Wyoming

Demand for a higher quality of life and booming natural gas exploration turned Wyoming into a fresh air destination, and as a result the Wyoming real estate market has seen growth. But as one of the least populous states in the country Wyoming has seen a slowdown in housing sales like most of the nation.

The inventory of homes listed for sale has increased and builders have called it quits fearing the market will stall out all together. New home builders have learned their lesson well in this mostly rural outback state.

In Casper the energy boom produced five years of record growth, but things seem to be slowing down. Casper is the state’s largest city, and during the energy industry's bust in the 1980s and early 1990s many builders went broke, and as a result they’ve been careful not to build too much inventory this time around.

Casper has seen prices rise, but not at high double digit levels, and will see a further slow down with housing deflation for the first time in years of just 3.8% in 2008, according to the Housing Predictor forecast.

City	Forecast
Casper	− 3.8%
Jackson Hole	− 3.5%
Cheyenne	− 4.2%
Buffalo	− 3.9%
Lander	3.2%

Prices have just begun to deflate in Cheyenne and sales are down slightly. Cheyenne is the capitol city, but increasing inventory has slowed the market, and it will also see falling prices, averaging 4.2% less for the year.

The city of Buffalo is just outside of Wyoming's booming coal-bed methane fields near the picturesque Bighorn Mountains, where workers want housing for their families in the "Cowboy State." Buffalo will see healthy enough home sales for a while before the market slows more drastically and falls an average of 3.9%.

Until recently Wyoming hasn’t followed national real estate trends, but national mortgage companies offering mortgages to subprime borrowers and secondary financing is beginning to take its toll on Wyoming real estate. Still, Wyoming has one of the lowest foreclosure rates in the nation.

In the resort market of Jackson Hole, known for some of the best white powder by snow skiers in the world, the market remains fairly strong. A second home market keeps the area popping. Demand in this resort community outside Yellowstone national park has increased nearly every year for the last two decades. The median home price has topped $1-million.

Prices were higher at the height of the Savings and Loan Crisis back in the early 1990's, but prices don’t seem to mean as much in the second home market, where more than half of all home buyers pay cash for property. Jackson Hole still will see slower sales and a slight drop of 3.5% in average sales prices by the end of the year.

In Lander near the Wind River Range, where new residents have been moving for more than 10 years, the market is still relatively healthy and it will remain that way at least for a while. The booming natural gas market has also bolstered the community, which should net 3.2% in appreciation through years end.