Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 04/15/2007 - 05:00.
Gillette Wyoming housing prices on the rise
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The energy boom has helped Wyoming buck national trends, with prices on the rise and median-income houses hard to find.
Sherry McGrath, broker/owner of ERA Boardwalk Real Estate, has seen the market in Gillette explode with the influx of workers and higher wages.
“The wages have a big impact on our market,” she said. “People’s wages are higher, so there’s a value to that, too.”
Statistics show prices have increased in every price range at an average of about 15 percent from last year, which she found surprising. A popular price range now is $200,000 to $300,000 McGrath said. “Builders understand that’s where there is a need,” she said.
Steve Laakso, president of the Campbell County Board of Realtors and Realtor at ERA Boardwalk Real Estate, said an existing single-family home is now selling in the mid-$200,000 range.
Home prices have gone up considerably since he moved to Gillette in 1985, he said. But, Gillette’s economy has continued to grow, as well.
Nationwide, the median price for an existing home sat at $221,900 in 2006 and $219,600 in 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors research Web site. In February 2007, the national average median price for an existing home was $212,800.
That’s lower than the median price for an existing home in Gillette, which Yahoo! Real Estate puts at about $264,900. While the median price of a home in Gillette is significantly higher than the national figure, Gillette’s real estate economy has lagged behind the national trends for several years.
“Homes seem expensive to us because we’ve been under the national average for home prices,” Conklin said.
In 2004, the median price for an existing home in Gillette was $173,420, which was below the 2004 national median price of $195,200.
According to McGrath, the average bi-level home in 2002 would have cost from $137,000 to $145,000, depending on its condition. Today, that same home would start at about $237,000.
“In our market today, there is virtually very, very little under $200,000,” she said. “Today people are looking in the $200,000-to-$300,000 range, where three years ago, they would’ve looked in the $100,000-to-$200,000 price range. There’s not going to be anything in that price range (today). It just doesn’t exist.”
Gillette’s real estate market also has the benefit of sitting in the middle of an economic boom. “The national market does not have the economy Gillette has right now,” Laakso said. “There are some places that are overbuilt and we haven’t seen that here yet. This town has a lot of growth coming.”
Because of that growth, Gillette has become a seller’s market. “Sellers are getting their top dollar,” Laakso said. “But we are seeing new construction to compete with existing homes.”
That new construction adds a significant amount of homes to the market in Gillette. The number of homes available stands at about 198 houses. Surprisingly, this number is higher than it was last year, when there were 111 homes on the market, and 2002 when there were 125 homes on the market.
Conklin also attributes this higher number to new construction. A lot of homes being built now are higher-end homes in the $400,000-plus range, he said.
“It’s a matter of what you can get for your money,” he explained. McGrath said there are more people who are buying in that high range. “They are looking for a substitute for what they had somewhere else,” she said. “A few years ago we would never have been able to sell all of those (homes that are now going up).”
The cost of buying a piece of property to build a business on also has climbed. There is an increase in demand for commercial property because more people want more services.
Gillette’s commercial land prices are “all over the board,” according to Rich Gleason, real estate agent at Prudential Preferred Properties. “If you’re talking (Highway) 59 or Boxelder, it’s going to be different than other places,” he said.
Gleason put the price of vacant commercial land anywhere from $3 a square foot to $16 a square foot, with the more expensive land in more desirable locations. Three years ago, according to Gleason, the more desirable land would’ve been anywhere from $9 to $10 a square foot. Gleason has seen a steady demand, but no big influx or rush in sales.
Source: http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/articles/2007/04/15/news/news05.txt
Sherry McGrath, broker/owner of ERA Boardwalk Real Estate, has seen the market in Gillette explode with the influx of workers and higher wages.
“The wages have a big impact on our market,” she said. “People’s wages are higher, so there’s a value to that, too.”
Statistics show prices have increased in every price range at an average of about 15 percent from last year, which she found surprising. A popular price range now is $200,000 to $300,000 McGrath said. “Builders understand that’s where there is a need,” she said.
Steve Laakso, president of the Campbell County Board of Realtors and Realtor at ERA Boardwalk Real Estate, said an existing single-family home is now selling in the mid-$200,000 range.
Home prices have gone up considerably since he moved to Gillette in 1985, he said. But, Gillette’s economy has continued to grow, as well.
Nationwide, the median price for an existing home sat at $221,900 in 2006 and $219,600 in 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors research Web site. In February 2007, the national average median price for an existing home was $212,800.
That’s lower than the median price for an existing home in Gillette, which Yahoo! Real Estate puts at about $264,900. While the median price of a home in Gillette is significantly higher than the national figure, Gillette’s real estate economy has lagged behind the national trends for several years.
“Homes seem expensive to us because we’ve been under the national average for home prices,” Conklin said.
In 2004, the median price for an existing home in Gillette was $173,420, which was below the 2004 national median price of $195,200.
According to McGrath, the average bi-level home in 2002 would have cost from $137,000 to $145,000, depending on its condition. Today, that same home would start at about $237,000.
“In our market today, there is virtually very, very little under $200,000,” she said. “Today people are looking in the $200,000-to-$300,000 range, where three years ago, they would’ve looked in the $100,000-to-$200,000 price range. There’s not going to be anything in that price range (today). It just doesn’t exist.”
Gillette’s real estate market also has the benefit of sitting in the middle of an economic boom. “The national market does not have the economy Gillette has right now,” Laakso said. “There are some places that are overbuilt and we haven’t seen that here yet. This town has a lot of growth coming.”
Because of that growth, Gillette has become a seller’s market. “Sellers are getting their top dollar,” Laakso said. “But we are seeing new construction to compete with existing homes.”
That new construction adds a significant amount of homes to the market in Gillette. The number of homes available stands at about 198 houses. Surprisingly, this number is higher than it was last year, when there were 111 homes on the market, and 2002 when there were 125 homes on the market.
Conklin also attributes this higher number to new construction. A lot of homes being built now are higher-end homes in the $400,000-plus range, he said.
“It’s a matter of what you can get for your money,” he explained. McGrath said there are more people who are buying in that high range. “They are looking for a substitute for what they had somewhere else,” she said. “A few years ago we would never have been able to sell all of those (homes that are now going up).”
The cost of buying a piece of property to build a business on also has climbed. There is an increase in demand for commercial property because more people want more services.
Gillette’s commercial land prices are “all over the board,” according to Rich Gleason, real estate agent at Prudential Preferred Properties. “If you’re talking (Highway) 59 or Boxelder, it’s going to be different than other places,” he said.
Gleason put the price of vacant commercial land anywhere from $3 a square foot to $16 a square foot, with the more expensive land in more desirable locations. Three years ago, according to Gleason, the more desirable land would’ve been anywhere from $9 to $10 a square foot. Gleason has seen a steady demand, but no big influx or rush in sales.
Source: http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/articles/2007/04/15/news/news05.txt
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