RealtyTrac: 55 Percent of US Homes Are in Areas of High Risk for Natural Disaster Written by Reid Rosenthal on June 24, 2014 · Have a comment? More than half of the country’s homes are located in counties at a high risk of hurricanes, tornados and earthquakes, according to a study from housing research firm RealtyTrac. A total of 8 percent of homes are in “very high risk” areas, while 47 percent are in “high risk” areas. A total of 23 percent are in “medium risk” areas, 19 percent are in “low risk” areas and 3 percent are in “very low risk” areas. Interestingly enough, the median price for homes in counties at high risk of natural disaster rose 34 percent in the five years through April, compared with a 23 percent increase for homes in counties at a low or very low risk of natural disaster. “The higher median home prices in many counties with a high risk for natural disaster indicates that other location-based factors, such as weather and access to jobs, override concerns about home damage as a result of earthquakes, tornados and hurricanes,” Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, said in a statement. Overall, the housing market has shown signs of weakness in recent months. Housing starts fell 6.5 percent in May. That’s not the kind of number that will push the Federal Reserve to tighten policy faster, economists say. “[The] data does not provide the kind of assurances that the Fed would like to see,” Diane Swonk, chief economist of Mesirow Financial, told USA Today. “The housing market remains a question mark, as it is not able to gain the traction the Fed expected to see by this time in the economic cycle.” View original article here.