Widespread flooding may have presented a bittersweet opportunity for Houston homeowners. Those with undamaged homes suddenly have valuable properties.
Bloomberg reports that Hurricane Harvey, which hit the Gulf Coast late last month, has reset Houston’s housing market. The sprawling metro had recently become an attractive, affordable destination, but the storm and flooding will shift things a bit.
Out-of-state developers snatching up damaged Houston properties at a discount, with plans to rebuild and renovate and eventually flip for a profit. New home sales may suffer, because the labor market is tight and building materials are expensive. Some landlords are freezing rent prices, but rents tend to rise after natural disasters, pushing out the working-class and low-income households.
Bloomberg spoke with a homeowner that is planning to sell his $1.18 million, three-bedroom house, which sits on elevated ground and did not suffer damage from the hurricane.
“For those that did not get flooded, I think it’s going to make it a high-value commodity,” he said. “I’m kind of holding my breath to see what happens here.”
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