Amber Hills Properties Z & R Ventures, Inc. Watford City, ND
For those who don’t live in and around the Bakken, it’s difficult to understand what it’s like here in the Williston Basin. A few years ago, Watford City and Williston were like a lot of North Dakota towns: quiet.
There were a few stores on Main Street, a Walmart and a some family-friendly restaurants that you didn’t need reservations for. Some people were still oilfield workers, others farmed and ranched. Back then, you could buy a house for less than $100,000. If you wanted to rent an apartment in Williston, you could get it for $300-$500 a month.
Thanks to the exploration of the Bakken shale, fracking and the high-paying oilfield jobs that followed, however, those days are behind us. Fast food businesses are paying employees $15/hour and Walmart is paying $17/hour and still having a tough time hiring. Rent an apartment in Watford City or Williston now and you’ll pay $2,000 or more. Hotel rooms are non-existent. Home prices are skyrocketing. Oilfield workers are living in their cars despite earning six figures a year.
Big money is being made in “man camps”, which offer full-service lodging for oifield workers. These man camps provide a room for sleeping and up to three meals a day for those staying there. With laundry facilities, game rooms, televisions and other basic amenities, man camps are a popular option for these workers. For the people who purchase land around the Bakken and put up these man camps, the money to be made is significant. Rooms rent for an average of $150 to $200 per night, and empty rooms are rare.
But that’s not the whole story. Somewhat more “traditional” rentals in Williston, Watford City and surrounding North Dakota towns are bringing huge returns on investment. Manufactured homes built to suit 8 people rent out for over $13,000 every month. Put a 2-bedroom trailer house on a property with utilities and you can receive tenant income of $4,000 a month or more from oilfield workers who value having a little more privacy than man camps offer. People who invest their money in Bakken housing now can make it back quickly and then start earning straight profit within a few months.
