Sinking land could cost some U.S. homeowners 8.1% of their home value

The reality is that the ground beneath many American cities is sinking. This natural and man-made phenomenon, known as land subsidence, can have a direct impact on home values ​​and put critical infrastructure like railroads and airports at risk. Fortunately, some of the subsidence can be reversed. “It’s not cheap and it’s not easy,” says Manouchehr Shirzai, a professor of geophysics and remote sensing at Virginia Tech. “But we have tools in our toolbox that can do this and see results in months or years.”