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Someone contacted me about work in the Bismarck/Mandan area. Have heard the housing in ND is similar to what is seen in south and west Texas: man camps or 1800/month for a two br without many amenities. I work downstream side of things. Any websites to check on housing availability?
I'm assuming you are talking about the Tesoro refinery in Mandan. Bismarck/Mandan is completely different from Williston, et. al. Unfortunately, it shares some of the same issues. Housing is scare but there are no mancamps and no intention of allowing one in either county. Bismarck and Mandan are in different counties with the Missouri River being the boundary between.
The housing market is much like Denver or another hot market. Homes are listed for 2-3 days before selling and selling at top prices over what they could charge a few years ago. Bismarck is the "higher" class of the two cities. Largely, this is because Bismarck has the state Capitol and Mandan has the refinery. I will say that Bismarck has some very nice walkable areas that are lacking in Mandan. If I was choosing between the two, I'd live in Bismarck if I could get a home in the walkable areas.
Rentals are tough to come by in general. It isn't oil field workers, but their families and white collar workers that are setting up offices in Bismarck for the future growth. I think it's a very nice area if you can handle the -10 in the winter.
I'm a Minnesota native and can deal with -10F or C. It would be full time refinery work rather than a temp job (I hope), so I'd be looking for a house or townhome/duplex in a decent area. You imply Bismarck is the nicer area, its 20 minutes or so to the refinery? Can you suggest a website to review housing options? We use www.har.com in Houston.
I'm a Minnesota native and can deal with -10F or C. It would be full time refinery work rather than a temp job (I hope), so I'd be looking for a house or townhome/duplex in a decent area. You imply Bismarck is the nicer area, its 20 minutes or so to the refinery? Can you suggest a website to review housing options? We use www.har.com in Houston.
Looks like some pretty high prices, must be a sellers market. I'm guessing builders are coming out of the woodwork to put these up. Care to name some established (more than 10 years in the area) builders, and guides to what areas are good for a single person (house 300-350k). Schools don't matter.
Bismarck isn't seeing quite as high of living expenses as further west. It is a sellers market, but to a lesser extent than a year ago. Mitzel Builders, K&L, Red Door Homes, and Diversity Homes are the first that come to mind for builders. There aren't really "areas" that are better or worse... we're too small for that. In the past, Bismarck has been considered a bit more prestigious than Mandan, and "south of the tracks" in Bismarck was considered more ghetto (even though some of the richest homes are actually south of the railroad), but those perceptions are changing.
Have things changed in the last 6 months? With the recent oil price drop by the Saudis some folks in Houston are watching projects more carefully.
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