Coastal multifamily developers, owners expect huge jump in insurance costs

Multifamily developers in coastal areas are expecting big increases in insurance costs this year, according to a report by Yardi Matrix.

In Texas and Florida, where Hurricane Ian caused $50 billion in damage last year, insurance costs are nearly 50% higher than in 2022. Some property owners could face far higher increases, though.

An executive with the largest affordable developer in Florida is bracing for 200% to 300% price spikes, according to a report by Multifamily Dive. Such great leaps in insurance costs threaten new development and property sales, Yardi Matrix says.

Yardi Matrix noted that increases in construction costs from inflation, labor, and supply chain issues along with the growth in property values are driving higher insurance costs.

Yardi Matrix added: Not only are costs increasing but insurers are covering less wind limit on replacement costs with large increases in deductibles, new exclusions for damages such as mold or flood endorsements, and limits on payouts. That forces property owners to layer wind on top of other policies to reach the replacement cost values required by lenders.

The Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball team announced that it has reached an agreement with St. Petersburg and Pinellas County on a $6.5 billion, 86-acre mixed-use development that will include a new 30,000-seat ballpark and an array of office, housing, hotel, retail, and restaurant space totaling 8 million sf.

Engineers | Sep 15, 2023

NIST investigation of Champlain Towers South collapse indicates no sinkhole

Investigators from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) say they have found no evidence of underground voids on the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse, according to a new NIST report. The team of investigators have studied the site’s subsurface conditions to determine if sinkholes or excessive settling of the pile foundations might have caused the collapse.

MFPRO+ Research | Sep 11, 2023

Conversions of multifamily dwellings to ‘mansions’ leading to dwindling affordable stock

Small multifamily homes have historically provided inexpensive housing for renters and buyers, but developers have converted many of them in recent decades into larger, single-family units. This has worsened the affordable housing crisis, say researchers.

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Adaptive Reuse | Aug 31, 2023

New York City creates team to accelerate office-to-residential conversions

New York City has a new Office Conversion Accelerator Team that provides a single point of contact within city government to help speed adaptive reuse projects. Projects that create 50 or more housing units from office buildings are eligible for this new program.