Beach homes are sooo last decade.
Today, the hottest commodities in the world of warm-weather real estate are… lagoon homes.
Like summer homes built on the coast, lagoon homes feature sandy beaches and sparkling blue water.
But unlike coastal beach houses, lagoon homes aren’t threatened by the risks of flooding and storm damage that come with an increasingly volatile climate.
And real estate developers are pouring lots of money into lagoons
One of the pioneering lagoon developers is a company called Crystal Lagoons, which built its first lagoon developments in South America and the Middle East. But in the last few years, Crystal Lagoons built 5 lagoon communities in Florida and Texas.
The lagoonification process goes like this: First, the company builds a huge artificial lagoon — as big as 8 acres — in an inland location.
Then, the company builds hundreds — sometimes more than a thousand — vacation homes along the banks of their newly created waterfront.
And these lagoons are coming to… Pittsburgh?
That’s right: These lagoons aren’t all in warm-weather locales. Crystal Lagoons plans to open a development in Pennsylvania.
These developments are cheaper to build than golf courses, and since they often allow developers to charge a roughly 10% premium over comparable homes, they’ve become incredibly popular for builders.
They’re popular among buyers, too.
“The thing with real beaches is, you got to pay flood insurance,” one lagoon homeowner explained to CNBC. “I don’t have to pay flood insurance in the middle of Florida here, so it’s a lot cheaper.”
And lagoons are (relatively) climate-proof
Lagoon homes are also attractive because they’re a safer investment — for builders and buyers — than coastal homes, which are susceptible to storm damage.
In the event of a storm, lagoon water levels can be lowered to prevent flooding. A not-so-insignificant bonus? Lagoons also use 30x less water than golf courses.
