Florida’s increasingly devastating hurricanes aren’t scaring away snowbirds, who are investing heavily in better-protected homes.
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“Hurricanes are occasional phenomena that do not prevent Quebecers from buying here,” assures Daniel Tremblay, real estate broker on the west coast of Florida. Eighty percent of my clientele is from Quebec, and the majority of people who buy do so to come and settle here permanently. »
According to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, hurricanes will become less frequent, but more intense than before with climate change.
Rising sea levels, heavier rainfall from tropical cyclones, and stronger storm intensity are mechanisms that, combined, “appear to lead to far more dangerous events in the future than today,” says argue Alejandro Di Luca, professor specializing in climate change at UQAM.
This does not put off at all the many Quebecers and other investors who buy a temporary or permanent home there.
“It’s the biggest growth in the United States,” explains Martin Bouffard, a real estate investor in the region. There are 1,000 people a day moving to Florida,” he points out.
Buy solid
If this trend continues despite everything, it is also because the real estate market is adapting to it.
“Previously, Quebecers made the choice to acquire properties, such as trailers or small chalets, which were more economical, but also more vulnerable,” explains Jean-Pierre Blanchet, professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at UQAM. It will be necessary to have structures better adapted to violent weather, with more robust materials, which will cost more”, he continues.
Martin Bouffard recognizes that there is a risk to be taken, but that the technology and the fact that banks and insurance companies continue to finance Florida properties are reassuring according to him.
“The structure is concrete, there are hurricane windows. Of course, the roof shingles may come off, but the bulk of the property will remain intact.
IT WAS THE FLOOD
Twitter screenshot
Several citizens of West Florida posted on social media about the aftermath of the hurricane on Wednesday. Here is a sample.
Twitter screenshot
Twitter screenshot
Hit hard
IN A SAFE AIRBNB
Jean-Benoit Girard accompanied his five-year-old daughter to Airbnb accommodation at the last minute to get to safety when a shortage of materials prevented him from properly barricading his west coast Florida home.
The day before the passage ofIan, the Sarasota resident fell back on a residence in which the barricade materials were included. Wednesday, in the middle of the storm, he wrote to us that “it’s brewing” and that a patio chair had hit one of his barricaded windows head-on.
THE SEA DISAPPEARS
“Since this morning, the sea has withdrawn from the edge, it has come very far from the shore”, said Wednesday afternoon Charles Thouvenot, resident of Tampa. “It’s very impressive to observe this phenomenon, especially when you’re used to walking on the bay every day. »
STRESS OF WAITING
Florida resident for 13 years and accustomed to hurricanes, Daniel Tremblay admitted to being very anxious on Wednesday before the deluge. “The wait is almost worse than the hurricane,” explains this real estate broker from Sarasota. Not knowing where it’s going to hit is very stressful. No matter how hard we try to anticipate, we can never control a storm. »
IN THE HEART OF THE STORM
Kyle Grenierfrom Beauce, found himself in the heart of the hurricane IanWednesday in the city of Fort Myers where flooding was so intense it washed out entire homes. Mr. Grenier has been living in this town with his father for several months.
THANKS TO SOLAR PANELS
Without electricity during most of the hurricane, Annie Lavigne’s family was able to keep in touch with the outdoors thanks to the solar panels installed on their roof. ” We lived Irma in 2017, and we know how to prepare,” the Saint Petersburg resident said on Wednesday. “This year, there was additional stress, because my parents came from Quebec and had never experienced a hurricane. »
HE WILL NOT STARVE
Originally from Gatineau, Martin Bouffard made sure not to run out of food by getting supplies for the next four weeks.
“There are shortages in the shopping centers. If you lack electricity for more than a week, what’s in the fridge, you lose it,” explains the 51-year-old Quebecer who now lives in Florida and works in the real estate industry.
He had made the decision in the past few days to leave the city of Saint Petersburg, located near Tampa, which was very close to the corridor of the hurricane. Ian.