After Hurricane Harvey dropped 1 trillion gallons of water on Harris County over four days in late August, floodwaters caused more damage to residential homes than any other property type in the Greater Houston area, experts said.
Nearly 5 percent of homes in the area flooded, but only 0.1 percent of those were completely destroyed, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
In Cy-Fair, neighborhoods, such as Riata Ranch, Bear Creek and Ravensway, saw extensive flooding. Local Realtor Amy Lippincott, of The Lippincott Team, said the rebuilding process would take at least a year.
“I haven’t seen people moving out [of the area] by any means—just moving around from flooded places to places that didn’t flood,” she said. “I think people will need to decide if they’re going to sell as is, or if they’re going to sell and rebuild again.”
Lippincott said residents whose homes flooded will expect a slight decrease in home value, and those who have flooded more than once could have more trouble selling.
However, she said residents generally understand that 500-year flood events like Harvey are not going to be typical. At least two of her clients are moving forward selling homes that have flooded twice with no price reduction, she said.
Based on Harris County data, the number of homes for sale and the average days on the market has seen little change year over year. Last year at this time, 33,000 homes were on the market in Harris County, and this year that number is up to about 34,000 homes.
“We’ve seen quite an influx of people paying cash for houses in the $300,000 and under price range, so that was helpful for the market,” Lippincott said. “[Single-family] real estate has held steady, but the rental market went through the roof.”
According to data compiled by Houston Association of Realtors, total home sales in seven ZIP codes making up the core Cy-Fair area dropped from 616 in July to 520 in August, but then rebounded in September to 587. The median price of homes sold stayed steady in the Cy-Fair area over that time.
Robert Kramp, director of research and analysis for CBRE, said displaced renters and residents seeking temporary housing spiked dramatically with about 6,000 Houston-area units being leased in the weeks following Harvey. As a result, Kramp said the number of apartments that have been leased is about 18 months ahead of previous expectations.
“A new segment of permanent renters could emerge out of the storm,” he said. “For example, older homeowners contemplating apartment living now have an additional motivation to shift from owning to renting.”
Based on preliminary damage reports, the multifamily submarkets with the highest percentage of damaged apartment units are in northeast Houston—about 5 percent of its total inventory.
In northwest Houston, 1.2 percent of the total inventory was damaged— about 2,180 units—with most being in the Bear Creek/Copperfield/Fairfield, Willowbrook/Champions/Ella and Katy/Cinco Ranch/Waterside submarkets, Kramp said.
The Cypress and Jersey Village areas were among those least affected with 376 units—less than 1 percent—damaged.
Lawrence Dean, regional director of Metrostudy Houston, said housing prices overall have not decreased, but they also have not significantly increased. He said the biggest effect on homebuilding will be increased competition for materials—drywall, plumbing, drains, roofing and insulation—as homes are being renovated simultaneously.
“I think the really cool impact of [Harvey] is the nation being able to see what a strong community Houston and Cy-Fair are and how people came together for that,” Lippincott said. “I think that’s really special, and I think that’ll make them want to move here even more.”
