The troubling trend is particularly pronounced in lower-income communities, where experts worry households are being inadvertently set up for big financial losses.
In a piece reported by Huo Jingnan, Rebecca Hersher, Tegan Wendland, Steve Newborn, and Daniel Rivero, NPR finds that the federal government has routinely sold flood-prone homes to buyers without disclosing their risks. The investigation "finds that the homes HUD [Department of Housing and Urban Development] sells are disproportionately located in flood-prone places, compared with Zillow records of all homes sold in the United States," despite HUD's stated mission to provide "safe, affordable housing" for American families.
NPR found that "[h]omes that were sold by HUD between January 2017 and August 2020 are in federally designated flood zones at almost 75 times the rate of all homes sold nationwide in that period," with the problem most pronounced in Louisiana, Florida, and New Jersey. "In many cases, buyers of HUD homes get less information about flood risk and the cost of flood insurance than if they were to purchase the house from a private seller."
Additionally, "NPR's analysis finds that the households in neighborhoods where HUD has sold homes are poorer on average than those in areas where HUD has not sold homes." This is particularly troubling as "[i]n the long term, flooding can wipe out a family's generational wealth by driving down home values or destroying homes altogether." Meanwhile, new federal rules will eliminate subsidies that kept flood insurance affordable for many coastal homeowners.
"HUD initially did not respond to specific questions about how it might work more closely with FEMA to reduce flood risk, or how its home sales in flood zones might impact low-income buyers," but defended the sales, stating that "[l]ocking low-income homebuyers out of a great number of affordable homeownership opportunities because the homes are located in communities within flood zones not only runs contrary to the Administration's objectives of achieving greater equity in homeownership, but prohibiting sales based on income would be comparable to sanctioning a resurgence of redlining."
The agency claims they are "'engaging with FEMA and other federal partners to look at policies, operations, and actions' that would make the nation's housing stock more resilient to climate change."
FULL STORY: The Federal Government Sells Flood-Prone Homes To Often Unsuspecting Buyers, NPR Finds
U.S. Houses Facing Increased Flood Risk Overvalued by as Much as $237 Billion, Study Says
Housing markets are failing to price in climate risks in their assessment of housing values, according to a recent study published by Nature.
HUD Plans to Revive Fair Housing Rule
The department is proposing an updated version of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, which requires local governments to take action to end residential segregation.
How the Yellowstone Floods Laid Bare a Housing Crisis
This year’s historic floods ravaged communities already roiled by spiking housing costs and a shortage of available workforce housing near the nation’s oldest national park.
The Shifting Boomer Bulge: More Bad News for America’s Housing Crisis?
In the first of a two-part series, PlaceMakers’ Ben Brown interviews housing guru Arthur C. Nelson on the sweeping demographic changes complicating the housing market.
New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition
Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.
A Serious Critique of Congestion Costs and Induced Vehicle Travel Impacts
Some highway advocates continue to claim that roadway expansions are justified to reduce traffic congestion. That's not what the research shows. It's time to stop obsessing over congestion and instead strive for efficient accessibility.
Ranking Exclusionary Zoning: D.C., New York Metro Areas Top the List
A new database measures the restrictiveness of exclusionary zoning practices around the country. Exclusionary zoning, it turns out, is much more prevalent than commonly acknowledged.
Historically Redlined Neighborhoods Have Higher Rates of Pedestrian Deaths, Study Says
The consequences of historic redlining continue to have consequences in the present day United States. Add another example to the list.
Tolling All Lanes
Bay Area transportation planners are studying a radical idea to reduce traffic congestion and fund driving alternatives: tolling all lanes on a freeway. Even more radical, the plan considers tolling parallel roads.
City of Greenville
City of Greenville
Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps Program
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
