Without Sand Subsidies, Oceanfront Home Values Could Drop

"Besieged by rising seas and ever more violent storms, many East Coast communities now slow the erosion of their beaches by reinforcing them with massive amounts of sand.

The grains, often paid for or subsidized by the federal government, can come from inland sand pits or the ocean floor. But what happens to waterfront homes if the federal government no longer foots the bill for sand?

The value of many oceanfront homes on the East Coast would suffer a massive drop, tantamount to the bursting of an economic bubble, say researchers from three universities in a new study published in the journal PLOS One. In areas of North Carolina and New Jersey, where the current rate of beach erosion can be four times the historical average, property values could drop 17 percent for towns with high property values and as much as 34 percent for towns with low property values."

Shan Wang reports for the New England Center for Investigative Reporting March 27, 2015.