Gulf Markets Experience Slow Recovery: 2008

Wednesday, 31 December 2008

Equity Based Services Supports Recreational Programs for Children with Cancer

Equity Based Services supports the Eagle Mount organization in Bozeman, Montana (PRWeb Dec 31, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1804784.htm

Industry Leading Association Management Website Provider AtHomeNet Set To Release New “Elite” Service In Early 2009

AtHomeNet's Technology & Development staff add new functionality to highly anticipated "AtHomeNet Elite" service based on Beta Testing and Client Feedback. (PRWeb Dec 29, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1793344.htm

Saturday, 27 December 2008

Coachella Valley Developer Looks to Accelerate Sales of Remaining Inventory of Palm Desert Condos with Online Auction

Luxury Palm Desert Condos Offered in an Auction Campaign Fit to Ring in a Promising New Year (PRWeb Dec 18, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1768774.htm

Best Selling Author And Star Of The Hit Movie "The Secret" Praises The Productivity Epiphany

International Speaker and Body Language Expert, Vincent Harris, has released his new book: The Productivity Epiphany. For those who are wanting to make a few changes, or even transform their life in 2009, this book offers new insights that many will find helpful. (PRWeb Dec 26, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1790084.htm

Expats, Boomers and Investors Flock to One Southern Costa Rica Real Estate Development, Says Pacific Lots

Recent bookings are bringing record numbers to one development in Costa Rica even as the rest of the world's economy is at a standstill. People looking for less expensive retirement options as well as investors looking for a safe haven for their money seem to prefer one southern Pacific development. The word is out and the not so rich and not so famous continue to come in record numbers. (PRWeb Dec 22, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1777444.htm

Chains Use Power Reporting and Dashboards for Better Decisions from 'Big Data'

The 'why' behind the numbers - Execs use new 'guided ad-hoc reporting' to manage by exception (PRWeb Dec 22, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1727904.htm

Antelope Valley Estate Planning Law Firm Explains California Estate Planning

Antelope Valley estate planning law firm Thompson Von Tungeln explains the concept of California estate planning. (PRWeb Dec 24, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1787394.htm

New Fizber Functionality - A Lucky Break to Know Your Neighborhood Better

A reputed real estate property search engine Fizber.com has introduced new handy functionality to its users, allowing them to receive all the most recent neighborhood information fast and easy. The graphical presentation of current home values in a neighborhood allows house-hunters immediately get a full insight about the area they are interested in on the map. (PRWeb Dec 22, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1776114.htm

FuelNet Reveals 5 Hot Consumer Marketing Trends for 2009

New Smart Report explains how to tap into the trends to grow a business (PRWeb Dec 18, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Retail_trends/Marketing_trends/prweb1766484.htm

Thursday, 25 December 2008

Gulf Markets Experience Slow Recovery

After the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina last year, many who lived in the affected areas in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi packed up and left. It is only now, over a full year after the flooding subsided that a comprehensive look at the future of gulf real estate can be made. There is a recovery going on, but it’s slow.

According to sources in the affected areas, the biggest problem facing reconstruction is labour. A catch-22 has the New Orleans construction market treading water. More hands are needed to build more homes, but the bodies attached to those hands have no place to live in New Orleans, so they don’t come.

The housing market isn’t doing much better. Predictably, the price of undamaged homes shot up during the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and are still anywhere between 10-40 percent higher than pre-storm levels throughout most of the gulf coast area.

The amount of inventory is most of the storm-ravaged area is still very small, and the areas that did manage to escape damage tended to absorb a large amount of homeless from areas that were harder hit. This influx of demand has kept supply very, very low.

Areas such as Pearl River County in Mississippi found themselves with a doubled population almost overnight as people from flooded areas flocked there. The area had been reporting just over 400 properties for sale at any given time before the storm, but the influx in population has shrunk housing availability down to 275. As for prices, they are up significantly, from around $90,000 to $150,000.

A much larger area that took in hundreds of thousands of people was Houston, Texas. Unlike many of its counterparts, Houston has taken the influx of people quite well. New home construction is way up, and the inventory is only down from 45,000 to 40,000.

Middle-of-the-road areas like Baton Rouge essentially doubled in population, much like Pearl River. Today, the population is still 50% higher than it was before Katrina hit. There is almost no inventory here, as soon as a house goes up on the market, it is inundated with offers and sells very quickly.

Hurricane Katrina was a legendary storm that changed the lives of millions of people. The real estate market will recover there, especially in a magical city like New Orleans, but it is going to take years. The surrounding areas may not be as lucky.