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Report: Oil spill affects more than just Gulf Coast

August 26, 2010 - The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill is doing more than some may think to deter people from relocating to the Gulf Coast.

In fact, communities that are well inland and have not experienced any actual physical damage are still reporting decreased moving activity and sliding buyer interest, reported Clear Capital. In a survey of the region's real estate professionals, the company reported that "social stigma" surrounding the oil spill has pervaded the mindset of many buyers in the area, deterring them from moving into homes that are not likely ever to suffer oil damage.

"Downward pressure in the form of stigma and loss of employment will only serve to further dampen home price recovery," said Alex Villacorta, Clear Capital's senior statistician.

Villacorta pointed out the responses of real estate agents in cities such as St. Petersburg, Florida, which enjoy clean beaches and oil-free water, but are still seeing sliding home sales because homebuyers are reluctant to relocate anywhere near the Gulf of Mexico. June brought an 8.8 percent year-over-year drop in home sales in St. Petersburg, said the report.

It is unclear if the oil spill had anything to do with a statewide drop in home sales. There were 13,589 single-family homes sold in July throughout the state, 14 percent less than a year earlier, reported Miami Realtors.

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