Five months after Hurricane Harvey decimated the Houston area, there are still over 33,000 Texans living in temporary housing, including an estimated 4,300 people living in hotels. According to the PBSNewsHour, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has prepared $5 billion to go to the repair and restoration of the thousands of homes and businesses destroyed by the tropical storm. In addition, a $81 billion disaster aid bill has been passed through the U.S. House of Representatives, and currently under the consideration in the Senate.

“In large part, we’re still waiting on funding to come from the federal level to the state, and then down to the local level,” Mayor Sylvester Turner says. “It’s frustrating, because we all have to move with a degree of urgency. People need housing. That’s my number one priority.”

In other Houston real estate news:

• The Howard Hughes Corporation development and master planned community (MPC) Bridgeland has recently won several regional and national awards based on its success in the Houston housing industry, including four Gold Award nominations and four Silver Awards by the National Sales & Marketing Council of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). In addition, The Howard Hughes Corporation’s Ward Village secured the “Master Planned Community of the Year” award.
• The Woodlands Hills MPC will be welcoming Century Communities to Conro, TX, according to Builder. This 2,000-acre landscape will include amenities like 112 acres of open space, 20 neighborhood parks, a large trail system for hiking and biking, a 17-acre Village Park, a modernized center with event space and fitness facility.
• A former Arabian horse ranch in Tomball will be transformed into a 1,000 home community by Houston firm Johnson Development Services, according to the Houston Chronicle. The 370 acres of land will be the housing site, and the 7,000-square-foot building at the center of the estate will be converted into a recreational center. The first set of homes are expected to be completed by Fall 2019, with prices ranging from $200,000 to $400,000.
• Realtor Nicole Lopez takes on her fierce competition with a special weapon — free tacos. According to CBS KENS5, Lopez uses social media to spread the word about her unique sales approach and has been met with overwhelmingly positive reception. If the buyers desire, she and the home sellers arrange for them to receive $250 credit worth of tacos at the nearest Torchy’s Tacos.