Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the South Florida commercial and residential real estate market in the next decade. The discussion about the effects of climate change on the real estate market is slowly coming to the forefront of the issues facing our industry. The real estate industry should prepare for a disruption in the market as a result of rising sea levels in the next decade.

Discussions among policymakers have begun to yield some results. A few months ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a three-year study to assist Miami-Dade County in finding solutions to minimize the effects of rising sea levels. At the local level the city of Miami, Miami Beach, and MiamiDade County have taken steps to address the impact to their communities. Despite some preliminary steps by policymakers, we are left to ponder if they are doing enough to address this pressing issue. At a statewide level there seems to be a rising concern that building codes need to be updated to protect coastal properties. The effect of Hurricane Michael on the Florida panhandle in 2018 nudged local authorities to update the building code, including requiring that coastal homes be built at a higher level. Nevertheless the measures so far, appear to be limited to resolving the short-term issue without any plans to address the impact to the community in the next 50 or 100 years.