How will it impact nationwide auto sales? The full extent of the devastation, mayhem, pain, and loss of life that Hurricane Harvey is leaving in its path is still unknown, and people are still trying to get to safety. It sent the oil-and-gas industry reeling. Housing in affected areas took a serious hit; perhaps $40-billion in damage, according to an early guess by CoreLogic.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac expect losses on about 400,000 mortgages that they guarantee. This could increase as flood waters rise. They won’t know the extent of the damage until after the wind and rain in Texas and Louisiana subside. Other homes did not have mortgages, or had mortgages that were not guaranteed. So perhaps a total of 500,000 homes.
If each affected home had 1.6 vehicles parked there on average, it would mean that about 800,000 vehicles sustained flood damage. Many people evacuated with their cars, so this is just a guess. How big is this number? Over the past 12 months in the Greater Houston Area, dealers sold 285,000 new vehicles.
This post was published at Wolf Street on Aug 29, 2017.
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