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Like much of the rest of the housing market across Alberta, Olds has reached a frentic pace nobody in the business here has seen before. There are currently no residential lots available in town and in such a tight existing market, potential homebuyers have little choice in what some would call a "seller's market".

"You snooze, you lose in this market," said Hugh Bodmer, a local real estate agent.

"If you wait, there is a chance you might find something better yet - that's possible - but you may not either."

Bodmer said that although Olds experienced a bit of a lag time in comparison to the major city centres, the pace has soared to new heights in recent months.

"I have never seen anything like it since I've been in business," said Bodmer, an agent in the area since 1993. "There is very little choice between $100,000 to $300,000 with some choice above that of course."

There is also outside interest in the community, with commuters from Calgary and Red Deer willing to buy and live in the Mountain View County area and travel into work.

All the factors add up to create a squeeze on potential homeowners within the community.

Eden Lalani is a local business owner who has been looking to buy a home in Olds for the past two years.

"We are first-time buyers, we need something affordable but livable," Lalani said.

She and her husband were looking for their perfect home, an older one with lots of square footage, which they could both agree on.

But with the rapid increase in market value of residential properties, homes they were looking at two years ago have increased $100,000.

"We have been saving and saving," said Lalani. "The more we save the higher the houses go up."

Potential homeowners are not the only ones frustrated.

Real estate appraisers have been privy to new complications with the recent insurgence of online private sales sites such as Welist.com, PropertyGuys.com and BuySell.com.

"There is a variety that do not share sales databases like the regular multiple listing services that you get through a realtor," said Brian Powell, real estate appraiser at Perry Appraisal Associates Ltd.

This means no comparable information on residential properties sold through these companies, which makes comparing similar properties for appraising a challenge.

Coupled with a two to four per cent increase in value over the last six months, it's hard to say how much a property in Olds is worth these days or will continue to be worth in the future.

"There is evidence now to suggest that the Calgary market is slowing," said Powell.

"We generally will watch and use Calgary as a barometer as to what may be happening up here."

But nobody knows which way the barometer is tipping at the moment.

"It's a crapshoot for lack of a better term," said Bodmer in reference to interest and mortgage rates, the oil and gas industry and inflation.

Until then, folks like the Lalanis will have to keep watching.

"I don't think we need to be alarmist about the housing situation in Olds," said Bodmer. "It's just something we have to take in stride and deal with."