Personal Finance
How to make your home hurricane resistant amid climate change
Ryersonclark | E+ | Getty Images
Making your home hurricane resistant can be a significant financial undertaking. But it’s one that has the potential to pay off as such storms become more intense amid climate change.
In 2024, the national average cost to upgrade an entire house with hurricane windows runs between $1,128 and $10,293, or $100 and $500 per window, including installation, according to This Old House. And that’s just one project.
Upgrades could help consumers protect their home, typically one of their most valuable assets, from windstorms and other natural disasters.
About $8.1 billion could be saved annually in physical damages from windstorms if homes had stronger connections between roofs and walls, or tighter nail spacing, according to a 2022 analysis on hurricane-resistant construction by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
‘Now’s the time to prepare’
Hurricanes are among the most expensive natural disasters in the U.S., and experts say the storm-related damage is likely to become more significant as storms become more severe.
Some of the projected effects of global warming on hurricane activity include sea level rise increasing coastal flooding, higher rainfall rates and storms that are more intense and strengthen rapidly, according to a research overview from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory.
“Warmer sea surface temperatures intensify tropical storm wind speeds, giving them the potential to deliver more damage if they make landfall,” notes the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, a think tank.
Projections from reinsurer Swiss Re show that since the 1970s, hurricane residential-loss expectations have been on the rise, in part due to an increase in hurricane activity and changes in property value from population growth. Improvements in building standards have offset some of that increase, however.
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Scientists anticipate an “extremely active” hurricane season in 2024 due to record-warm tropical and eastern subtropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures, according to hurricane researchers at Colorado State University.
The latest forecast calls for 23 named storms, 11 of which are slated to spiral into hurricanes. Of those, five are expected to reach “major” levels, or category 3, 4 or 5 storms with sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour.
This year, the water temperature across the tropical Atlantic on average are about 1 degree Celsius, or 1.5 to 2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal. While it doesn’t sound like much, it’s a big difference, said Phil Klotzbach, a senior research scientist at the Department of Atmospheric Science of Colorado State University.
“The tropical Atlantic right now is record warm,” he said. “That means more fuel for the storms that are trying to form.”
While atmospheric and water conditions may change, it’s wise for residents of storm-prone areas to think about undertaking home projects sooner rather than later.
“Now’s the time to prepare and have a plan in place,” said Klotzbach. “You don’t want to be making these preparations at the last minute.”
Hurricane resistance is about preventing ‘pressurization’
Hurricanes are different and unpredictable storms, said Jeff Ostrowski, a housing analyst at Bankrate.
“You don’t know if you’re going to be dealing with storm surge, or high winds or heavy rains. You’re trying to prepare for all those things at once,” he said.
It’s like a balloon that blows up, and when it blows up so much … it pops.
Leslie Chapman-Henderson
president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes
There are two key elements in your home to help prevent wind-related damage in a hurricane, according to Leslie Chapman-Henderson, president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, or FLASH. You want to:
- Make sure the structural strength between the roof and the wall can withstand wind pressure and impact of debris.
- Protect all the openings in your home: the doors, windows and the garage.
“What we’re working to prevent is pressurization. It’s like a balloon that blows up, and when it blows up so much … it pops,” she said. “That’s what happens to your house when the wind comes in.”
Ways to make your home more hurricane resistant
1. Have an inspector assess your house
Having an inspector come out to see your house is a good starting point for your projects. They will provide a report of what areas in your home need to be redone or reinforced against harsh weather.
2. Reinforce your roof
The average cost to replace a roof in the U.S. is about $10,000, but the exact cost will depend on multiple factors, like the size of your roof, according to the Department of Energy.
For someone getting ready to re-roof their house, Fortified, a nonprofit organization re-roofing program that helps strengthen homes against severe weather, will offer guidelines on how to make the roof sturdy to withstand challenges in your area, said Jennifer Languell, president and founder of Trifecta Construction Solutions, a sustainable consulting firm in Florida.
“It tells you want you need to do to make your roof more sturdy,” she said.
If you’re not ready to completely re-roof your house, adding caulk or an adhesive to strengthen the soffits of your house (that is, the material connecting the roof edge to the exterior walls) will reduce the probability of wind and water gushing into your attic in a storm, said Chapman-Henderson of FLASH. Repair jobs for the soffit and fascia, a horizontal board usually outside the soffit, can cost between $600 to $6,000, according to Angi.com.
The roof-to-wall connection is another thing to secure in an existing home with an attic. Installing metal clips and straps strengthens the hold-down effect, essentially anchoring your house, she said. While the exact cost will depend on factors like the size of your home and the scale of the project, such retrofitting costs span from $850 to $1,350, according to Kin, a home insurance company.
You can do all this stuff in terms of hardening the house, but you’re still kind of at the mercy of whatever storm comes.
Jeff Ostrowski
housing analyst at Bankrate
3. Secure your windows and doors
“Do you have hurricane-impact windows? If not, can you put them in?” said Melissa Cohn, regional vice president of William Raveis Mortgage.
If installing new hurricane windows aren’t in the budget, shutters are lower-cost options to protect windows and other openings, said Chapman-Henderson.
Different types of shutters vary by material, installation and price. Removable galvanized storm panels made of steel are $5 to $6 per square foot, making them the most affordable option, according to information compiled by FLASH.
It may be worth installing shutters as an extra layer of protection, even with impact-proof windows, said Trifecta Construction Solutions’ Languell.
Meanwhile, garage doors are the “largest and weakest opening,” said Chapman-Henderson. Replacing the entire garage door for a wind-rated or impact-resistant version can span from $2,000 to $9,000, according to FLASH.
Emergency bracings can be a lower-cost solution: temporary 2-by-4 wood braces can reinforce your nonwind-resistant door for approximately $150 for materials and installation. A garage door storm kit can run up to $750, FLASH data found.
“You can do all this stuff in terms of hardening the house, but you’re still kind of at the mercy of whatever storm comes,” said Bankrate’s Ostrowski.
4. Talk to your insurer about possible discounts
Strengthening your home against disasters may help lower your insurance cost.
Insurers typically factor in natural-disaster risks when deciding what properties to underwrite and at what cost. That’s why some are pulling back in high-risk areas, or raising prices significantly.
Insurance costs also tend to be higher for existing homes than newly built ones, because such properties were constructed under less stringent building codes.
Once you have an inspector visit your house and recommend projects to make your home more hurricane resistant, talk to your insurance agent about which of the suggestions are most likely to reduce your premium, Ostrowski said.
Keep in mind that each state is different in terms of what premium reductions are available and to what extent, and it depends on the risks, the company’s exposure and the regulatory environment, said Loretta Worters, a spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute.
Homeowners’ insurance premium rates are based on measurable risk and while mitigation efforts might help reduce the risk, the scientific measurement of catastrophe risk and mitigation efforts is still evolving, she said.
“All analysis of premium pricing related to mitigation efforts is a question of degree of risk, and not removal of risk entirely from the policy,” Worters said.
Grants, financing can help mitigate costs
If the cost to prepare your home against hurricanes is daunting, there may be grants, tax credits and other programs to help lessen the burden.
Some states have set up matching grant programs for disaster retrofits, said Chapman-Henderson.
In Florida, residents may be eligible to apply for matching grants that go up to $10,000 dollar-for-dollar match for approved upgrades like shutters, roofing and strengthening your garage door roof-to-wall connections, she said. There are similar programs in Alabama and Louisiana.
To find out more, homeowners can search for loans, grants or tax credits available in their state through dsireusa.org, which lists all of the funding opportunities and incentives to harden your home against disasters, Languell said.
For people with poor credit or who live in states that don’t have matching-dollar programs, Property Assessed Clean Energy programs allow a homeowner to finance upfront costs of eligible improvements on a property and pay the costs over time through the property tax bill, said Chapman-Henderson.
Energy-efficient mortgages, also referred to as green mortgages, may also be worth exploring. These loans are meant to help homeowners finance eco-friendly home upgrades or outright buy homes that help reduce energy consumption and lower utility bills, although they often have strict loan limits and require additional information during your application, according to LendingTree.
Depending on your hurricane-resistance project, that might be a fit: Sometimes, energy efficiency goes hand-in-hand with durability, Languell said.
“Sealing the underside of your roof sheathing would also help you from an energy standpoint because it’s sealing all the cracks and crevices,” she said, as this repair both keeps your roof on your house and helps avoid water or air leaks.
The same goes with window replacements: “If you are going to replace your windows from a single-pane window to an impact window that has a better energy performance, it’s saving you on energy,” Languell said.
In this new series, CNBC will examine what climate change means for your money, from retirement savings to insurance costs to career outlook.
Has climate change left you with bigger or new bills? Tell us about your experience by emailing [email protected].
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at the conclusion of its policy meeting on Wednesday.
In what could be Jerome Powell’s last as chair before President Donald Trump’s yet-to-be-confirmed nominee Kevin Warsh takes the helm, central bankers maintained the federal funds rate in a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%.
Inflation has surged since the war with Iran began, leaving policymakers with limited room to act, according to Sean Snaith, the director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Forecasting. “We’re in a kind of suspended animation — between Iran and the Fed transition,” Snaith said.
Before the oil shock, inflation was holding above the Fed’s 2% target but not worsening. Now the jump in energy costs could have longer-term inflationary effects, economists say.
For Americans struggling in the face of higher gas prices and overall affordability challenges, the central bank’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged does little to ease budgetary pressures. “The cavalry isn’t coming anytime soon,” Snaith said.
How the Fed decision impacts you
The Fed’s benchmark sets what banks charge each other for overnight lending, but also has a trickle-down effect on many consumer borrowing and savings rates.
Short-term rates are more closely pegged to the prime rate, which is typically 3 percentage points above the federal funds rate. Longer-term rates, such as home loans, are more influenced by inflation and other economic factors.
Credit cards
Most credit cards have a short-term rate, so they track the Fed’s benchmark.
After the Fed cut rates three times in the second half of 2025, the average annual percentage rate has stayed just under 20%, according to Bankrate.
“Without Fed rate cuts, there’s not much reason to expect meaningful declines anytime soon, so carrying a balance will remain very expensive,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree.
Mortgage rates
Fixed mortgage rates, on the other hand, don’t directly track the Fed but typically follow the lead of long-term Treasury rates.
Concerns about how the Iran war will impact the U.S. economy have already pushed the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage up to 6.38% as of Tuesday, from 5.99% at the end of February, according to Mortgage News Daily.
That leaves homeowners with existing low mortgage rates “feeling stuck,” said Michele Raneri, vice president and head of U.S. research and consulting at TransUnion. “Mortgages, more than any other credit type, work on a churn,” she said, referring to how a dip in rates can boost borrowing activity.
Student loans
Federal student loan rates are also fixed and based in part on the 10-year Treasury note, so most borrowers are somewhat shielded from Fed moves and recent economic uncertainty.
Current interest rates on undergraduate federal student loans made through June 30 are 6.39%, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Interest rates for the upcoming school year will be based in part on the May auction of the 10-year note.
Car loans
Auto loan rates are tied to several factors, including the Fed’s benchmark. Because financing costs remain elevated, new car buyers are taking on longer loans to keep their monthly payments manageable, according to the latest data from Edmunds.
Even so, with the rate on a five-year new car loan near 7%, the average monthly payment on a new car rose to $773 in the first quarter of 2026, an all-time high.
“Car buyers are in a tough spot right now because they’re getting squeezed from both ends: high sticker prices and high interest rates, with neither showing any signs of letting up,” said Joseph Yoon, consumer insights analyst at Edmunds.
“Until the rate picture shifts, buyers will keep stretching loan terms to make payments work, which only adds to the total cost of ownership down the road,” Yoon said.
Savings rates
While the Fed has no direct influence on deposit rates, the yields tend to be correlated with changes in the target federal funds rate. So, although rates on certificates of deposit and high-yield savings accounts have fallen from recent highs, they are holding above the annual rate of inflation.
For now, top-yielding online savings accounts and one-year CD rates pay around 4%, according to Bankrate.
“Yields on high-yield savings accounts and certificates of deposit are down from their peaks of a few years ago, but they’re still strong compared to what we’ve seen for most of the past decade,” Schulz said.
Milan Markovic | E+ | Getty Images
The average tax refund is 11.2% higher this season, compared with about the same period in 2025, according to the latest IRS filing data.
As of April 10, the average refund amount for individual filers was $3,397, up from $3,055 about one year ago, the IRS reported on Friday.
The IRS data reflects about 114 million individual returns received, out of about 164 million expected through Tax Day. Next week’s filing update is expected to include data through the April 15 deadline.
President Donald Trump‘s 2025 legislation, rebranded to the “working families tax cuts,” was a key talking point for Republicans on Tax Day.
With the November midterm elections approaching and Republicans defending slim majorities in Congress, many GOP lawmakers have highlighted Trump’s tax breaks and higher average refunds.
Meanwhile, affordability has been top of mind for many Americans amid rising costs of gas, electricity, food and other living expenses.
For filers who expected a refund this season, nearly one-quarter, or 23%, planned to use the funds to pay down credit card debt, and the same share said they would save the payment, according to the CNBC and SurveyMonkey Quarterly Money Survey, released in April. It polled 3,494 U.S. adults at the end of March.
Who benefited from Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’
“It’s been a great tax season for the American people,” many of whom have benefited from Trump’s tax breaks, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a White House press briefing on Wednesday.
More than 53 million filers claimed at least one of Trump’s “signature new tax cuts” — the deductions for tip income, overtime earnings, seniors and auto loan interest — the Department of the Treasury also announced on Wednesday.
Those filers, who claimed the deductions on Schedule 1-A, have seen an average tax cut of over $800, according to the Treasury. Tax cuts can trigger a higher refund or reduce taxes owed, depending on the filer’s situation.
Some filers who itemize tax breaks have also seen benefits from the bigger federal deduction limit for state and local taxes, known as SALT. Trump’s legislation raised that cap to $40,000, up from $10,000, for 2025.
The latest SALT deduction limit change is expected to primarily benefit higher earners, according to a May 2025 analysis of various proposals from the Tax Foundation.
The Treasury has not released data on how many filers have claimed the SALT deduction during the 2026 filing season.
Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on April 16, 2026.
NYSE
U.S. stocks climbed to record highs on Thursday against a backdrop of war, an oil supply shock and economic forecasts warning of stunted growth amid a protracted conflict.
Many investors may be thinking: Why?
Largely, it’s because the stock market is a barometer of what investors think will happen in the future, rather than an assessment of the present day, according to economists and market analysts.
Investors are essentially shrugging off the Middle East conflict as a blip that will be resolved relatively quickly, they said.
“The stock market isn’t trying to price what’s happening today,” said Joe Seydl, a senior markets economist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. “The stock market is always trying to price what the world is going to look like six to 12 months from now.”
Why stocks have been ‘resilient’
The S&P 500, a U.S. stock index, fell about 8% in the initial weeks of the Iran war, from the start of the conflict on Feb. 28 to a recent low on March 30.
But stocks have rebounded since then, erasing all losses since the beginning of the war. The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high on Thursday — about 11% higher than its nadir at the end of March. That followed a record close on Wednesday.
“The market has remained very resilient in the face of the war and has rallied strongly on the prospect that it will be resolved,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s.
A ship waits to pass through the Strait of Hormuz following the two-week temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran, which is conditional on the opening of the strait, in Oman on April 8, 2026.
Shady Alassar | Anadolu | Getty Images
And while investors cheered the possibility of a diplomatic off-ramp to the conflict, the temporary ceasefire has appeared tenuous, with the U.S. and Iran each accusing the other of breaking the agreement.
Nations haven’t been able to reach a peace deal ahead of the ceasefire’s end. Vice President JD Vance said U.S. officials left peace talks in Pakistan over the weekend after the Iranian delegation refused to agree to American demands not to develop a nuclear weapon.
The markets ‘have memory’
Ultimately, the stock market is signaling a collective belief that tensions will ratchet down, the war will end in the near term and oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz will normalize, economists said.
That’s largely because investors have been conditioned to believe that President Donald Trump will back off if the economic pain becomes too intense, economists said — the so-called “TACO” trade, shorthand for “Trump always chickens out.”
“Investors strongly believe — and have been conditioned to believe — he’s going to stand down, find a way to pivot, declare victory and move on,” Zandi said.
Trump has pushed back on the notion of backing down, framing his brinkmanship as a savvy negotiating tactic.
Economists pointed to a recent example of this dynamic: in April 2025 during so-called liberation day, when the Trump administration levied a host of tariffs on U.S. trading partners.
Within days — after the stock market had cratered more than 12% — Trump announced a 90-day pause on those tariffs. Stocks then saw one of their biggest daily rallies in history following Trump’s reversal.
Investors remember that Trump often de-escalates geopolitical shocks — which is why they’ve seized on positive headlines that hint at progress in peace talks, for example, Seydl said.
“The markets have memory,” Seydl said.
AI stocks and the ‘tech boom’
Traders celebrating at the New York Stock Exchange on April 15, 2026, as the S&P 500 closed above the 7,000 level for the first time.
NYSE
There are other factors underpinning market resilience during wartime, economists said.
One is the investors’ enthusiasm for artificial intelligence and technology stocks, which account for almost half of the S&P 500’s market capitalization, Zandi said.
“Those stocks run on their own dynamic independent of anything, including the war in Iran,” Zandi said. “I think we would have been down a lot more and it would have been harder for us to recover had it not been for the very, very optimistic perspectives on AI.”
We’re in the middle of a “tech boom” — and investors are likely to remain optimistic until they think the tech cycle has run its course, Seydl said.
More broadly, stock investors are essentially making a bet on the future earnings growth of a company — and the earnings backdrop has been “pretty solid,” Seydl said.
Consumer spending appears to be stable, for example, economists said. And companies are getting a boost to their after-tax earnings from the GOP’s so-called “big beautiful bill,” which, among other things, made it easier to write off investments upfront and therefore reduce their tax liability, Zandi said.
Going forward
Experts said there will be an economic hit from the Iran war, though.
“Despite the recent news of a temporary ceasefire, some damage is already done, and the downside risks remain elevated,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, director of research at the International Monetary Fund, wrote Tuesday.
A protracted conflict risks deep and global economic pain, he wrote.
Even if the conflict is short-lived — as the broad market expects — stocks are unlikely to march much higher until it’s clear the U.S. is on the other side of the war and its economic fallout, Zandi said.
If investors are incorrect, and President Trump doesn’t back down or quickly extricate the U.S. from the war, the stock market may see a “full-blown correction” or worse, Zandi said. A stock market correction is a decline of at least 10% from recent highs.
“Everyone thinks they know what the script is,” Zandi said. “Now they just need to follow the script. If they don’t, the market will have some real problems.”
The uncertainty provides yet another example of why the average investor with a long time horizon should stick to their investment plan and ignore the noise, experts said.
“Trying to time the market is very difficult if not impossible for the average investor,” Seydl said. “It’s better to take a long-term perspective and ride out bouts of volatility.”
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