How Natural Disasters Influence CRE Participants’ Decisions

Climate change and the increase in natural disasters occurring as a result are increasingly on the minds of those in the commercial real estate industry. Extreme weather events like wildfires, severe storms, flooding, earthquakes, and droughts have the potential to not only damage, but completely destroy real estate assets and in fact, they often do. Certain areas of the United States are more prone to natural disasters; notwithstanding this, many real estate investors and developers continue to remain active in areas with a high risk of exposure to natural disasters. In this article, partner Julian Wise and former Schulte lawyer Erin Chizner discuss the impact of these natural disasters on commercial real estate and how investors, lenders and developers are responding.