Sea level rise impacts on residential real estate value in Hawaiʻi

Muhammad Talal Khan (), Nori Tarui, Conrad Newfield and Makena Coffman
Additional contact information
Muhammad Talal Khan: University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Nori Tarui: University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Conrad Newfield: Institute for Sustainability and Resilience, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Makena Coffman: University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Climatic Change, 2025, vol. 178, issue 11, No 23, 25 pages

Abstract: Abstract This paper examines the impact of sea level rise (SLR) exposure on residential property values in Hawaiʻi by employing a repeat sales methodology on coastal properties transacted between 2000 and 2022. Our analysis reveals that properties exposed to a projected 3 ft of SLR appreciate by 0.8% less annually than unexposed properties. This depreciation effect is particularly pronounced on Oʻahu (-1.4% annually) and Hawaiʻi Island (-1.1% annually). The discount is in part explained by local buyers, with properties they purchase incurring a significantly higher annual penalty compared to those acquired by non-local buyers. Seawalls are associated with higher home appreciation rates; however, they do not offset the penalty associated with SLR exposure. Our work provides new evidence on the forward-looking capitalization of climate change exposure into housing markets, demonstrating that buyer origin—potentially representing differing beliefs or knowledge of risk—has a significant influence.

Keywords: Sea level; Housing markets; Climate change; Repeat sales; Hawaiʻi (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10584-025-04020-4 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:climat:v:178:y:2025:i:11:d:10.1007_s10584-025-04020-4

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/10584

DOI: 10.1007/s10584-025-04020-4

Access Statistics for this article

Climatic Change is currently edited by M. Oppenheimer and G. Yohe

More articles in Climatic Change from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().