August 19, 2025, Miami, FL — The Resilience Action Fund (RAF) today released a new report, What’s Wrong with Disaster-prone US Property Markets? Case Study: St. Petersburg, Florida revealing that working-class families in the Shore Acres neighborhood lost an average of 35% of their home value in the five months following the 2024 hurricane season. Just five miles away in higher-elevation Disston Heights, similar homeowners gained 25% in value during the same period.
The study, authored by resilience expert Aris Papadopoulos, founder of RAF and UN private sector resilience pioneer, analyzed public sales data from Zillow and Redfin for homes purchased between 2000–2024 and sold in the months after Hurricane Milton. It found that Shore Acres’ losses were not solely the result of extreme weather, but were rooted in:
- A century-old development flaw: The neighborhood was built on dredged marshland shaped like a bowl, with elevations as low as 1–2 feet.
- Systemic lack of transparency: Until 2025, Florida law did not require sellers to disclose past flooding to buyers.
- Marketing that ignored flood risk: Influencers and neighborhood rankings promoted Shore Acres as a “top place to live” without warning of its highest possible flood risk rating (10/10) assigned by First Street Foundation.
Key findings from the report include:
- The average loss for Shore Acres sellers was $140,000, representing decades of savings for a typical $65,000/year household.
- In Disston Heights, sellers gained an average of $60,000, a total swing of 60% between the two neighborhoods.
- Shore Acres recorded 1,200 flood insurance claims (about 40% of its homes) after three major storms in 14 months.
- New Florida disclosure laws passed in 2024 and 2025 still allow flood history to be withheld until the moment of contract signing.
The report calls for stronger transparency laws, early-stage disclosure in real estate listings, and public education to help buyers understand flood-risk ratings like First Street’s “Flood Factor.”
“This is a wake-up call for communities across the country,” said Papadopoulos. “Without transparency, the cycle of develop–profit–destroy–lose–repeat will continue, and the next generation of buyers will pay the price.”
