Shale will drive local housing market outperformance

North Dakota owes its position as the strongest performing housing market in the US to the scale of shale oil and gas production in the State. Housing markets in a number of the other States sharing in the shale revolution are also outperforming. While fracking for shale deposits can also have negative consequences for housing in the immediate vicinity of wells, taken in the round further growth in the shale sector will be a significant driver of growth in construction volumes, home sales and house prices in certain States over the next decade.