News

Housing pains

By Carole Cloudwalker

This document was published online on Wednesday, October 08, 2008

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This house in the 500 block of Circle Drive is one of many for sale in the Cody area. (Photo by Ken Blackbird)

The real estate market in Park County is feeling a “ripple effect” from economic problems elsewhere in the country that's preventing some buyers from relocating here.

But while real estate sales may have slowed here because of those problems, they are still occurring.

The slowdown is despite a “thicker real estate guide than ever before,” says Al McCreery of Sommers and Voerding Real Estate in Cody, referring to the number of listings.

“The market is not healthy in Cody,” McCreery cautioned. “But prices are not coming down.”

While that's a good thing if you're selling, it's bad news if you're hoping to purchase a home, he added.

On the plus side, “the banks will try to work with people,” he added.

McCreery feels the nationwide economic picture is impacting this area in one big way: anyone interested in moving to Cody Country likely depends on selling a home someplace else to afford to buy one here. And properties are not moving in many other places. That ripple slows sales in Cody, McCreery said.

Recent national news reports cite record drops in home sales in August, along with a glut of homes on the market, with little sign of improvement in the financial crisis.

A shortage of buyers, not a lack of homes for sale, appears to be the biggest problem nationwide, and that also is true in Park County, brokers say.

Erynne Selk, an agent with Prudential Brokerage West Real Estate in Cody, feels that national problems may slowly be catching up locally, even though this area seemed to dodge the bullet for some time.

“The nation's effects have caught up with Cody,” said Selk, a 1993 Cody High School graduate who with her husband now is raising two children here.

“We're feeling a kind of ripple effect - certainly sub-prime loans and mortgages are tougher to get financing for,” she said.

An average local home that may have been on the market for $200,000 or more a year ago might be offered for $180,000 today, Selk said.

“Last year you could hardly find a house for less than $200,000,” she added.

In addition, banks are reviewing options that might help people move into houses, she added.

“Lenders are doing so many different things and offering different types of financing ... there are options out there,” Selk said. “It's a good time to buy.”

She added that local lenders are “wonderful” at working with people interested in purchasing homes, so buyers should “definitely try to go local” for the best financing.

In addition, real estate prices have come down and “they're back to normal,” Selk added.

She said this year appreciation on homes appears to have left the double digits and is stabilizing at 4-5 percent per year, rather than the 11 percent seen the previous two summers.

“The Rocky Mountain region is kind of an exception” to negative nationwide realty trends, Selk theorized. “But things always catch up.”

In general, “Cody always will be a stable market,” despite temporary ups and downs, she said.

Selk feels the county commissioners and both city and county planning boards should keep a careful watch on new proposed subdivisions.

“And they should seek the community's opinions on growth” to prevent an overabundance of developments with no buyers in sight, she added.

“I would encourage anyone thinking about real estate to call a licensed agent and go through the research,” Selk said. “This is what we do - it's our job.”

Park County Assessor Doug Brandt said while real estate values have not dropped, at least not far, fewer homes are selling.

He believes some of the national housing difficulties have resulted from “people buying at $500,000 and wanting to sell for $1 million,” when appreciation might indicate a $600,000 price would be more realistic.

“The market is higher than our assessments,” Brandt said. “I like to think we're conservative in our assessments. We're seeing many sales higher than I'm assessing for, so I don't think I'm over-assessing.”

He added that he has not seen back-to-back sales where the same home went for less on resale, but rather “they're on the increase in second sales.”

Brandt also believes local banks “are more conservative” in making loans, though he recently heard of a new home buyer who, with great credit, was able to borrow from a Cody financial institution 100 percent of the purchase price with no down payment.

This area did not experience a large number of bankruptcies that left homes repossessed and vacant, the assessor added.

“We didn't seem to get caught in the national turmoil - yet,” he said. “It's a good time to buy, if you have money. Interest rates are down.”

And while some areas are seeing a depressed real estate market where home values are dropping 30-40 percent, “we don't have that in Park County,” he added.

(Carole Cloudwalker can be reached at carole@codyenterprise.com.)

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