Emerald Host posted on October 22, 2008 01:34
GALVESTON, TX – Hurricane Ike is driving strong real estate sales and rentals on Galveston Island in the mid to high price ranges.
Many affluent homeowners and well as national contractors and insurance companies are in competition to secure the dwindled housing inventory in Galveston due to the property devastation of Ike. Professionals working on the island such as doctors, lawyers and business owners are filling up new developments as quickly as they become available. Many second home residents have been placing their properties for lease and they are being scooped up by those who prefer living on the island rather than renting on the mainland.
Gulf Coast Concierge, a local real estate management firm by owned by Toni Vacker, is reporting strong leasing sales and is actively seeking available properties to respond to the daily requests her office is receiving. “I recently opened an office on the 6th floor of Emerald by the Sea and our phone is ringing constantly.” Said Vacker. “Corporate rentals, as well as local residents, are taking advantage of properties such as Emerald. We leased out a penthouse the week after the Hurricane and sales have been strong ever since.”
Emerald by the Sea developer, Sunhill International, is offering a 3 year buy-back option to those who want to invest now and redirect their investment later. According to Namir Faidi, Sunhill CEO, “There are a number of individuals who are having to rebuild their island homes. The buy-back option offers a solid real estate investment that they can capitalize on in the future. Emerald has proven to be a safe, solid structure; sustaining absolutely no hurricane damage. The residents who rode out the storm in the building have given testimony to that.”
The City of Galveston strict building codes have come under scrutiny by developers in the past, but have proven themselves to be right on target. Emerald by the Sea, considered to be ‘over-engineered’ by some, is an example of construction performance. It did what it was supposed to do: withstand winds of 140 mph and stand steady. Fully operational following the hurricane, residents who once opposed any high rise condominiums on the island, are rethinking their stance as the developments are filling the housing void.
The City of Galveston Planning Department has been seeing a long line of contractors and residents seeking permits daily and has been working feverishly to handle their needs from a temporary location set up at the Justice Center on 54th & Broadway.
Though Galveston sustained severe damages, the city is recovering in record time both real estate wise and in business recovery. Businesses are re-opening daily and the tourism industry is staying online as the hotels and major attractions sustained little or no damage. The recovery pace is attributed to the Disaster and Recovery Plan developed and fine tuned by Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas and City Manager Steve LeBlanc and his staff.
The island mentality of ‘getting on with it’ will surely bring them back stronger than before.
Contacts:
Emerald by the Sea www.theemeraldbythesea.com
Sales Office: (409) 765-8439
Emerald marketed by Personette & Assoc., Houston, Texas
www.personette.net
Sunhill Intl. – Harvey Denman (832) 577-7425