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Speculators are driving a new economy in Houston suburbs hit hard by Hurricane Harvey and its disastrous flooding. In the Canyon Gate neighborhood, where home prices were affordable prior to the flooding, investors are able to profit off of buying flooded homes at prices well below their pre-hurricane value. The New York Times reports:

Many parts of the city were hit hard by the hurricane, but Canyon Gate has the extraordinary distinction of being built within the confines of a reservoir specifically designed by the Army Corps of Engineers to protect central Houston from calamitous flooding. Nearly every one of the 721 homes there is destined to flood again, yet the local trade in storm-damaged real estate is flourishing.

Brian Spitz, president of Big State Home Buyers, one of Houston’s largest buyers of storm-damaged property says the best opportunities are in relatively low-priced areas where homeowners might not have the resources to rebuild.

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