From Tampa to Naples, the state’s Gulf Coast has become a national real estate hot spot with its alluring beaches and relative affordability compared to larger cities.

“For a lot of the people, whether they’re remote workers looking at the west coast of Florida as an affordability move or looking for another type of lifestyle or climate, this just has to change that calculus,” said Thomas LaSalvia, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics.

While some may be reconsidering Florida out of fear for their safety, Peter Rex, a real estate investor who has bought and sold apartments along the Gulf Coast, said others are more focused on the financial implications of the storm.

While housing demand may dip immediately after the storm, FAU researchers said Ian’s destruction will put construction behind and could further raise rents near landfall areas over the years.

“In the long run, people still will want to live in Florida, increasing demand dramatically,” said FAU economist Ken H.

Despite the challenges the Gulf Coast faces, Budge Huskey, President and CEO of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty in Naples, said he is confident the region will bounce back just as it did after Hurricane Charley in 2004 and Irma in 2017.

“Any time you elect to live along the Florida coast, you know you are taking on a risk,” Huskey said, adding that the most risk-averse buyers probably weren’t the ones moving here in the first place.

Some investors may even use the storm as a chance to gain a foothold in the market said Milton Bernal, who works for real estate firm New Western in their Fort Myers office.

Tampa historian Rodney Kite-Powell said Tampa’s business leaders were quick to say the storm was just a speed bump.

Despite a storm surge of 11 feet, investment into Florida kept pouring in.

The storm sped up the bust already underway, Kite-Powell said.

Though Huskey said the market may cool slightly over the next couple of months, “it really is just a matter of time before things return to normal.”?