New Eagle Ford Workforce Housing Coming - Press Release

Sendero Ranch Dilley

New Workforce Housing is coming to the Eagle Ford. San Antonio based developer Koontz McCombs is in the final stages of construction of its second Eagle Ford Shale Workforce Housing development. The Sendero Ranch developments are located in Pearsall and Dilley and consist of custom built one and two-bedroom cottages, which are being leased to companies and individuals working in the Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas play.

Noel Perez, City Administrator, stated “While the majority of current developers are addressing the immediate need for housing for oil field related employment, our city is currently faced with a severe shortage of affordable housing. While we certainly welcome our new neighbors with open arms, we cannot forget that we also have a need for housing to be made available to residents not involved in the oil play. Residents who are still in their current jobs and those with relatively fixed incomes. The City of Dilley encourages all developers to consider perhaps the construction of more apartment complexes as well as affordable residential housing."

The gated communities at Sendero Ranch are not your typical man camps, but are more like a traditional subdivision with each cottage having its own private driveway and covered front porch. Each residence comes fully equipped with furnishings, housewares package, cable and high speed internet, linens, and weekly maid service. In addition, the properties feature a community center with a pavilion and BBQ area, recreation room with pool table, ping-pong table, large flat screen television, and a laundry facility.

The Pearsall location opened in June of 2012 and has two-bedroom residences available for occupancy. The Dilley location will be opening in early February 2013 and will consist of 85 two-bedroom residences. Our Dilley location also features commercial and industrial lots for sale.

For additional information on the Sendero Ranch developments please contact:

Loren Gulley Vice President, Koontz McCombs 210-841-9262 www.senderoranch.net

The article above was published through EagleFordShale.com's press release distribution service. Learn more at the Eagle Ford Advertising page.

Chesapeake's South Texas Campus Continues to Expand - Pearsall

Chesapeake's South Texas Campus in Pearsall is expanding further as the company completes a 300-unit housing development sometime in October. Eagle Ford housing demand far outstrips supply in this area of the play and many of the company men drive from San Antonio to work each day. The housing facility sits on a 285-acre campus where the company has almost 200,000 square feet of office space in use or under construction. In a few short years, Chesapeake has grown its full time staff from virtually zero to over 600 employees. Don't expect that trend to change anytime soon. Chesapeake has plans to spend 40% of its capital budget in the Eagle Ford in 2013.

Read more related to the new facilities being built at bizjournals.com

Will School Districts Be Forced to Build Housing?

Eagle Ford housing issues will likely continue until permanent housing can can meet the needs of the population. In the mean time, we're going to see investments from places you might not expect. School districts are the latest to enter the fold in home development. Oilfield workers have brought their families and snapped up available homes across South Texas. That same influx of people and students has increased the need for teachers. The new teachers in turn face the challenge of finding affordable homes. (FYI - there aren't any)

McMullen County ISD has built homes before and it along with other school districts are determining the best way to invest this time around. With rental homes going for $2,000 per month or more, affordable housing is more scarce than ever. The school districts will have to help or open positions will not likely be filled.

Three Rivers recently purchased a piece of land and placed two mobile homes on the property as a short-term solution. Rohrbach said they've budgeted $100,000 to get the project started. Long-term, the plan is to build houses or duplexes on the land. More money will be approved as needed, Rohrbach said.

Rent will be reasonable, he said, at about $500 or $600 a month.

Read the full story addressing the issue at caller.com

How Long Before New Neighborhoods are Built in South Texas?

The Eagle Ford housing market has driven investment in hotels, man-camps, RV parks, and to some extent apartments. The one thing missing is permanent homes. An article addressing the topic was published yesterday in the Chronicle.

Read more at chron.com

Builders are largely risk averse and will take their time in moving into the more rural parts of South Texas. The boom and bust nature of the oil business combined with the long development times of neighborhoods has many apprehensive.

"If it's going to take seven or eight years, you're reluctant because you don't know what's going to happen with the play," he said. "Not until people feel like there's going to be economy stability will there be home building."

I'll say this. Money talks. As the 50,000 workers in the region begin building savings and preparing to buy homes, you can bet the builders will step in.

Eagle Ford Consortium Highlights

Just a few thoughts from the Eagle Ford Consortium Conference last week:

• Production is outpacing expectations - Almost double early predictions from UTSA
• Housing remains a concern, but investors are beginning to consider major multi-family developments
• Peak drilling in the Eagle Ford is expected at 2,500-3,000 wells per year
• The success/economics of downspacing will ultimately decide how far we go below the range of 65-130 acre spacing currently
• More than 70,000 direct Eagle Ford Shale jobs will be created by 2020
• Permits issued over the past three years in the Eagle Ford have gone 2009 - 94; 2010 > 1,000; 2011 > 3,000
• In the most active counties, sales tax revenue increases have been as high as 500%
• Oil prices remain the major risk to development

UTSA is currently working on an updated economic impact study and the expectation is for almost all figures to be revised upwards. The new study will be out in April.

Use the comments below to share your thoughts and notes from the conference. I only hit on the major themes I heard from talking to everyone in San Antonio.