Trading at new highs today: BRK.B, CAH, EEQ, MSFT, SRE, TSO.
I'm surprised the market has held up well as it has considering the shocking news that came out of Japan yesterday -- significant drop in Japan's growth -- reported earlier.
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Update on Minot Housing
This is an interesting story. Sometime ago -- maybe two years ago -- I mentioned that the recent housing boom in Minot was due to the oil and gas industry. I was wrong. Most of the housing boom, I was told, was due to the 2011 flood, and the Bakken boom simply added to it (or vice versa). Looking back, I am glad I was told that (by a Minot developer), am happy that it turned out to be accurate, and even happier that things seem to be improving for the folks in Minot. Prairie Biz Mag is reporting:
The flood destroyed more than 4,100 homes at a time when the oil boom in western North Dakota, attracting workers from across the country, pinched the housing supply in the region. So, as North Dakota experienced an affordable housing shortage statewide, the Minot region saw a two-fold crunch.
Experts say the oil boom started to pressure Minot’s housing market in about 2008, and the loss of housing stock during the 2011 flood exasperated the problem. At one point, the citywide apartment vacancy rate stood at 0.02 percent.
In recent months, as developers build more apartments, relief appears in sight. The apartment vacancy rate is now up to 3.3 percent, said Danelle Zietz, rental property manager for First Minot Management.And a bit more background:
Although Minot is on the edge of the Oil Patch, the city has seen immense growth due to the oil boom.
Bruce Carlson, a Minot Area Development Corporation board member and manager of Verendrye Electric Cooperative in nearby Velva said all sorts of industries, not just oil, are bringing more workers into Minot.
“Things have really changed,” Carlson said. For example, the Minot airport sees about 14 flights a day, he said. “Years ago, that was unheard of.”
Also, Minot Air Force Base recently announced it will be adding more than 300 personnel. On-base housing is at 90 percent occupancy, according to Lt. Col. Bryan Opperman.
And several oil companies, such as Hunt Oil Co. and Halliburton Co., have offices in Minot, Carlson said.
The national buzz about North Dakota jobs and economic prosperity has brought people to the state, particularly the western region, in droves.Also, not mentioned in the article, though I might have missed it, is the increased BNSF activity.
