New Zealand Homebuyers in Denial as Beach Allure Beats Rising Oceans
New Zealand’s dramatic coastline is hugged by some of the nation’s most expensive real estate — properties that show no sign of losing their value even as sea levels rise, flooding increases and insurance retreat begins.
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Belinda Storey finds visits to her family’s seaside holiday home in New Zealand increasingly unsettling.
The house, built by her father using timber milled from their farm, sits just meters from a pristine white-sand beach on the fringes of the Pacific Ocean. It’s one of her favorite places. But for the climate economist, it’s also a reminder that the nation is in denial about rising sea levels.