While there is a recession in most of the US, North Dakota is still booming!
Quotes from an online article from
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State Report Shows Lack of Affordable Housing Getting Worse |
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Kevin Gribble
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1/5/2009
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“We all need a place to call home, but a new report shows finding a home in North Dakota won`t come cheaply. It also shows that paying the mortgage or rent may be impossible for some people if things stay as they are. The North Dakota Housing Finance Agency report shows that the average home value in the state increased by over 10% from 2005 to 2007, but that number is much higher in some parts of western North Dakota. The results show that affordable housing in North Dakota is becoming a rarity.
And it`s easy to see why. From 2005 to 2007, the median home value went up by 20.5%, but wages rose by only 6.6%.
It`s a much bigger problem in western North Dakota than out east. The numbers for western North Dakota`s four biggest towns tell the story. From 2005 to 2007, house values in Bismarck increased by almost $30,000. In Dickinson, it was more than $32,000. In Williston, 24% increases in both 2006 and 2007 equated to almost $39,000. Minot was spared the most with an increase of just over $7,000.
According to the report, finding an affordable place to live isn`t only difficult if you`re looking for a house. It`s also hard if you`re trying to find an apartment.
Anderson explains, "Home ownership is really out of the reach of everybody unless they`ve got dual incomes, but that also holds true where rent increases have gone up so high that even renting, it takes two incomes."
The state says you can blame the lack of affordable housing on soaring demand brought on by the oil boom and on inflation of materials and construction costs. For now, there`s not much anyone can do to help. But the report was released now so that it would give legislators something to ponder over in the upcoming session, a time when changes are possible.”