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Tiny coastal enclave becomes one of the hottest property markets in America - despite well-known problem with dozens of the homes there
A tiny California coastal community has become one of America's hottest property markets - despite rising sea levels posing a threat to dozens of homes.
Prices for beach houses in Stinson Beach - an enclave in Marin County along Bolinas Bay - have increased five-fold from $688,000 in 2000 to $3.7million in May this year, figures from Zillow show. In the past year alone home values have risen 40 percent.
It comes despite the fact county officials have repeatedly warned rising sea levels could swallow the community's beaches and damage properties.
Already, lenders have cut back on issuing mortgages in areas like Stinson Beach due to the issue, Zillow reported.
Beach houses in Stinson Beach, an enclave in Marin County along Bolinas Bay, have become the new hotspot for buyers in America
Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy told the San Francisco Chronicle, only a small amount of homes on the 3.5 mile-long beach come up for sale each year - which makes the values of the homes skyrocket.
The seaside town was established in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake. The natural disaster left many refugees who started to build Stinson Beach, according to Golden Gate Sotheby's International Realty.
The beach area is known for its amazing ocean views and of the Bay Area from across the way, as well as its Dipsea Trail hike and Mount Tamalpais State Park.
Many buyers look to Stinson Beach for a second home to enjoy on the weekends, local realtor Ashley Bird told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Home values in the area have surged in the past year by about 40 percent, all while rising sea levels continue to damage houses and consume beaches
'We had a lot of people from the Bay Area who discovered Stinson for the first time and just fell in love with it,' Bird said.
Although many have flocked to the community to enjoy the outdoors, since the pandemic, there has been a 'huge increase' in people wanting to buy the costly homes there, Bird explained.
A home on Buena Vista Avenue sold in 2006 for $866,000, but in 2023, that same home sold for nearly $1.7million.
Another house on Dipsea Road previously sold in 1999 for $740,000, according to a Zillow listing, but in 2022, that same two-bedroom sold for $4.8million.
In 2000 the estimated value of a home in Stinson Beach was $688,000, but 24 years later, the value climbed to $1.3million.
The seaside town was established in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake . The natural disaster caused many refuges that started to build Stinson Beach
Coastal erosion has long been an issue for the beach town, but sea levels have dramatically risen over the years, causing a threat to most of Stinson Beach
The beach area's home values even surpassed ritzy California cities - including Cupertino and Sunnyvale - where homes were valued at about four-and-a-half times more than prices recorded in 2000.
Coastal erosion has long been an issue for the beach town, but sea levels have dramatically risen over the years, causing a threat to most of Stinson Beach.
In May 2023, Marin County planners predicted that as many as 600 homes in the area could end up underwater before the end of the century, KTVU reported.
A study revealed that by 2050 Highway 1, the road that takes people in and out of Stinson Beach, could face increased storm flooding if the sea level rises two feet.
That same report stated the Bolinas Lagoon, an estuary in the community, could be underwater by 2099.
In an effort to prevent flooding from taking over the area, officials have implemented a series of measures, including building sea walls, elevating homes above the ground, expanding sand dunes, and moving buildings out of dangerous areas.
Although rising sea levels have taken over the beach, homebuyers are still keen to take the risk, Bird said.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, who died on September 29, 2023, had a home in Stinson Beach (pictured), among other properties across the country
A study revealed that by 2050 Highway 1, the road that gets people in and out of Stinson Beach, could face increased storm flooding if the sea level rises two feet. (pictured: A bicyclist riding along Highway 1 in downtown Stinson Beach)
The realtor added that there are still some worries about the brutal climate change effects, but they believe in the county's leaders to save their expensive properties.
'Our clients aren't in the dark about this. I don't think anyone is … thinking it's going to go away,' Bird said.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, who died on September 29, 2023, owned a home in Stinson Beach, among other properties across the country.
Her $7.5million West Coast getaway in Marin County rivalled her views of the Bay in San Francisco with a Bolinas Lagoon vista, and added to her hefty $102million property fortune.
Feinstein's daughter claimed that the senator wanted to sell the Stinson Beach property after her billionaire second husband Richard Blum died, saying she would never visit it without him.
Katherine sued the marital trust in early 2023 as she claimed Blum's daughters were purposefully holding up the sale so they could continue using it.
According to an investigation by Politico, it appeared that the legal battle was being carried out almost entirely separately from Feinstein as she struggled with ailing health in her final years.
Meanwhile, new figures recently revealed that first-time buyers faced with rocketing house prices are paying more to get less.
In May 2023, Marin County planners predicted that as many as 600 homes in the area could end up underwater before the end of the century
In May homes in the area were estimated at $3.7million, but were previously valued at $688,000 in 2000
In the US, the price of the average home has jumped more than a third to $442,500 in the last five years. But the average size of those being sold has shrunk in the same period.
It means that buyers now need to pay 52.7 percent more than they would have in May 2019 for the same sized home, with a surge in working from home partly to blame.
'The price-per-square-foot metric is an important one to pay attention to,' Realtor.com senior economist Ralph McLaughlin said.
'The change in that metric is a more solid measure of how much more a home is worth over time than looking at changes in median list price.'
The trend can be seen nationwide but the worst-affected city is New York where it has increased 84.7 percent.
Boston, Massachusetts, has also seen it jump 72.9 percent, while it has shot up 68.9 percent in Nashville, Tennessee.