Are people paying a lot of money to live in Wyoming towns? (Gillette: real estate market, insurance)
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Are people paying a lot of money to live in Wyoming towns?
Granted, I'm using the word 'city' loosely...but, it seems that there aren't many houses available for, say, under $130,000 in most Wyoming towns.
That probably sounds low already...but when you look at things in the midwest or southern states...you can find a 1000 listings per city. Granted WY towns are much smaller, but what I do see at that price in WY, the housing looks like what would go for half that price in the midwest or a southern state.
You are correct. Some small towns in Wyoming where jobs are extra scarce and income is low will have cheaper homes, because the labor to build them is cheaper. Where I am in Gillette, expect to pay $200,000 to $250,000 for a nice starter home (1100-1500 sq ft, dbl garage in the city limits).
Median household income in 2008 for Gillette was $64,061. Compare that to the towns that have homes for $130,000 and you'll probably see why home prices are less.
Granted, I'm using the word 'city' loosely...but, it seems that there aren't many houses available for, say, under $130,000 in most Wyoming towns.
That probably sounds low already...but when you look at things in the midwest or southern states...you can find a 1000 listings per city. Granted WY towns are much smaller, but what I do see at that price in WY, the housing looks like what would go for half that price in the midwest or a southern state.
Yes, Housing prices are higher in WY than some other states, like some southern and midwestern states. When my DH and I lived for a short time in North Dakota we could have bought a nice sized 3bdrm. house for around $25,0000 while at the same time a home similar to that here in WY was going for around $80,000. Mind you this was over 15 years ago so prices have gone up in both states. But I'll give you an idea about why house prices are higher in WY than say North Dakota, it's because WY is more of a desirebale place to live.
Desireability plays a lot into house prices in any state. You know what the real estate market always says is most important, location, location, location. When you compare WY housing prices to other desirable states we are pretty cheap and you can get more bang for your buck in WY than say CA or NY.
I don't know if I'd say a "Lot" of money... my cost of living (home mortgage and utilities included) is Substantially similar in Denver as it was in Lander, WY. Granted, in Denver I live in a very ethnic neighborhood (lowers home values), and have a house with slightly more room and a 3-car vs. the 1-car garage I had in Wyoming.
And Lander isn't exactly on the cheap end of the scale either... but you're still looking at about a $150k minimum to get into a house vs. a trailer. Not much inventory either (there were exactly 6 houses on the market under $250k when I was looking to buy 4 years ago, only 2 were really considered but both of those were under $150k). We had 2200sq/ft and a 1-car garage, in town... the other we considered was substantially similar, though no walk-out basement so the 'listed' Sq/Ft was half.
Yes, that's a HUGE difference from where my in-laws live in Georgia. The money we spent on the house in Lander would have bought us a nice house with acreage near where they live. Go to the middle of the country (Lincoln, NE was the cheapest place to buy at one point) and you could easily buy enough land to have a small ranch for self-sufficient living for the same dollar spent. But there's a hidden cost to those places too, where you don't get the quality of life offered in Wyoming. I've lived away from Wyoming and the Rockies long enough to know that I hate it. My wife only took about 2 years to realize that she never wanted to move away from the mountain states (after growing up in Georgia). Even the cities in this area (Denver) have a better feel and attitude than other cities... well, I guess that's opinion/subjective, but it's Clearly a Different feel.
... Where I am in Gillette, expect to pay $200,000 to $250,000 for a nice starter home (1100-1500 sq ft, dbl garage in the city limits)....
I should clarify that the square footage I'm talking about is above ground footage. Obviously if you include basement area, as most homes in Wyoming have, it makes a big difference in cost per sq ft. Let's say my 1500 sq ft home, without a finished basement, would sell today for $225,500. That's $150/sq ft. I've got an additional 800 sq ft finished in the basement. No, that doesn't add $120,000 to the value. I finished it myself for about $5000 ($6.25/sq ft). It probably adds $15,000 in value, making my home worth maybe $240,000.
When shopping for homes, be sure you know if the square footage listed includes any basement area, and if so, how much. Also, some basements have walkouts, garden level windows and 8-foot ceilings. Those are very livable areas compared to the basements with 12" high windows, 7-foot ceilings and no outside egress (which can't have a legal bedroom due to fire codes).
Yes, Housing prices are higher in WY than some other states, like some southern and midwestern states. When my DH and I lived for a short time in North Dakota we could have bought a nice sized 3bdrm. house for around $25,0000 while at the same time a home similar to that here in WY was going for around $80,000. Mind you this was over 15 years ago so prices have gone up in both states. But I'll give you an idea about why house prices are higher in WY than say North Dakota, it's because WY is more of a desirebale place to live.
Desireability plays a lot into house prices in any state. You know what the real estate market always says is most important, location, location, location. When you compare WY housing prices to other desirable states we are pretty cheap and you can get more bang for your buck in WY than say CA or NY.
Who would want to live in either, unless you were in the boonies!
When buying property in Wyoming. Outside of the towns there is no building codes. If you do buy or build outside of a town you could have someone build a million dollar mansion or a pull in a $5,000 trailer next door. It probably varies slightly from county to county.
actually, some counties that surround particular cities do have and enforce building codes and there are some cities/towns themselves that do not have any means for a building department or building codes. so, it depends where you are.
I might add that yes, Counties do have building codes. Some do. But insure a building, have it fall down from snow, then try and get your insurance money. Some do. But not all.
So what I'm saying is that although some counties do not restrict building as much as another county, there are other factors.
The county I live in not only has a building code. But there is an area around the city, that is actually county, that is called the comprehensive planning zone. In this zone, if you build, you will build to CITY code. This zone is an imaginary area of where the city plans on being in 15 years. (I think it's 15, might be 10).
I know in Cody you must agree to build to code even though there are no inspections except septic out of city limit.
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But not all.
