Daily Real Estate News  |  September 13, 2005  |   Miss.: Devastation Abounds In Katrina's Aftermath For Angela Cain, CEO of the Mississippi Association of REALTORSŪ, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has been a deluge of calls from national media to learn what the storm has meant for the local real estate market. "We just got phone service back yesterday, and we can barely make long distance calls here in Jackson," where MAR’s office is located, says Cain. "At one point yesterday, I was getting phone calls at the rate of 10 per hour from media across the country, and it's been pretty overwhelming as we try to get our association back up and running." One of the most common questions posed by the media is: When will the real estate market recover? "Obviously, we don’t have a good overall picture of the market across Mississippi right now," says Cain, who points to the many properties taken off the market in the hardest hit areas in and around Biloxi and Gulfport. With insurance companies so overwhelmed with claims, she says, some closings have been delayed due to the buyer's inability to get insurance coverage. There is, however, a need for inventory—particularly in terms of rentals. "From what we've heard, REALTORSŪ are getting a lot of calls about available inventory, and there's big demand in our rental market. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of rental information in our MLS, so that’s been a challenge." Cain adds that those REALTORSŪ in the unaffected areas of the state are doing their part to help out in shelters and assist evacuees. MAR also is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security to identify temporary housing for those displaced by the storm. But storm recovery has been challenging at best due to the still unreliable phone system. "Our state is devastated," Cain says. Hurricane Katrina Coverage Main Page To read more Hurricane Katrina coverage, go to REALTOR.org. —Bridget McCrea for REALTORŪ Magazine Online