Housing
The rental market is something of a controversial issue in Swift Current. According to a recent report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the town's vacancy rate is 9.6 per cent, which would make it one of the highest in Saskatchewan. "That is a surprise to me. I don't know where they get their numbers," said Rhonda Toth, the Swift Current-based president of the Association of Saskatchewan Realtors. Toth estimates the real vacancy rate is close to or lower than the 2.5 per cent provincial average. She said a steady influx of new immigrants, mostly from Europe, the U.K, the Philippines and South Africa, for increasing rental demand.
Adam concurs, noting that he gets calls regularly from potential tenants looking for rentals, adding that about half of the 14 new apartment rental units under construction in town have already been claimed.
Typical rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Swift Current is $668, up from $663 a year ago, CMHC says. The agency notes that they count all privately owned rental units in apartment buildings.
Swift Current housing sales rocketed up in June, compared to a year earlier, but the average price of detached home is still around $200,000, Toth said, adding that two new subdivisions are currently being developed. "Overall, the market seems to be remaining fairly balanced," she said.
Regional
Swift Current is a pivot for the economy of southwest Saskatchewan. Located at the junction of Highway 4 and the TransCanada Highway, the city serves a regional population of approximately 55,000 and is home to more than 16,000 residents. Swift Current also has a $38 million regional hospital, complete in 2007, that serves residents across the southwest.
The regional economy has been traditionally driven by its powerful agriculture engine, which includes cereal and specialty crops as well as the livestock industry. Swift Current has three grain terminals as well as several agricultural service businesses. The presence of the internationally known Semi-Arid Prairie Agriculture Research Centre emphasizes farming's importance to the economy. Improved growing methods and diversification are increasing the region's economic stability. Although cattle and wheat still reign supreme, other livestock, cereal grains, pulses as well as oil grains could become predominant.
Manufacturing
The city has attracted large-scale businesses to the community, including Batco Manufacturing, Rem Manufacturing, and Urban Forest Recyclers who supply half of North America's egg tray market. These and other manufacturers have contributed to the diversification of the economy from farming, ranching and the oil industry. Swift Current is the base for oil exploration in Western Saskatchewan, an area that yields medium crude oil and medium natural gas. Exploration has increased significantly in recent years.
In June, the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors raised their projected drilling activity forecast by 24 per cent after a busy first quarter of 2011. In the first three months, rig use in Saskatchewan was 71 per cent, with 78 out of 109 available rigs pumping in the first three months. In comparison, Alberta's use rate reached 67 per cent, with 385 rigs running out of a fleet of 571.
Tourism
The opening of the $35 million Living Sky Casino has helped to boost tourism in the city, drawing many visitors from both Alberta and the U.S. The casino has also kicked off retail development in the area, including the construction of a Canadian Tire, Mark's Work Warehouse, the Brick and a new Holiday Inn Express. A new $15 million community centre, with a six-sheet curling rink and a hockey arena, also draws visitors. With one of the highest non-local traffic counts along the TransCanada Highway, the city's tourism potential is significant, according to Salberg.
Swift Current's building permits hit $17.6 million in the first six months of this year, up from $14.1 million in the same period last year, according to Barry Kowbel of the city's building department.
Kowbel noted that this doesn't include a new $9.5 million waste-water treatment plant, where site work has started but the building permit has not yet been issued. Most of the 110 permits this year are for multi-family residential, which 60 units underway, including two dozen condominiums.
Incentives
The City is offering tax incentives for new and expanding businesses, Salberg said, "We realize businesses need to move in a timely manner to take advantage of opportunities, and therefore so do we."
The economic potential for both new and existing businesses is encouraging. About six million people live within a 800-kilometre radius, emphasizing Swift Current's role as a financial, service, social distribution and manufacturing centre.
Swift Current is also home to Saskat-chewan's first full-service enterprise centre. The Southwest Centre for Entrepreneurial Development offers entrepreneurial training and free business counseling to budding entrepreneurs and existing business alike. The Centre also has an extensive business resource library and public Internet access terminals.
As the largest center in the southwest region, Swift Current now boasts a vibrant downtown business core that was recently upgraded, as well as two large shopping malls: The Swift Current Mall and the expanding Wheatland Mall.
from Western Investor August 2011
