What is the property value after flooding? That is the big questions for everyone in the post Hurricane Harvey world.

The fact is, no body really knows right now. At the time of this post, no flooded homes have been fixed up and sold yet.

Determining Property Value After Flooding

To help guide us, we can use historical data from Tropical Storm Allison (2001), Hurricane Ike (2008), Memorial Day Flooding (2015), and Tax Day Flooding (2016).

There are a few factors that are going to affect the property value after flooding. They are:

• How many times has the home flooded?
• Did the neighborhood flood and how many homes flooded in the neighborhood?
• Could you get out of the neighborhood during the flooding?
• How much water did the home get?

Using Historical Data to Determine Property Value After Flooding

To determine your property value after flooding, the quickest way would be to get a local real estate agent to pull comparable sales for you. They can tell you what homes in your neighborhood sold for before and after flooding event.

Hiring an Appraiser to Determine Property Value After Flooding

You can also hire an appraiser to do a desktop appraisal which is much cheaper than a full appraisal. For a desktop appraisal, the appraiser looks at comparable sales much like a real estate agent and provides an appraisal without seeing the house. It’s not as complete as a full blown appraisal, but provides a good ballpark of property value.  A full appraisal requires a visit to the house and a tour of the neighborhood.

Speaking with Other Real Estate Professionals to Determine Property Value After Flooding

You could reach out to an insurance agent and ask them what they have seen in the past. Insurance agents are a great resource because they have access to a database of flooded homes and their claim history.

A mortgage loan officer will order an appraisal on every mortgage they sell, so they will also see the effects of property value after flooding.

Real estate investors that have been investing for a long time will be able to let you know what they have seen happen to property values after flooding.

How Will Hurricane Harvey’s Flooding Affect Property Values?

The overall consensus is that dry homes in dry neighborhoods will see values go up. Displaced homeowners and people in flooded neighborhoods will want to live in a neighborhood that doesn’t flood.

If a home was dry, but the neighborhood flooded, then it may have a small negative effect on the value of the home.

If a home flooded in a dry neighborhood, then that home will definitely take a hit on value. It will be the lower priced home in the neighborhood.

Neighborhoods that flooded along with the homes will see a large price decrease across the board.

Long Term Effects of Flooded Property Values

If there is no other flooding in the future, then prices tend to recover, especially as the Houston population grows. The general consensus is that prices are expected to recover within 2-5 years depending on factors mentioned above.

What Do Flooded Property Values Mean to You?

If you agree with the consensus, then you have two choices: sell or hold onto the property for several years until prices recover.

If you choose to hold on to the property, then hopefully you have the means to fix the flooded property. If you need assistance to fix your flooded home, then you can apply for disaster assistance with the Small Business Administration (SBA)  or visit the recent blog post on getting through Hurricane Harvey’s Flooding.

If you want to sell your flooded home as-is , then call 713-322-6645 or fill in your information in the form below!