Home Sweet Home

Don't look for refugees from Hurricane Katrina to be heading back to the gulf coast anytime soon. They're all renting apartments here in the Lone Star State. The Dallas Business Journal reports that the North Texas apartment market saw 18,000 units snapped up since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. The data is from ALN Systems.

Average occupancy rates have climbed from 88.8% to 92% in less than a month. That means more units were leased in just the month of September, than are leased during many entire years. According to ALN, about 64,000 apartment units have been rented out across the state. Most refugees appear to prefer Houston, which has rented out 42,000 units. The apartment market in Big D saw roughly 12,000 units rented out while Fort Worth rented out about 6,000 units during September. The current 92% occupancy rate is as high as its been in the metroplex since 2001. So if you have a hard time finding an apartment, blame Katrina.