In a study, 3,000 U.S. counties were indexed based on risk of six natural hazards – such as earthquakes, floods, hail, and hurricane storm surge. The research showed that median home prices in the first 6 months of 2016 are up 9.5% from the same time period 10 years ago in the counties with the lowest level of natural hazard risk, compared to a 1.9% increase in the highest-risk counties. Home sales are also twice as strong in the low risk countries. Among the larger counties (at least 5,000 home sales in the first 6 months of 2016), Maricopa County, Arizona (The Phoenix-Scottsdale-Mesa metro area) was one of the 5 lowest risk counties. In contrast, 2 Florida counties were in the top 5 natural hazard risk areas. So this data may mean that home buyers and investors have increasingly decided to opt for the Phoenix metro area over Florida.
