Kevin O'Leary argues recent hurricanes won't stop people from moving to Florida
Back-to-back destructive hurricanes crossing over the Sunshine State are not enough to cast a shadow on its housing market, according to Kevin O’Leary.
"I live in Florida… Listen, we have lived with bad weather forever. This is hurricane season. This is a particularly bad hurricane season. But what drives Florida is great policy on tax, great business regulatory environments," the "Shark Tank" star and O’Leary Ventures chairman said Thursday on "Varney & Co." on the heels of Hurricane Milton barreling its way through the state.
Milton made landfall Wednesday evening near Siesta Key as a Category 3 storm, churning winds up to 120 mph. As of Thursday morning, more than 3 million people in Florida are without power and more than 10 inches of rain has fallen so far in some parts of Florida, with an additional 8 to 12 inches of rain possible in many areas.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Thursday that officials are still analyzing damage from the storm, as well as any fatalities.
O’Leary seemed to dismiss concerns around insurance costs and property taxes being affected by the natural disasters — though some insurance providers have pulled coverage in recent years — echoing the same sentiment as Florida’s finance chief earlier this week.
"You've got lots of jobs there. You've got all these guys from New York and New Jersey and Massachusetts moving there, moving their financial services companies because of the punitive tax regimes of those states," he said.
However, celebrity real estate broker Ryan Serhant reacted to the damage following Hurricane Helene which hit Florida on Sept. 26, and called Florida’s insurance market "$34 billion of bad," as costs for Florida homeowners surged nearly 20% between 2021 and 2023, with an additional 6% expected before the year’s end, data from Insurify shows.
ABC's "Shark Tank" stars Kevin O'Leary.
"It's one of the greatest insurance crises that we'll see, I think, in a very, very long time," the SERHANT. CEO and founder previously said. "What's more frightening to me is that only 2 to 4% of homeowners actually have flood insurance. If you get it through the National Flood Insurance Program, it's $1,000 a year on top of all of your other costs. So it's a travesty."
But for O’Leary, the year-round tropical climate and sunshine is "the one thing that matters most."
"There comes a point in your life when you're just too old to be cold, and you want to be warm. I like to wear flip-flops. I walk on the beach every day. I ride my bike 12 miles. Listen, I can't get that anywhere else. I'm a Miami dude," he said.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis also told host Stuart Varney on Tuesday that the state’s insured losses could reach $20 billion, and assured residents that "if your home is not as [valuable] as it was pre-storm, then you should be paying taxes on a home that was not harmed. So if your home was harmed, you will have a discount."
Fox News and FOX Weather staff contributed to this report.