University of Michigan and other colleges/university throughout the country are welcoming students who are enrolled in colleges/universities damaged by Katrina.
realtors/speculators - need a hot market?
- Thread starter FoX
- Start date
-
Trouble logging in? Send us a message with your username and/or email address for help.
Paula said:
Isn't this AWESOME? I just read that Mizzou has welcomed some Tulane students and may even waive some fees! It's happening all over this great land!
Smiling JOe said:
Yep. And we still expect to get the after Labor Day rush too that is not associated with Hurricane Katrina.
Markets near hurricane-affected areas see boom
GULF COAST -- Sept. 8, 2005 -- Just a week after Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast, rental property is all but gone and for-sale listings are disappearing rapidly in cities close to the affected areas in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.
People who were displaced by the hurricane have quickly moved to nearby locales where they can rebuild their lives, but those who didn't move fast enough face dwindling inventory.
"LaFayette?s housing supply is going fast," says Mary Jane Bauer, association executive for the LaFayette (La.) Board of Realtors which is about 130 miles from New Orleans. "The rental market disappeared in a couple of days. Commercial space is at a premium."
The multiple listing service (MLS) there did about six weeks worth of business in one week, according to Steven Hebert, chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Pelican in Lafayette. "The MLS averages about 313 sold units a month. In a week, we sold 262 units. And by the end of the first week, almost all commercial inventory was off the market as companies look for warehouse and industrial space."
Baton Rouge, La., 80 miles from New Orleans, is seeing multiple bidding, which it hadn?t before the hurricane, says Herb Gomez, association executive with the Baton Rouge Association of Realtors. "Before we had a steady market with 8 percent to 10 percent increase in sales a year. We expected to be flat this year. That?s not going to happen." Gomez says that last week there were 2,000 vacant apartment units, according to a local apartment association. This week there are none.
Although he doesn?t have statistics, he suspects commercial space is moving swiftly, too. "By the time practitioners faxed listing sheets on 30 commercial properties in response to an inquiry, the properties were already leased," he says. "Law firms and banks are leasing space for their displaced workers. And adjusters and insurance people need long-term temporary space."
Linda Moore, association executive for the Shreveport (La.) Association of Realtors, says the rental and for-sale momentum is now reaching that market, which is about 330 miles north of New Orleans. And it?s not stopping there.
The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported that companies in and around New Orleans are reaching out as far as Houston and Dallas for office space. In Meridian, Miss., about 170 miles from Biloxi, where electricity and phones were still coming back on line this week, the Meridian boards association executive Laura Miller says rentals are tight and people are looking for manufactured housing. For now, this activity is good news for the region.
What worries practitioners and association executives is what happens if and when the inventory dries up? "What does that do to your ability to sell?" asks Bauer, whose son rehabs old homes in New Orleans. He and his wife are now living with her. "Of course, builders will be building quickly."
Hebert says the pace may not die down soon since the flurry of buying has spawned locals already in market to put their homes up for sale, too. "We have a healthy market here anyway; there?s a good appetite among local buyers." Has the buying frenzy led to gouging? Practitioners and AEs say they?re only aware of a few anecdotal cases. "I heard that one practitioner was asked to raise the price on a listing, but the practitioner refused," Hebert says.
He adds that most homes are selling right at list price although some new listings are priced too high. Some markets are welcoming their displaced brethren from New Orleans and elsewhere. "We?re waiving the new-member fee and MLS fees for 90 days for Realtors who want to enter this market and affiliate with a broker who?s here," Bauer says. She says about a dozen practitioners have expressed interest.
Gomez says his board of directors would be meeting to decide about similar waivers. Hebert believes people eventually will go back to their homes in devastated areas. "I?d want to get back to my hometown," he says. "That would be my first preference. But the decision will depend on what employers do. If your employer says, ?You?re employed with me as long as you want to be, but your job is now in Baton Rouge or Houston,? the decision may be made for you."
Source: REALTOR? Magazine Online, Christina Hoffmann Spira, Sept. 7, 2005
? 2005 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
GULF COAST -- Sept. 8, 2005 -- Just a week after Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast, rental property is all but gone and for-sale listings are disappearing rapidly in cities close to the affected areas in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.
People who were displaced by the hurricane have quickly moved to nearby locales where they can rebuild their lives, but those who didn't move fast enough face dwindling inventory.
"LaFayette?s housing supply is going fast," says Mary Jane Bauer, association executive for the LaFayette (La.) Board of Realtors which is about 130 miles from New Orleans. "The rental market disappeared in a couple of days. Commercial space is at a premium."
The multiple listing service (MLS) there did about six weeks worth of business in one week, according to Steven Hebert, chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Pelican in Lafayette. "The MLS averages about 313 sold units a month. In a week, we sold 262 units. And by the end of the first week, almost all commercial inventory was off the market as companies look for warehouse and industrial space."
Baton Rouge, La., 80 miles from New Orleans, is seeing multiple bidding, which it hadn?t before the hurricane, says Herb Gomez, association executive with the Baton Rouge Association of Realtors. "Before we had a steady market with 8 percent to 10 percent increase in sales a year. We expected to be flat this year. That?s not going to happen." Gomez says that last week there were 2,000 vacant apartment units, according to a local apartment association. This week there are none.
Although he doesn?t have statistics, he suspects commercial space is moving swiftly, too. "By the time practitioners faxed listing sheets on 30 commercial properties in response to an inquiry, the properties were already leased," he says. "Law firms and banks are leasing space for their displaced workers. And adjusters and insurance people need long-term temporary space."
Linda Moore, association executive for the Shreveport (La.) Association of Realtors, says the rental and for-sale momentum is now reaching that market, which is about 330 miles north of New Orleans. And it?s not stopping there.
The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported that companies in and around New Orleans are reaching out as far as Houston and Dallas for office space. In Meridian, Miss., about 170 miles from Biloxi, where electricity and phones were still coming back on line this week, the Meridian boards association executive Laura Miller says rentals are tight and people are looking for manufactured housing. For now, this activity is good news for the region.
What worries practitioners and association executives is what happens if and when the inventory dries up? "What does that do to your ability to sell?" asks Bauer, whose son rehabs old homes in New Orleans. He and his wife are now living with her. "Of course, builders will be building quickly."
Hebert says the pace may not die down soon since the flurry of buying has spawned locals already in market to put their homes up for sale, too. "We have a healthy market here anyway; there?s a good appetite among local buyers." Has the buying frenzy led to gouging? Practitioners and AEs say they?re only aware of a few anecdotal cases. "I heard that one practitioner was asked to raise the price on a listing, but the practitioner refused," Hebert says.
He adds that most homes are selling right at list price although some new listings are priced too high. Some markets are welcoming their displaced brethren from New Orleans and elsewhere. "We?re waiving the new-member fee and MLS fees for 90 days for Realtors who want to enter this market and affiliate with a broker who?s here," Bauer says. She says about a dozen practitioners have expressed interest.
Gomez says his board of directors would be meeting to decide about similar waivers. Hebert believes people eventually will go back to their homes in devastated areas. "I?d want to get back to my hometown," he says. "That would be my first preference. But the decision will depend on what employers do. If your employer says, ?You?re employed with me as long as you want to be, but your job is now in Baton Rouge or Houston,? the decision may be made for you."
Source: REALTOR? Magazine Online, Christina Hoffmann Spira, Sept. 7, 2005
? 2005 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
The repercussions of this storm on the housing market,as well as comercial real estate,is very far reaching...even as far as the Tamba Bay area here in Florida
Tell us more. Are you guys in a selling craze with people moving in, or has Katrina made people think twice about buying in Tampa Bay, where some say it is waiting for a major disaster?optimama1957 said:
Colleges all over are doing their best to help out NO students--I'm part of a 3 member task force at Union College (upstate NY)--we've admitted between 5-7 Tulane students (some were first-years, others upperclass students). I'm particularly proud that we were reaching out to the historically black schools (Tulane will be fine, but the others are in the midst of the worst flooding.) Our Board of Trustees, in fact, decided almost immediately, to donate personal funds for scholarships.
The tricky thing is to help out these colleges by NOT taking their students permanently and by NOT taking their fall tuition monies.
The tricky thing is to help out these colleges by NOT taking their students permanently and by NOT taking their fall tuition monies.
Smiling JOe said:Tell us more. Are you guys in a selling craze with people moving in, or has Katrina made people think twice about buying in Tampa Bay, where some say it is waiting for a major disaster?
Hmmm. Why is Tampa Bay waiting for a major disaster? Are they more likely to get hit by a devastating storm than we are? Is there something about Tampa (e.g., location, people, etc.) that makes it more at risk for devastation? (I'm asking because I have in-laws in Sarasota not too far from Tampa, so I'm wondering...)
Smiling JOe said:Tell us more. Are you guys in a selling craze with people moving in, or has Katrina made people think twice about buying in Tampa Bay, where some say it is waiting for a major disaster?
Unfortunately, IMO, all coastal areas are at some point in the future "waiting" for or will be hit with a major disaster/storm. Not trying to cause a panic or offend anyone here but if you live on or near the coast then you are in a risk zone. Obvious statement I must admit but true. Some are more disaster prone than others (heavily industrialized, populated, city center etc) but all are at risk depending on the size/strength of storm, where and how the storm tracks, and other factors.
This is a fact and has been for 1000s of years. However, with the boom in developing, buying/selling, building in these coastal areas over the past 40-60 years comes the increased danger to human life and property. Tampa/St Pete, Miami, Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Jax, and the list goes on are fairly highly populated areas in Fla that if a massive strom hit there would be potential for high loss of life and property.
Knowing these facts, some people still want to be near/on the water and my wife and I and many of you are obviously in this group too. We know the risk and we are (or have been up to this point) willing to accept it. Other people do not like being near/on or even going to the beach or since these devistating storms have decided not to go or live near/on the water anymore.
In fact, this past weekend in SoWal we met a woman from coastal Miss and she told us that she lived on the gulf near Gulfport and loved it but that her house was totally wiped away by Katrina (nothing left at all). She was standing in front of us tearing up as she told us her story and then stopped tearing up and smiled and looked out at the water watching her kids skimboard along Eastern Lake outflow and said "we will rebuild and we will still live on the gulf because we love it and all it brings us in happiness.....maybe we will look in this area vs going back to Miss....?". That is the spirit of people that love the water.
Last edited:
Paula said:
From what I understand, it has to do with the shape of that particular Bay, which some scientist say puts Tampa Bay at great risk of major storm surge. Also, the Washington DC area is at high risk supposedly do to the Chesapeake Bay, and NYC is another place at great risk from storm surge. Of course, a storm would have to hit just right to bring the surge in, but if one does, they say the folks in those area should look out. I don't think these cities are below sea level like NOLA, but they may still have much damage due to the surge.