Houston Update: Selling water damaged homes, restaurants construction, fallout after winter storm.

Josh: Hello and welcome to this edition of weekly update. My name is Joshua Vita I'm the Houston based CB TV journalist. This weekend on weekly update we have Houston contractor contractors struggle with fallout after the past weeks winter storm, Burke Hospitality Group to open new restaurants and selling water damaged homes. All this after the intro.

OK, our first story is about selling the water damaged homes. OK, dozens of listings were pulled from the market, a local trend, real estate agents attribute to the damage caused by the winter storm, and general uncertainty about how optimistic potential home buyers would be as temperatures began to rise. The important thing to remember is that sellers need to be transparent as possible about the level of the damage their home has suffered as a result of the storm, said C Harris Benson and realtor associate with Douglas Elliman, Texas. To put buyers in mind that at ease Benson recommends that sellers, provide insurance claim paperwork, and the detail of the repairs that were made at this stage is still unclear whether the winter storm ends and it’s ensuing fallout will have a long-term impact on Houston's housing market.

OK, our next story up today is about the Burke Hospitality Group building those new restaurants. These restaurants will be in the heights and Timber Grove area just down the road from each other, the first one being Tratorria Sofia will open in the former Presidian space at 911 W 11th St and an unnamed concept in the Docks at Timber Grove at 2505 W 11th St. Both of these properties are owned by Houston based developer Ancorian. And Tratorria Sofia is slated to open in May 2021, following in complete remodel of the 2500 square foot space, their remodeled space will feature all new interiors, lighting, and furnishings. Meanwhile, the Docks are Timber Grove Project is a redevelopment of a 50,000 square foot warehouse. Previously owned and occupied by a commercial door and hardware company. The plan calls for 30,000 square feet for retail space and 20,000 square feet for covered parking. The restaurant concept will cover 8000 square feet and is expected open in January of 2022.

Our last story today is about the fallout over the winter storm. Sam Craig, chairman of the Houston chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors, said few contractors if any were able to work this last week after Winter Storm Uri hit Houston. Craig mentioned the loss of a week’s wages is pretty significant and of course the owners are going to get afinished project delivered to them late, which can also cause problems. It is still unclear how the winter storm will affect contractor’s ability to access building supplies. Due the hundreds of thousands burst pipes across Texas plumbing supplies in drywall could be hard to come by. Supplies are likely to be an issue for general contractors for some time, said Craig. The Insurance Council of the Texas has said that some insurance companies are starting the number of water damage claims in Texas due to the weather event to exceed the total number of water damage claims internationalnationwide in previous years.

Thank you again for watching this edition of weekly update. If you liked it, please make sure to give it a big thumbs up and hit the bell and subscribe and stay up to date on what's happening with construction business. I’d also like to mentiondown in description. If you are a contractor building trades retail, we have a place you sign up for an interview and get your company featured here on Construction Business TV. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and continue to stay safe.