Houston CRE Market Shows Resilience in Face of Hurricane Harvey

U.S. MARKET FLASH – SEPTEMBER 2017

Hurricanes, tropical storms and floods are familiar occurrences in Houston and the surrounding Texas Gulf region; more than eight severe floods/hurricanes have impacted the Houston MSA since 1998.

But when Hurricane Harvey struck the region near Rockport, TX on August 25, the Category 4 storm was the strongest to hit the region since 1961, dumping more than 50 inches of rain in a matter of days and causing extensive property damage due to flooding.

In addition to its devastation on Greater Houston, Harvey’s impact was national in scope as well. Port Houston-the largest U.S. port in foreign tonnage and home to the nation’s largest petrochemical complex– closed for 4 1/2 days after the hurricane and reopened on September 1. Most refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast, which is the nation’s largest producer of oil and
gasoline, have also restarted operations, while others, such as Valero, have returned to pre-storm fuel-making rates. Nationally, consumers will see an increase in gas prices of about $0.08 – $0.10 for the next several months.

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Property Tax Reductions Through SB1 & Hurricane Harvey Loss Documentation

The Texas Senate endorsed Senate Bill 1, a bill allowing for property tax rate elections if county property tax revenues exceeded 4% of what was taken in the year before. The House & The Senate met in a special session on July 26th to vote on the rollback. 

REDNews spoke with Senator Paul Bettencourt about the reason for then failure to pass Senate Bill 1, the tax relief bill, that would decrease the rollback rate from 8% to 4%, which was passed by the Texas Senate during the Texas Legislative Special Session.

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Hurricane Harvey: Where Do We Go From Here?

BY MICHAEL PAVIA

Hurricane Harvey resulted in extensive flooding and massive home damage to the Houston region. “We’ve got probably 30,000 to 40,000 homes that have been destroyed,” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. Damage estimates surpass $20 billion. 

While the region recovers from the damage, the community is asking what can be done to avoid this type of devastation going forward? Here we consider some potential courses of action.But before discussing solutions there are several points to consider

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