Impact on Property Values
Thanks to insurance, flooding has so far not had a major impact on property values. Values may fall immediately after a flood, but once the area has been cleaned up and houses repaired, the values start to recover. Indeed in some cases values can be enhanced because the repairs make the houses look as good as new.

The author is not aware of any detailed research on the impact on property values of a flood event in Britain , although some research has been carried out in Australia. Intuitively it would seem likely that if insurance is not available then this must have an adverse effect on property values, if only because of problems in obtaining a mortgage. Further research is needed, and potential loss of value should be taken into account in calculating cost benefit appraisals for new flood defences.

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