutdown that looks set to drag on as President Donald Trump continues to demand funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border be included in any new funding bill passed by Congress.
Housing Support for Puerto Rico Evacuees Expiring
State and federal support for evacuees from Puerto Rico still living in hotels following last year’s devastating hurricanes is due to expire at the end of June, and the Baker administration warned that despite efforts to help families return to Puerto Rico or find stable housing in Massachusetts their options may be limited after June 30.
National Flood Insurance Program Unfairly Maligned
The National Flood Insurance Program has been in the national news recently in a series of unsympathetic reports.
National Flood Insurance Program a Casualty of Government Shutdown
The National Flood Insurance Program shut down at midnight on Friday along with most of the rest of the federal government. No new policies can be written during the shutdown, but losses sustained during the shutdown will be paid as usual, according the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the plan.
Freddie Mac Suspends Evictions, Foreclosures In Disaster Areas
Freddie Mac announced today that it is suspending all foreclosure sales and evictions through Dec. 31, 2017 in areas that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has declared eligible disaster areas as a result of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
