Hurricane Harvey Prompts Response from Local Real Estate Companies

Two real estate companies headquartered in the Valley region have announced efforts to help customers affected by Hurricane Harvey in Houston. Public Storage in Glendale, which owns, buys, manages and develops self-storage facilities, said it has temporarily closed its 115 properties in the affected area to keep its customers and employees safe. It will keep customers informed by email and has set up a dedicated hotline for those impacted by the hurricane to call, the company said. Plans are to re-open the facilities once the area is safe. Similarly, single-family home landlord American Homes 4 Rent in Agoura Hills said its response teams are assessing damages to its properties but are being delayed by the hurricane and having trouble getting to affected areas. American Homes said it owns about 3,200 homes in the Houston area and that its “property and casualty insurance policies cover flood damage and business interruption costs, subject to deductibles and limits.” American Homes was co-founded in 2011 by 81-year-old self-storage billionaire B. Wayne Hughes, who built his wealth with Public Storage, which he started in 1972. In 1983, it spun off PS Business Parks Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust also headquartered in Glendale. Public Storage (PSA) shares closed Tuesday up $1.27, or less than 1 percent, to $205.57 on the New York Stock Exchange. American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) shares closed down 32 cents, or 1.4 percent to $21.98 on the exchange.