Home replacement costs up

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - With inflation impacting the housing market across the country rebuilding a home after a natural disaster could prove costly.

Brian Baber is a franchisee of Arthur Rutenberg Homes. He says with the rising costs, upping homeowner insurance coverage is vital.

“If you haven’t talked to your insurance company within the last two years, you need to raise your policy,” said Baber. “The chances are if you had a catastrophic event in your home, it would not be enough to rebuild your home.”

One of the leading causes of those price hikes is material shortages.

“We’ve seen cost increase from everywhere from windows, sliding glass doors, cabinets, countertops, really just everything that goes into a house the cost have increased a lot of that happened during covid and we expected to see that to level off which it did pretty much this year. Things like garage doors, and cabinets and countertops those things have continued to rise, and they haven’t gone back down.”

In Bay County labor shortages are another factor impacting replacement costs.

“One of the unique things we’re faced with in the panhandle is really the trade base,” Baber said. “We’re still dealing with a labor shortage. We don’t have that many labor subcontractors in our market.”

Hutt Insurance Agency President Trey Hutt says having the proper amount of coverage could be a lifesaver for your pocket.

“What we all learned in Hurricane Michael is it can happen to us,” Hutt said. “If you built a home for $250,0000 and now it’s going to cost more than 300,000 we have that hurricane you’re going to run short $50,000 plus your deductible plus some other expenses that may not be covered and that’s an awfully big hit to take.”

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