National real estate investors eye south Louisiana with caution after major storms

Source: Business Report —

Is Louisiana’s increasing vulnerability to major weather events having a chilling effect on commercial real estate investment?

In the wake of Hurricane Ida—the fourth major storm to ravage south Louisiana in a little more than a year—local brokers say some out-of-state investors are becoming less enthusiastic, if not downright scared, about investing in the southern half of the state.

“It does have a chilling effect with out-of-state buyers, who watch the news and keep up with what’s going on here,” says Jonathan Walker of Maestri-Murrell Commercial Real Estate. “There is a perception that hurricanes hit Louisiana all the time, which isn’t really the case. But it seems that way lately and I have definitely heard and seen buyers be more finicky than in the past.”