By now, everyone in the country knows about the energy boom taking place in North Dakota. Consistently our state is ranked at the top for economic indicators - less than 3% unemployment, record sales tax collections, almost zero foreclosures, rapid construction boom, etc. However, the biggest number that people are watching is the barrels oil per day output of crude oil. The ND Petroleum Council reported that for the month of May, North Dakota had 609,371 BOPD, behind only Texas in the United States. This number, which has increased to its current record level from its previous record of 510,000 BOPD in January, has a direct impact on the number of workers needed in the oil patch. For the last few years, workers have been swarming to the small communities in North Dakota looking for opportunities and a chance to start over. Some of my friends who live in the patch have told me stories of standing in line with people from all over the country who have come here to try and salvage their financial livelyhood - their facing foreclosure and bankruptcy and hope that the opportunities here can turn their lives around. Many of them come here with nothing, leaving their families behind, and staying anywhere they can in order to make some money to afford one of the few houses around while still being able to send money home to their families in need.
This has led to an unprecedented number of RV's and mobile homes pouring into the streets of Williston and other communities. This is often the quickest way for people to put a roof over their heads in a North Dakota climate that can be very unpredictable. There is no question that these units have been absolutely necessary - the labor force coud not have kept up with the demand without them, and even housing opportunities like hotels and apartment complexes, not to mention single family homes need a place for their contractors to stay before they are open for residents. Some developments which hope to help alleviate the housing shortage, such as the new Best Western Hotel under construction on the north side of town, have the entire construction crew living on the job site in RV units. The hope is that permanent structures can be erected quick enough to satisfy the demand of the workers and new residents, but the 100% occupancy rates and 0.4% unemployment in Williston has shown that the supply just isn't there yet. Even so, the city of Williston has started taking steps to eliminate RV units from their streets, in the hopes of forcing people to choose other options. Without a doubt, their are problems associated with people living in RV units, but with nowhere to go, what option do many of these people have besides paying the fines imposed by the city? Supply will catch up eventually and Realtors like myself are working with developers from all over the country to try and create alternatives as quickly as possible (I submitted another PA today by a group looking to build a new RV park in town!!) but these take time.
Is their a better solution? Has anyone else seen situations like this elsewhere and how have other communities responded?
-Thomas Beadle
KW Commercial - Fargo, ND
www.ThomasBeadle.com
www.facebook.com/KWFargo
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