Shutdown could delay 27% of Southern California home sales

Just what local house hunters need: another insurance headache.

A new report estimates that 27% of Southern California’s home sales could be at risk of closing delays as the U.S. government shutdown halts buyers from getting protection from the nation’s flood insurance program.

My trusty spreadsheet examined a report from HomeAbroad that combined stats from the National Flood Insurance Program and Redfin to approximate how many home sales might be slowed while the federally controlled insurer temporarily halts new policies.

By this math, Southern California’s six counties had a potential 3,300 of the 12,200 typical month’s sales requiring flood insurance. That’s 27% of all purchases facing a significant hurdle.

If you think that’s ugly, consider the nation’s 150 most-active county h