U.S. flood-zone properties carry $237 billion in unpriced risk. When that correction hits, low-income households lose roughly 10% of their home's value. The mortgage, of course, stays right where it is.
After the Camp Fire, Paradise home values halved and still trail the surrounding area by 44%. In the Eaton Fire zone, sales volume dropped 62% within a year. Selling means writing a check to cover the gap. Staying means absorbing insurance premiums compounding at 18% annually toward a target rate FEMA refuses to disclose. The trap is arithmetic, and it locks both ways.