My town just got hit by a flood last week. How does that generally affect my property value?

Question

My front landscaping is gone as so are most other houses in town. My house has no flood damage however most of the houses on higher ground weren't as fortunate having sheds and garages destroyed along with personal possessions ripped out of thier houses. Obviously it will be several months to recoupe the losses. This is a small of population 40,000; the average residential property is round about $65,000 and we are located near a military installation and were anticipating growth spur within the military community over the next few years. Should we be worried at all about our property value over the next 2-4 years or so?

Answer 1

Property values in general will almost always take a negative hit from a flood. That said, since your house did not suffer any damage to the building itself, you may not see as much of a hit yourself.

It's possible that the projected growth at the military installation could offset some or all of this negative trend. If a large influx of military personnel overloads the local housing supply, property values are likely to increase, possibly significantly.

I'd be concerned, but I'd also keep a very close watch on general property values as well as what's going on with the military. You could be in the situation of stepping in poop yet coming out of it with gold on your shoe.