Wyoming, Casper housing market soars amid national slump
From staff and wire reports | Posted: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 12:00 am
Wyoming continues to ride against the tide of the nation's slumping housing market.
The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales of single-family homes and condominiums dropped by 0.4 percent in January - the slowest sales pace on records going back to 1999. The median price of a home also slid, dropping 4.6 percent from a year ago to $201,100.
The Cowboy State in general, and Casper in particular, continue to be the exception.
Dennis Langdon, a real estate agent in Casper and president of Wyoming Multiple Listing Service, said the state's robust economy, driven by the energy sector and its ancillary occupations, is creating a demand for housing, keeping prices afloat.
"We've been bucking the trend for a while, because the demand is huge here," he said. "It's gloom and doom everywhere else, and it's influencing how people are making their decisions (as to where to live)."
The median selling price for 58 homes that sold in Casper in January was $179,000, up from $168,392 for 74 homes that sold in December, according to the Wyoming Multiple Listing Service.