@Fred Stevenson, I would like to discuss your thoughts and concerns:
1) The flood insurance program (FIP) was a huge question mark before this happened. Congress (Biggert-Waters Act) and FEMA (FIP)have been monkeying around with the rules in the recent past and we are currently following a temporary fix that created the $25 surcharge for O/O properties and $250 surcharge for non-O/O properties. Rates were set to make significant increases on all properties in the FIP in 2014, but the politically expedient "fix" was the surcharges I mentioned above. Reforms are imminent and there is nothing certain, but uncertainty. I'm still only buying outside of special flood hazard areas. [I think significant increases were coming after the coming elections, even before this happened. Sometimes politicians pass unpopular stuff right after an election, because they expect you to forget it by the time the next election happens.]
2) Unknowable.
3) The BR market has a housing shortage as measured by the low inventory mentioned in the article @Brandon Johnson provided a link to (if its the same one I read). It's possible, but unlikely that will happen. I would be extra conservative on valuations until we see how values will be effected long term.
4) This is where I'm thinking totally opposite of you. The silver lining of an event like this is the money spent for rebuilding and replacement of household goods will prime the economy. Huge amounts of money from federal disaster relief, insurance proceeds, and money out of people's pockets will cause economic activity that will drive positive macro economic impacts. There will surely be some people who experience financial ruin due to the burdens of this type of event, but I think that will be a minority of people. Just like before this event, there are pockets all over the market where values or higher or lower and some of those pockets will be created or otherwise impacted by the degree of flooding that happened in each location.
5) Baton Rouge is in the path of progress. This event doesn't change that for the overall market.
6) I would not call it the investment opportunity of a lifetime, because I was alive during the big oil bust in the 80s when you really could have bought some real estate for super cheap in Louisiana. The crux of real estate investing is calculating risk. All of the risks are very real. I think when you talk about "future dread" you are talking yourself out of the business.
