houston Astros won.

LOS ANGELES -- The Houston Astros are all alone in the baseball stratosphere, coming through just when their city needed them most.

Just a little over two months ago, the Astros were displaced, disconsolate and helpless, grieving that they could not do more for a city ravaged by Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath. All the Astros could do then was play baseball, to give their fans common cause and a little distraction.

2017 MLB Postseason

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• Schedule » | Complete coverage »

All they can do now is revel in the first World Series title in the history of both the city and the state. It seems like so much.

“Our team believed in each other all year,” World Series MVP George Springer said. “And through the good times and the bad times, through a rough stretch in August, to getting down 3-2 against a very good New York team (in the ALCS), there's a lot of things that happened. I'm so happy to be a part of it to bring a championship back to a city that desperately needed one. It is a surreal feeling.”

In one of the most dramatic World Series ever, the Astros sucked the air out of Dodger Stadium from the outset. They jumped on Los Angeles Dodgers starter Yu Darvish for five early runs and then cruised to a 5-1 clincher on Wednesday, the first World Series Game 7 at Dodger Stadium.

As he has done so many times during his spectacular young career, Springer sparked it all, leading off the game with a double and scoring on Cody Bellinger's throwing error. Then he broke the game open in the second inning with a comet-like homer to left-center that gave Houston its initial five-run lead. No team had ever overcome a deficit that large in a winner-take-all World Series game. Lance McCullers Jr. and the bullpen -- led by a heroic four-inning effort from Charlie Morton to finish the game -- made sure that stat remained in effect.

house for rent in houston market

Wait and see

A lack of confidence in the economy and job market is keeping some would-be buyers on the fence.

Adam Kassoff recently moved to Houston from southern California for a job in law firm management. He's used to owning, but he ended up renting a two-bedroom apartment in a Museum District high-rise.

While his main motivation to rent was that he's still learning about the city and different neighborhoods, he's not convinced now is the right time to buy even if he were ready. "It's still an uncertain market," he said.

As rental demand expands, more real estate firms are growing their leasing business. Rentals are up 30 percent at Bernstein Realty, a Houston-based real estate brokerage that operates a property management division.

High-end realty firm John Daugherty Realtors just started a leasing division to handle demand, which has been growing since the housing market collapsed nationally.

"Anyone coming from California or Nevada, they couldn't buy because they couldn't sell their homes," said Cheri Fama, executive vice president and chief operating officer of John Daugherty Realtors. "That's how it started."

Caution helps rentals

Apartment-building rentals are also gaining momentum.

As of September, occupancy among Houston-area apartment complexes was 86.4 percent, up from 84.8 percent a year earlier, according to Apartment Data Services. The average rent was $722, up $2 from 2009.

Bruce McClenny, president of the data firm, said more renters are staying in apartments in part because it's gotten harder to qualify for mortgages. "I think everybody is being very cautious and probably rightly so," he said. "That's helping the rental market."

Houston house for sale market

Houston home sales plunged for the first time in nearly a year in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.

Local Realtors sold 5,917 single-family homes in August, a 25.4 percent drop in sales year over year, according to HAR’s most recent monthly housing report. The sales decline affected homes of all price points.

Harvey impacted Houston’s townhome and condominium markets as well. Houston-area Realtors sold 443 townhomes and condos in August, a 31.4 percent decline year over year, according to HAR.

“Hurricane Harvey dealt a severe blow to the Houston area and Texas Gulf coast and it will probably be several weeks until we can gauge the storm’s full impact on our housing market,” Cindy Hamann, HAR’s chairwoman, said in a statement. “Home sales were humming throughout the first three weeks of August, but the moment Harvey struck the region, everything came to a screeching halt.”

August’s sharp drop in home sales was likely due to Harvey’s timing toward the end of the month. Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Gulf Coast on Aug. 25. The last week of the month is typically when most home closings are scheduled. Many deals were canceled or postponed as prospective buyers walked from flooded homes or took an extension to re-inspect homes for hurricane damage.

Despite the drop in August closings, home sales remain 1.8 percent ahead of the 2016 volume, according to HAR.

Houston housing market

HOUSTON/AUSTIN (Reuters) - It might seem like Houston’s historic flood would make America’s fourth-largest city a less desirable place to live, but it’s going to get more expensive, real estate experts say.

The supply of houses and apartments is expected to drop sharply with tens of thousands of homes destroyed and uncertain prospects for future flood insurance costs.

Following a pattern seen in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, that’s likely to drive up home prices and rents in high-and-dry neighborhoods. Displaced buyers and renters will compete for a limited number of properties, said Nela Richardson, chief economist for the real estate brokerage and data firm Redfin.

Before the flooding from Hurricane Harvey, Houston had been a rare, fast-growing U.S. metropolitan area that had retained an affordable housing market, although prices had risen in recent years and held steady through an oil-price crash starting in 2014 in this center of the U.S. energy industry.

“Houston stood out nationwide as a market where housing was remarkably affordable across the income spectrum” compared to other dynamic job markets such as New York or San Francisco, said Aaron Terrazas, a senior economist at Zillow, which recently did a comprehensive study of the Houston housing market.

Houston housing market after Harvey

According to data compiled by Apartment Data Services and provided to theHouston Press by the Houston Apartment Association, 89.1 percent of Houston’s approximately 639,000 apartment units were occupied just before Harvey hit, leaving about 70,000 vacant and most of those — 26,000 — in luxury apartments. Andy Teas, vice president of public affairs for the Apartment Association, said that Harvey’s damage is still being assessed and so numbers are far from certain, but that estimates have ranged between 40,000 and 100,000 units being flooded — including an untold number of vacant units.

Even if the damage is minor, Teas said there’s no telling how long repairs will take given the sheer magnitude of demand for the limited labor, meaning many people may need assistance for longer. And of course it’s not just apartment dwellers who will be seeking temporary apartments and repairs; it’s homeowners — in every part of the county.

Both Teas and Gunsolley said this is bound to put immense pressure on the rental market and worsen Houston’s already-acute affordable housing crisis, especially given that most vacancies are in the upscale Class A housing market. Even in the Class C markets, Gunsolley said, landlords who invest heavily in repairs are going to want to charge more for rent to make up for the losses.

“Somebody who needs a one-bedroom apartment for $600 a month, they already had a hard time finding an apartment like that before the flood,” Gunsolley said. “After the flood, it could be impossible to find a unit like that. I don’t know if I’m being overly dramatic, because nobody has a full assessment yet of what we’re talking about. That’s apart of FEMA’s job, collecting all of that information.”

Home sale fell 1.7 percent in August, Houston

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home sales fell 1.7 percent in August, pulled down by the effects of Hurricane Harvey and a worsening shortage of available properties.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that sales of existing homes sank last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million. Would-be homebuyers are being limited by a decline in the number of sales listings. The shortage has become a drag on sales and has caused prices to surge — factors that limit the strong job market's benefit to the housing industry.

"Given that job growth has been steady and demand is still strong, there remains fundamental support for the housing market," said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

The median sales price has increased 5.6 percent from a year ago to $253,500.

Sales listings have tumbled 6.5 percent over the past 12 months to 1.88 million. The supply of homes for sale should continue to decline through February because the winter and fall are generally slower for home sales.

The decline in housing supply is having "ripple effects throughout the economy," said Robert Frick, an economist with Navy Federal Credit Union.

Higher housing costs mean that "many people who want a new, higher-paying job are finding that moving to a new city is too expensive," Frick said.

Because of declining supply, sales of homes that cost under $250,000 have fallen over the past year. But in a sign of the widening wealth gap, sales of homes that cost more than $500,000 have shot up by double digits.

Homes are also selling quickly because of the lack of options for buyers. The average number of days on the market was 30 in August, down from 36 a year ago.

August sales surged in the Northeast and increased modestly in the Midwest. But sales dropped sharply in the South and West.

Borrowing costs for would-be homebuyers have lessened in recent weeks, helping to preserve a degree of affordability despite the price increases.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate last week was 3.78 percent. This marked a steep decline from this year's peak of 4.3 percent, which was reached in March.

Rates have slipped in recent months amid signs that inflation has weakened and President Donald Trump's plans for stimulating faster economic growth have hit roadblocks.

Hurricane Harvey brought out the heroes of CPS, Houston

When Hurricane Harvey hit a few weeks ago, Child Protective Services employees, like so many other Texans, went to work. 

Hundreds of caseworkers and other CPS employees were directly affected, and 76 lost their homes. Despite the immediate hardship, caseworkers in the Houston and Galveston area who had moved to temporary shelters spent time calling CPS families to make sure they were safe and had what they needed. Because of their selfless perseverance, all CPS children were safe and accounted for. 

During the past year, there have been remarkable changes at Child Protective Services. With Gov. Greg Abbott's vision of CPS becoming the best child welfare program in the country, the inspirational leadership of Commissioner Hank Whitman, and the generous support of the Texas Legislature, CPS is making real, measurable improvements.

Average rent in Houston

Average Rent in Houston, TX By Neighborhood

Downtown Houston

$1,611

Midtown Houston

$1,589

Fourth Ward

$1,584

Neartown - Montrose

$1,575

Binz

$1,568

Greater Third Ward

$1,568

University Place

$1,560

Washington Avenue - Memorial Park

$1,534

Medical Center

$1,523

Afton Oaks - River Oaks

$1,511

Greenway - Upper Kirby

$1,506

Greater Heights

$1,431

Piney Point Village

$1,413

MacGregor

$1,386

Second Ward

$1,361

Memorial

$1,334

Greater Uptown

$1,203

Astrodome

$1,136

South Main

$1,136

Greater Ost - South Union

$1,110

Houston after Harvey;

U.S.

Mysterious ‘faceless’ creature found washed up on beach after Hurricane Harvey

 Rob Waugh,Yahoo News UK 4 hours ago

A proper ‘horror from the deep’ washed up in Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey – a strange, faceless serpent with massive fangs.

Preeti Desai of the Audubon Society posted images of the grotesque creature on social media – asking for help identifying it.

Desai wrote, ‘Okay, biology twitter, what the heck is this?? Found on a beach in Texas City.’

Apartment for rent in Houston booming

CoreLogic estimates that Hurricane Harvey could cause $40 billion in total damage, making the storm one of the most destructive in history.

The damage to Houston and surrounding areas ranks third to Katrina ($110 billion in 2005) and Sandy ($50 billion in 2012) as the most expensive hurricanes and the impact will be felt for years to come.

According to REITS, “Houston has approximately 1.6 million single family homes and total housing of 2.45 million units (including apartments)” and “the damage suffered thus far has disproportionately affected single family homes more than commercial properties.”

REIS estimates that Houston’s commercial property market is valued at $130 billion and “the demand for apartments will likely surge in the next few months as it did in late 2005 in New Orleans”. Since the amount of new inventory will be cut down, REIS believes “this may boost rents considerably, even as much as 10%.”

According to Matt Werner, Managing Director / Portfolio Manager with Chilton Capital Management,

“The catastrophe from Harvey will produce a ripple throughout the Houston economy.  I would expect occupancy to rise among self-storage, apartment, and hotel properties.  Pre-Harvey, all three of these property types were overbuilt, so this will help current owners, assuming the property is not damaged or destroyed.

Property repairs will be a boon for job growth, along with new residential construction.  This wave will be temporary as the property types attempt to regain equilibrium, but it could last for several years.”

REIS reports that “given that so many homes and commercial properties appear to have been irreparably harmed, the demand for apartments will likely surge in the next few months as it did in late 2005 in New Orleans. At the same time, the inventory will be cut due to the storm. This may boost rents considerably, even as much as 10%.”