HOUSTON - ... we have a problem. Google Maps has outed us as a city that floods. Anyone using it on their phone can now browse our neighborhoods to see who got flooded and who stayed flooded. For Houstonians continuing to suffer even today, facing a months-to-years long recovery after Harvey, this is more bad news because it may result in, or perpetuate lower home values. Simply put: Prospective buyers who see these maps may run the other way rather than risk it. Demand could become lower in these areas leading motivated sellers to reduce their prices.
This is no criticism of Google and their mapping software because their updates are based on scheduled updates by an unbiased eye in the sky (low orbit satellite). According to most tech sites I've found, Google updates these views once every 1-3 years and it just so happened to catch us at a most inopportune time.
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