Seaside Living

Many of us love living by the water. The vast majority of people live near water. As residents of the North Shore, we are all relatively close to the ocean and can enjoy all of the benefits that seaside living has to offer. The closer to the water that a home is, the prettier the view, assuming that it does not look directly at a power plant (which is changing soon enough in Salem). It also provides for easier access to beaches and the summer activities associated with beaches. Seaside living is generally attractive to most people, and many families are willing to pay a premium to live close to the ocean. All one needs to do is look at the property values for homes along the water to get a sense of how much more people are willing to pay.

There are additional concerns for us, though, and this extends far beyond the traffic caused by beach-goers in the summer. First and foremost is the increased chance of damage done to a property, specifically flooding. While national flood policy is still being debated, we should keep in mind that seaside living does come at an additional cost, namely in required flood insurance which can run into the thousands of dollar annually. It is enough to actually prevent people from affording a home by the ocean. 

If you have any real estate- related questions, feel free to contact me at ryan.guilmartin@gmail.com or 617-852-0040. Happy house hunting!