A new study says flooding Canada experienced in the last decade reduced the final sale price of homes in several markets by an average of 8.2 per cent.
The studied several floods that occurred between 2009 and 2020 in Grand Forks in British Columbia; Burlington, Toronto and Ottawa in Ontario; and Gatineau in Quebec.
Researchers found these floods reduced the number of homes for sale by 44.3 per cent and increased the number of days they spent on the market by 19.8 per cent.
The study funded in part by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. also looked at the impact of community-level flooding on mortgage arrears and deferrals in two unnamed cities for six months before and after flooding.
Researchers found no change in the ability of homeowners in those areas to pay their mortgages, but that a reduction in the appraised value of a house due to flooding would influence limits on lending by mortgage providers.
The report recommends Canada address flood risk by getting governments to commit to retaining and restoring natural infrastructure like forests and wetlands and pressing communities into identifying and protecting areas most at risk of floods.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2022
