Houston Chronicle, August 25, 2017

Airlines wrestled with schedule fluctuations, ports halted ship movements and hardware stores rushed to stock up on generators. As Hurricane Harvey continued its slow march toward Texas, Houston-area businesses began feeling the early effects and preparing for a potentially massive fallout.

Wind and storm surge could cause between $1 billion and $2 billion worth of insured property losses for residential and commercial properties, according to an Irvine, Calif.-based CoreLogic analysis. This does not include insured losses related to additional flooding, business interruption or contents since rainfall is projected to last for several days.

The potential for property damages put the real estate market in the early stages of upheaval on Friday.

Home sales scheduled to close early next week were being postponed. Open houses were being canceled, and shoppers were putting their searches on hold.

Amy Bernstein of Bernstein Realty said some lenders don’t want to fund loans on Monday, and some sales won’t be able to close if the properties aren’t covered by flood insurance.
“When the hurricane goes into the Gulf, you can’t buy your insurance,” she said.

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