Hurricane Helene could impact nearly 162,000 commercial properties
- June 18, 2025
- Posted by: Web workers
- Category: Finance
Nearly 162,000 commercial real estate properties, with a total estimated value of $425.9 billion, are in the direct path of Hurricane Helene, according to an analysis released Thursday by credit ratings agency Moody’s.
Helene is strengthening and expected to make landfall as a Category 3 major hurricane or higher in the Big Bend region of Florida later Thursday.
Moody’s said 161,849 commercial real estate properties in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have a greater than 50% probability of being exposed to wind speeds of at least 50 miles per hour — the speed at which some damage is likely.
Major metropolitan areas in Florida with substantial commercial property values in Hurricane Helene’s projected path include Tampa, with $79.7 billion; Saint Petersburg, with $30.5 billion; Sarasota, with $17.1 billion; Tallahassee, with $18.7 billion; and Gainesville with $7.0 billion in potential exposure.
Multifamily/apartment buildings in the direct path of Helene have the highest estimated value at $173.8 billion, followed by retail properties at $100.4 billion, industrial at $65.7 billion, office buildings at $57.9 billion, and hotels at $28.1 billion.
A total of 61,451 retail; 35,179 office; 33,606 multifamily/apartment buildings; 28,703 industrial and 2,910 hotels are potentially exposed, Moody’s said.
Helene is currently a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of near 110 miles per hour. The most recent forecast from the National Hurricane Center calls for a significant increase in forward speed during the next 24 hours.
Helene’s fast forward speed will allow strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, to impact inland areas across the southeastern United States. Catastrophic storm surge of up to 20 feet is possible in parts of the Big Bend region, the NHC said.
Helene is a very large hurricane, with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 60 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 345 miles, the NHC said.
