Why Sea-Facing Homes Might Be Losing Their Charm

At a time when urban planners suggest floating homes could be the answer to solve the developing world's housing problems, studies show the world at large might be starting to get sea-sick. Rising concerns over climate change and the deadly impact it might have on your life in the times to come is becoming a scary thought. 
 
Sample this.

Quoting a study by Nature Climate Change, a monthly journal with focus on climate change, Bloomberg reported that the swelling ocean may threaten the homes of up to 13.1 million coast-dwelling Americans by the end of this century.
 
"Rising sea levels are changing the way people think about waterfront real estate. Though demand remains strong and developers continue to build near the water in many coastal cities, homeowners across the nation (the US) are slowly growing wary of buying property in areas most vulnerable to the effects of climate change," says a New York Times report.
 
Many economists say that this reckoning needs to happen much faster and that home buyers urgently need to be better informed. Some analysts say the economic impact of a collapse in the waterfront property market could surpass that of the bursting dot-com and real estate bubbles of 2000 and 2008," the report adds.
 
Large-scale water-related tragedies are on the rise, and countries like Japan are having a hard time rebuilding themselves each time they are washed off by some or the other hurricane, earthquake, tsunami or typhoon.

Then there are regulatory issues, too. Closer home, if you invested in a sea-facing property in Mumbai, you have to be make sure your developer has all the regulatory clearances in place. In many cases, projects had to come down despite all clearances as their construction might be illegal on some or the other parameter. 

Even if the climate change is not a concern that bothers a common man like it does the champions of the climate cause, there are certain things to consider before one starts getting the goosebumps on the idea of owning a sea-facing home. Getting to watch the beautiful sunset every day and having a walk on the beach at your disposal, are things which would drive most of us. But then, there is a price to be paid for enjoying such luxuries.

• The upkeep of such a house is always going to be far costlier than a normal home. For instance, you will have to paint this home applying only a certain kind of paint. The wind would rust things like your car and electric switches and they would all need replacing time after time.
• As the humid is quite corrosive, your electronic items such as television and washing machine would wear out faster if you live in a sea-facing home.
• People with certain kinds of ailments will find it extremely difficult to live in a sea-facing home. People who have respiratory issues, for instance, will find it hard to keep well if they live in a sea-facing home.
• Let us also face the fact that a sea-facing home at the best can be your second-home or a vacation home. Permanently living here may not be as convenient in reality no matter how romantic it might look in your imagination.