While building-permit totals for Cold Lake were only $29.2 million in 2010, they hit over $61 million in 2011 and have been chugging along in 2012.
Real estate sales have been strong, to say the least.
Colleen McEntee, executive officer for the Northeastern Alberta Realtors Association, said 2012 is shaping up to be a record year for sales in the city.
As of the end of August, there had been 346 single-family homes sold in the city in 2012, which is already more than the 331 sold in all of 2011.
Condo sales for the current year had also already passed 2011 volumes, McEntee said.
While summer sales are driven to an extent by transfers of personnel to and from 4 Wing Cold Lake, home to some of Canada's best-trained fighter pilots, the bump in sales is more an indication of just how busy the oilpatch is right now.
Sales volumes aren't the only thing rising. The average single-family home price is up about 5.6 per cent over last year to $344,649.
"We have very, very little inventory that's available right now," said McEntee, noting the city of 14,400 only had about 50 single-family homes on the market as of early September.
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., Cold Lake's vacancy rate for rental apartments fell from 4.9 per cent in April 2011 to only 0.3 per cent in April 2012. Rents, on the other hand, jumped about 3.8 per cent in that same time span.
Cold Lake was the second-highest-priced rental market in Alberta ($1,175 per month for a two-bedroom unit) after Fort McMurray as of April 2012.
Housing remains a significant challenge for employers looking for staff in the area, confirmed Sherri Bohme, executive director for the Cold Lake Chamber of Commerce.
Rental crunch
It's likely to become even more of a crunch issue as trades flock to the Esso site as construction ramps up. The oil giant isn't utilizing a camp for project employees because construction is happening relatively close to Cold Lake.
from Western Investor October 2012
