Are home prices declining in wyo (Sheridan, Cody: second mortgage, townhouse, to buy)

[3rdIQ]

Originally Posted by rya700

1 year old thread (almost). Have real estate stats changed much? Fremont county has alot of houses for sale, I'm guessing prices have dropped slightly but not by much.

The low prices of natural gas and some bad business decisions by the major coal players in Wyoming have cost both industries some medium to high paying jobs. The employment rate is still below the national average but most cities and towns have felt the pain of loosing jobs. Spending is down slightly in the restaurants, bars and retail stores because of job uncertainty and of course waiting for the new president's proposals to materialize. The state is also feeling the drop in revenue so they are proposing all kinds of cuts for services and increases in other areas (like doubling the price of a driver license) In Casper and Gillette rental prices have taken a dive, a home that normally rents for $1600 to $1800 have fallen to $1200. The Gillette market is saturated with houses for sale and there are some good deals to be had. In Casper purchase prices have fallen off, but wintertime is not the best time of year either.

[WyoNewk]

"bad business decisions by the major coal players..." ????

I'm not backing (or aware of) any decisions by coal companies, but the main problem in the coal industry has been (1) Obama and his new restrictions/regulations on coal-powered generating plants and (2) low prices of natural gas. Combined these have slashed coal demand and prices, which in turn has caused layoffs (or at least not replacing those retiring or quitting).

In Gillette particularly, this has caused much lower employment figures throughout the city -- government, construction, retail sales and the service industry. A couple years ago Gillette's rental vacancy rate was less than 1%; it's now about 26%.

[3rdIQ]

Actually the restrictions proposed by the Obama administration were blocked by the Supreme Court, (a vote of 5 to 4) which essentially froze their implementation even before an initial judicial review. And it's doubtful Trump administration will press forward with any of this. But, for conversation... the regulation called for for states to submit compliance plans by by late 2016 but it allowed for a 2 year extension. That is now off the table. The first deadline for power plants to reduce their emissions would have been 2022, with full compliance not required until 2030. That's a long way off with a lot of maybe's involved.

Meanwhile, coal companies gambled on the prospect of selling metallurgical coal to China and were investing heavily in that play. Peabody's investment of 5 Billion for Macarthur Coal of Australia is a good example. They bought near the peak for coal prices there and Peabody underestimated rival coal supplies and overestimated the growth of Chinese coal consumption. When the China deal died, Peabody and several other several companies were spiraling toward bankruptcy. Yes, local coal jobs were cut (and Gillette was especially hard hit) but the coal companies were in survival mode as even the big banks were hesitant to bailout an industry that has been declining for many years. Advances in mining technology have made miners more efficient and less in demand. So when Peabody fell, Arch and Alpha were close behind. Peabody's own executives listed the reasons as an unprecedented industry downturn, which it attributed to a range of factors including an economic slowdown in China, low coal prices and overproduction of domestic shale gas. In other words massive fracking in the shale-gas boom has played a big role in the overabundance of natural gas which in turn has eaten further into coal's share of electricity generation. Trump and Wyoming Congresswoman Cheney campaigned to bring back coal jobs, but since the private sector drives that industry it's hard to tell if their promises have merit.

[Ltdumbear]

Short version ? WYOMING IS A MESS right now.


Not that I am an expert on anything related to this particular thread, but looking around me lately...ALL I see are homes and businesses for sale and people are literally DUMPING everything they have for quick money on Craigslist and multiple-related 'for sale' FB-groups STATEWIDE.


For those who have the mean$, my best advise to any/all of you looking to 'relocate' here to Wyoming would be: A VERY big financial-storm is either ON IT'S WAY, or we are only experiencing the 'eye' of the 08' Bubble, and the 2nd-coming or 'wave' of that storm IS likely on it's way.


STAY PUT and DIG-IN as best you can, because when/if 'it' hits...I highly doubt it'll really matter WHO or WHERE you are.


After having watched a badly banged-up late-80's Ford Bronco pull into this motel parking-lot (with an even WORSE condition bumper-pull travel-trailer in tow behind it) driven in by a bunch of (stoned) Haitian Rastafarians inside, proves to me beyond a SHADOW of a doubt that it is every bit just as bad here in Wyoming now, as it is anywhere else.


And this is one of THE very last 'small towns' left here in Wyoming. So, that's saying quite alot right there.


But hey...do whatever you gotta do.

[WyoNewk]

Originally Posted by 3rdIQ

Actually the restrictions proposed by the Obama administration were blocked by the Supreme Court, (a vote of 5 to 4) which essentially froze their implementation even before an initial judicial review. And it's doubtful Trump administration will press forward with any of this. But, for conversation... the regulation called for for states to submit compliance plans by by late 2016 but it allowed for a 2 year extension. That is now off the table. The first deadline for power plants to reduce their emissions would have been 2022, with full compliance not required until 2030. That's a long way off with a lot of maybe's involved.

Meanwhile, coal companies gambled on the prospect of selling metallurgical coal to China and were investing heavily in that play. Peabody's investment of 5 Billion for Macarthur Coal of Australia is a good example. They bought near the peak for coal prices there and Peabody underestimated rival coal supplies and overestimated the growth of Chinese coal consumption. When the China deal died, Peabody and several other several companies were spiraling toward bankruptcy. Yes, local coal jobs were cut (and Gillette was especially hard hit) but the coal companies were in survival mode as even the big banks were hesitant to bailout an industry that has been declining for many years. Advances in mining technology have made miners more efficient and less in demand. So when Peabody fell, Arch and Alpha were close behind. Peabody's own executives listed the reasons as an unprecedented industry downturn, which it attributed to a range of factors including an economic slowdown in China, low coal prices and overproduction of domestic shale gas. In other words massive fracking in the shale-gas boom has played a big role in the overabundance of natural gas which in turn has eaten further into coal's share of electricity generation. Trump and Wyoming Congresswoman Cheney campaigned to bring back coal jobs, but since the private sector drives that industry it's hard to tell if their promises have merit.

It's no secret that Obama did everything that he could during his two terms to kill coal. His (EPA's) efforts and cheap natural gas is what halted construction of any more coal fired generating plants. "Environmentalists" jumped on the bandwagon at the same time, creating social pressure. (Never mind that gas, from start to finish, is probably worse for the air than is coal -- due to escaping into the atmosphere before it's capped.)

Whether or not undoing what's already been done will help much or not remains to be seen. It's certainly better, but I'm not so sure I'd want to invest in a coal-powered plant at this point. Trump is likely a blip -- a 4-year one. What happens then?

[lluvia]

Originally Posted by Ltdumbear

Short version ? WYOMING IS A MESS right now.




After having watched a badly banged-up late-80's Ford Bronco pull into this motel parking-lot (with an even WORSE condition bumper-pull travel-trailer in tow behind it) driven in by a bunch of (stoned) Haitian Rastafarians inside, proves to me beyond a SHADOW of a doubt that it is every bit just as bad here in Wyoming now, as it is anywhere else.

Maybe they were on vacation?

[Ltdumbear]

Maybe they were on vacation?

Riiiiight...funny how the FBI & ATF did'nt quite see it that way.

Bear in mind (despite my own connections in Gov't) I might be getting myself in trouble for even having brought it up, but I would be remiss if I had'nt shed some light on how radically & quickly things ARE changing here in Wyoming.

Thx to the corrosive-effects of Globalization, it is no longer a 'sanctuary' or safe-haven from the outside world.

[lluvia]

Originally Posted by Ltdumbear

Maybe they were on vacation?

Riiiiight...funny how the FBI & ATF did'nt quite see it that way.

Bear in mind (despite my own connections in Gov't) I might be getting myself in trouble for even having brought it up, but I would be remiss if I had'nt shed some light on how radically & quickly things ARE changing here in Wyoming.

Thx to the corrosive-effects of Globalization, it is no longer a 'sanctuary' or safe-haven from the outside world.

Okay, so the (stoned) Haitian Rastafarians had illicit alcohol, tobacco, firearms and/or explosives in the travel trailer?!

[Ltdumbear]

As you can imagine, it takes quite a considerable amt of (tax-payer funded) resources to mobilize such an operation, so yes...I am inclined to believe there was a fair amt of 'illicit activity' going on, related to the individuals involved.

Fortunately no shots were fired and (to my knowledge) no one was injured.

And just like that, it was cleaned up and kept quiet.

[lluvia]

Originally Posted by Ltdumbear

As you can imagine, it takes quite a considerable amt of (tax-payer funded) resources to mobilize such an operation, so yes...I am inclined to believe there was a fair amt of 'illicit activity' going on, related to the individuals involved.

Fortunately no shots were fired and (to my knowledge) no one was injured.

And just like that, it was cleaned up and kept quiet.

Thanks for the info.
I always thought stoners were more pacifist in nature especially Rastafarians.