$10 rural Manitoba lots going fast, thanks to social media

The power of social media is suddenly changing a rural municipality in southwestern Manitoba that has been selling parcels of land for $10.

The Rural Municipality of Pipestone has been offering bargain-priced residential lots in some of its communities for the past three years. Until recently, only a few lots were sold.

But interest in the $10 offer has spiked in recent weeks, thanks in part to Reddit and Facebook users sharing this CBC article from October 2013 and other past stories.

• Manitoba RM looks to sell ghost town lots for $10

"The media has definitely been something. The internet has been something that's been a great support to us," Tanis Chalmers, the RM's economic development officer, told CBC News on Wednesday.

"We just started into social media, and so I think it can only get better from here."

Chalmers said only six of its 24 lots remain up for grabs.

"It is a nice little community. You have to be willing to live in the rural lifestyle that it is," Chalmers said.

"We don't have a Wal-Mart or a Home Depot, things like that you can live without those things for a while."

Municipal officials have communicated on Skype with interested buyers as far away as Dubai, she added.

Must build home on purchased lot

Chalmers said the RM has seen about 12 homes built over the past three years, translating into roughly 30 new residents in the Reston subdivision alone.

"I think it's as successful as it can be. Obviously when you buy a $10 lot, you need to build a house on it, but we do have people doing that," she said.

Buyers are required to construct a home on thelot within 15 months of the closing date on their offer. They must also put down a $1,000 deposit $990 of which they would get back once thehome is built.

Chalmers said the goal behind the $10 offer is to boost the municipality's tax base by bringing new homeowners and businesses to the area, which is located in Manitoba's oil patch.

"We are in the heart of the oil industry [and] agriculture's a main industry here. There's definitely some support services that we're lacking, so long-term, short-term accommodations and other services that would be nice to have another restaurant, that sort of thing," she said.

She noted thatone couple recently moved to the area from British Columbia and purchased a motel that was damaged by fire a few years ago, with the plans for reopening the restaurant and bar.

Chalmers also shared the story of one woman who has relocated her family from Winnipeg.

"Now she loves it here. There's safety for her family, the close-knit community with the community events and smaller schools, that sort of thing. So they really like it here."