There are also a lot of people that are new to the area (SW FL) and I would expect them to walk away from the properties and move back home (let the bank and the insurance companies fight it out). Even if they fix the house the values are shot if you have a dozen houses on your street that didn't get fixed. With a monster claim, the insurance company lets the bank hold the money in escrow to prevent you from cashing the check and moving on. When the fix it check doesn't match the estimates then the owners are going to pack up and leave.

PVC pipe is up 250% in the last 15 months so add that to your 2X4/plywood/roofing costs and suddenly every house is real expensive to replace! On the older homes the cities will want the upgrades (which insurance is not likely to pay for), stuff like upgraded electrical panels or roof strapping (holds the roof trusses to the walls of the house). Then would you go through all this if you knew the policy was going to get cancelled or significantly increased?

Sanford was hit harder then you would think as well as Orlando and Daytona. Velocity flooded, Scott posted on Facebook his new test tank. It looked to be 2-3 feet was down a little when he was in the shop.

Places in Orlando flooded big time, still are this morning, no where for the water to go. Flagler lost their Pier, main street Daytona flooded, the flooding was the worst. When this is all and done the amount of damage all across the state is beyond comprehension. We are focused on SWFL but man it did a number all the away across.

As for SWFL, and beach side, it will never be the same, like people have said the small places will never come back. It will just be high end Condo's.

That sucks..............Flagler got beat up a few years back in a storm (Matthew maybe?). I was in that area for Thanksgiving after the storm and parts of Ocean Shore Blvd caved into the sand.

I suspect the homes built post Andrew fared well if they didn’t flood. This house on Whiskey Creek had water in the garage but not the house. No significant damage. But he’s farther up the Caloosahatchee than I realized (8mi).

They have been having big time issues with A1A along there, earlier this year for some reason they lost a lot of sand. That was a concern this one as well.

St Augustine also flooded.

I think the market has cooled off enough that it won’t happen, at least right away.

There are already so many condo and apartment projects here in dtsp that are about to run into a wall aka 8% mortgage rates.

It’ll be years but ultimately the allure of that area will win out.

First off, my heart breaks for all the lives, business, homes lost from the hurricane.

Your comment has struck a nerve with me - this storm could have hit anywhere along the coast, not just Florida.

I lived through flooding from Ida, my house is 8 blocks from the Long Island Sound, many parts of our town is STILL trying to recover. I don't care where you live, a natural disaster is completely unavoidable... mother nature has no F$%s to give.

This storm is not over and will destroy more in its path. Let just pray for our brothers and sisters who lost or may lose everything.

The last two storms we went inland 25 mi and ended up in worse conditions than if we’d stayed home. We’re on the water but it’s 1000 yds up an inlet off the bay. Street elev. 7’ plus foundation built up 5’. All hurricane windows and 150 mph garage door and still leave to go inland but I intend to start staying put unless storm appears to be unprecedented.
I haven’t seen any evidence of a true 10’ surge except right on the barrier islands or beach.

Well, that is not strictly true. Some places are certainly at greater risk of natural disasters than others. Be it hurricanes, earthquakes, avalanches or volcanos. It will come down to what risk level you are willing to take on, and what precautions you take.

Amen.