Posted Date: December 20, 2011
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December 13, 2011 

Housing Recovery on the Gulf Coast, Phase II: Results of Property Owner Survey in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas

A picture of Gulf Coase Phase II report cover page. HUD recently released Housing Recovery on the Gulf Coast, Phase II: Results of Property Owner Survey in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas that provides valuable insights into the factors affecting housing recovery in the Gulf states and how HUD’s support through CDBG funds influences individual housing recovery outcomes. Through interviews with residential property owners who suffered damage to their homes during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the report found that three factors were most influential in determining whether homeowners rebuilt: whether they were covered by insurance, the extent of storm damage, and whether they suffered from flood damage as opposed to wind damage.

The report also found that the differences in the CDBG recovery model used in Texas versus the model implemented in Louisiana and Mississippi influences how property owners address recovery. The CDBG model used in Texas required that program funds be used only on rehabilitation and the state made payments directly to contractors to complete the work, while in Mississippi and Louisiana, the grants were given to property owners who could use the money to rebuild or relocate, among other uses.

The first phase of this study, Housing Recovery on the Gulf Coast, Phase I: Results of Windshield Observations in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas was published in December 2010. The follow-on report, Phase II: Results of Property Owner Survey in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, has just been released.

 

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Key Findings

  • Among all owners surveyed, 77% reported doing some level of rebuilding to their damaged homes. For those who did not rebuild, lack of financial resources was the primary barrier.


  • Properties insured prior to the hurricanes were 37% more likely to be rebuilt compared to uninsured properties, and flood damaged properties were 16% less likely to be rebuilt compared with properties that received no flood damage.


  • CDBG funds play an important role in helping homeowners rebuild. Among those who applied for, but did not receive CDBG assistance, only 58% chose to rebuild, compared with 75% of all homeowners, including those who received CDBG assistance, and those who did not apply.


  • Even under the more flexible compensation model, residents of Louisiana and Mississippi were more likely to use CDBG funds for rebuilding. 87% of Louisiana residents and 64% of Mississippi residents used the entirety of their CDBG funds for home repair or rebuilding.


  • Most survey respondents were satisfied with the CDBG process under both models of funding disbursement.


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