Nancy Sarnoff writes that landlords may be seeing the end of the Katrina apartment-renting frenzy:
The influx of renters that filled thousands of empty Houston apartments after Hurricane Katrina might not be the boon landlords were hoping for.
Some tenants are already leaving apartments to go back to New Orleans, while real estate observers say others are finding lodging elsewhere.
One apartment complex in Midtown that leased 37 units in one day has just received notice that 10 of those apartments will become vacant come January, said Stacy Hunt of Greystar, which manages the property.
“Some tenants are starting to trickle back,” Hunt said last week while speaking to a group of real estate developers and brokers at a luncheon held by realty firm O’Connor & Associates.
Houston’s multifamily market saw a boost after Hurricane Katrina hit and thousands of evacuees rented apartments here.
More than 17,000 apartments in the Houston area were absorbed in September. That’s nine to 10 times more than what’s typical in the the peak summer months, said Richard Zigler, O’Connor’s head of research.
But not everyone thinks the boost in occupancy will last.
“I don’t think they’ll do nearly as well as everybody thinks they will,” developer Jenard Gross said of apartments around the city.
