How can we get buyers and investors to return to the Gulf Coast?

Question

The market is flooded with inventory and it's definitely a buyers market but where have all the buyers gone?

Answer 1

I think it is fair to believe that people will not be moving back and that few new people will move to the area.

People need jobs. If there are no jobs then people can not afford to live there. If there are jobs and not enough people then the word will get out and people will start to move back to the area.

If people feel that flooding is prone to happen again then even if there are jobs people are not going to move there until they forget about the last time there were floods.

Another issue is the cost of flood insurance. Even if someone is only renting the cost of the insurance is a factor as it will force up rents or investors will avoid the area if rents are depressed below the real costs.

There is a very real possibility that New Orleans (NO) will not recover beyond its present levels. The city has a falling population for a long time. The storm stepped up the process. Those who were too poor to move in the past had a lot more reason to get out They did one way or the other. The sustainable level based on employment and other local services could be very close to the level of people living in NO now.

Not that I do not care one way or the other. I am just reporting the facts as it applies to housing and the local economy. There was an article in a business publication which covered the details with more data than is presented above. I think it was The Economist but I do not have a specific reference.

Answer 2

Given the hurricane & global warming complications,
I would think the more transient styles would be more alluring, like the 50s and 60s trailer parks. Not the current full time trashy trailer parks, but nice ones.
People could get slots, but move the trailers during the hurricane season.
It would be real cool to see a place full of airstreams !
Have nice grounds that are easy to rebuild, but make most the ocean front stuff for snowbirds, & open public parks.
The Gulf Coast is a great place to spend the winter !
The full time people should have stuff several blocks inland for safety for themselves & less damage to property.