Hurricane Effects on Rental Housing Market

Hurricane events can change the demographic composition of coastal communities through increased housing prices and disruptions to the labor market. This research focuses specifically on a sub-population of the housing market and asks how property exposure to high intensity hurricane events can change the rental prices of impacted households. Additionally, this research will investigate what these price changes mean for the surrounding community. Econometric techniques such as the difference in differences design can isolate the effect of hurricane exposure on impacted rental prices while providing the opportunity to more robustly understand how hurricanes can alter the accessibility and affordability of coastal communities. Current research on hurricanes impacts to housing markets suggest that transacted prices increase in the aftermath of a hurricane. This suggests that rental prices may follow suit. However, the absence of high-resolution research on rental prices excludes a significant vulnerable population from our understanding of hurricane impacts. The results of this research will address that absence.