Williston Deals With Housing Shortage
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| Samantha Mehrorta |
| 2/15/2010 |
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| Anyone living in or around Williston probably knows how tight the housing market has become. Newcomers are living in less than ideal conditions, because there simply aren`t enough homes available. City planners are trying to interest developers in building apartments or homes, but that takes time, and the need is immediate. Desperate times call for desperate measures. There are jobs, but virtually no housing, and when there are no other options, people are forced to come up with their own solutions. The most popular alternative so far? Checking into motel rooms. The general manager of the Vegas Motel says he`s full every night. "For a lot of people it`s the only option," said Vegas Hotel Manager Jeff Smith. "As you know, housing, to get into a good apartment right now is very hard to do. The list can be endless. What a lot of people are finding are they will come in, and they`ll go out and start looking for an apartment and they end up here because they get put on a waiting list, and usually there`s 30 or 40 names in front of them." Smith says it`s not uncommon to receive phone calls from 50 people a day searching for vacancies. The phone starts ringing at 7:30 a.m. and doesn`t stop. He says most people can`t help but feel discouraged. "They`re frustrated. The first question for most people who haven`t been around is why? What`s going on, you know? We end up explaining that it`s just a great oil economy for us right now. Everybody`s here," said Smith. It`s hard not to feel that way. At apartment complexes like Century, there`s a waiting list of between 80 to 100 people for a one or two bedroom apartment. People are just trying to figure out how to make it work when they`re faced with odds like that. Some have teamed up with real estate agents so they can get the jump on available properties. Kim Visser says she and her staff have been working overtime. "We are all busy. When the guys are working, you`re out at night showing out on weekends. Saturdays. Sundays," said Visser. It`s even tougher when it`s not just an individual, but an entire family wanting to move to town. "I`ve got one company that`s reported they`ve got between 16 to 100 people in that business that are working in North Dakota, but now want to move their families to North Dakota. So the opportunity and challenge ahead is the availability of builders, the availability of financing, the availability of infrastructure in those western communities." But despite the obstacles, there is a silver lining. Business for the hospitality and real estate industries has never been better. "To me it`s looking good, and we could probably try and do better, but I mean this has hit Williston hard and you know, the city commission and Mayor Koeser, they`re all trying to work hard to build Williston up. I think we`re doing a pretty good job," said Visser. Growing pains that planners and residents hope will lessen with time. We will have more on the housing shortage in Williston next week. |
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