Housing boom expected to follow SpaceX Louisiana arrival

Lafayette, Louisiana’s real estate market is stirring from a massive economic development proposed for a remote stretch of its coast. SpaceX has announced plans for a $100 billion Starbase Louisiana project — covering roughly 130,000 acres, including a large buffer zone around launch pads, in marsh land known as Pecan Island, part of Lafayette’s Vermilion Parish.The project is expected to create between 5,000 and 30,000 short-term construction jobs at its peak, eventually scaling toward thousands of permanent operations, engineering, technician and support roles. Many of those positions are expected to pay $90,000-plus, a significant draw in a region long dependent on oil and gas. Kimberly Lafleur, a Realtor at Compass-affiliated The Lafleur Group in Lafayette, said she and colleagues are watching with measured enthusiasm rather than a sudden frenzy. “We are cautiously optimistic right now on what this is scheduled to bring to us over the next 10 years,” she said. “We had some rumblings on this about six months prior, where we thought it may be happening. So, in the parish where it was, we started to see some movement.” Teresa Rainey, a Realtor for The Real Brokerage-affiliated Hou...