How is this issue affected by rising sea levels? I'd think that those beaches are doomed anyway and not even sea walls are going to save those houses.
In the long term, you are probably quite correct. In the short term though, the sea-walls give an impression of safety and protection, allowing the owners to sell their properties at great profit before the values collapse. Here in New Zealand, waterfront property owners have been making legal attempts to block authorities from placing warning notices in the Land Information Memorandum (LIM) documents. These LIM docu…
Here in Washington we have a lot of houses built far too close to bluffs, and the trees on those bluffs cut down because they block the amazing view. The views are amazing for a couple of decades. Then the bluff erodes far enough that the house is condemned.
Seattle has a special example called Perkins Lane. It is a beautiful, almost idyllic little street looking out over the water. It is also used in civil engineering classes as an example because it has every possible kind of landslide, and half the lots on it have ceased to exist over the past century. They're just water. You still see new houses being built there.