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Housing report: Highest in state

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By
Mary Stroka, NLJ Reporter

WCDA assesses Weston County housing affordability

Weston County’s home ownership rate is the highest in the state, according to a report that the Wyoming Community Development Authority released earlier this month. Ironically, the report noted that home ownership here has increased substantially since 2010, while the poverty rate in Weston County has also risen in that time and now exceeds the state average.

The WCDA, the state’s agency that helps people in Wyoming finance their first home and administers affordable rental housing development programs, completed its 2024 State Housing Needs Assessment after hearing a growing demand for affordable workforce housing, according to a March 4 news release. Root Policy Research, a Denver-based community and housing research firm, conducted the study.

The 300-page report reviews trends in housing, demographics, economics and housing need projects, both across Wyoming and regionally.

“WCDA will be looking at doing a statewide housing strategic plan along with our housing partners statewide that we have been working closely with over the past several years,” WCDA Executive Director Scott Hoversland said in an email on March 10. “The strategic plan will be the foundation for informed decision-making, policy development, and resource allocation to meet the diverse housing requirements of our residents.”

Section III of the report, which is about northeast Wyoming, spans pages 90 through 136. The report found that Weston County has the highest home ownership rate of any Wyoming county and that the county saw a 9 percentage point increase in home ownership between 2010 and 2021, but it noted that the home ownership rate estimates had “substantial margins of error” in both years.

The report said that possible explanations for the increase in home ownership include that the portion of county residents who are at least 65 years old, and more likely to own homes, has risen “significantly” since 2010. Also, total employment in Weston County increased 4%, while regional employment fell 6% over the time period.

“The Northeast Region’s growing senior population underscores the importance of providing aging-friendly housing options moving forward, while the Region’s shrinking share of working-aged individuals raises concerns about a shrinking workforce,” the report said.

From 2010 to 2021, median income rose for homeowners and decreased for renters in Weston County, the report said. The county’s poverty rate in 2021, 14%, was 6 percentage points greater than that of the state. In 2010, Weston County’s poverty rate, 8%, was less than the state’s 10%.

Hoversland said 85% of Newcastle houses were built before 1990 and that even though median home prices in Weston County have seen “a substantial rise” in price, the median prices are lower than those of the region and of the state. The number of Weston County households that are “severely cost burdened,” which means that at least half of the gross income is spent on household costs, rose from 138 in 2010 to 250 in 2021. Households that are “cost burdened,” which means between 30% and 50% of gross income is spent on household costs, dropped from 349 in 2010 to 253 in 2021.

The portion of renter households that are cost burdened rose from 14% in 2010 to 35% in 2021, according to Hoversland.

 

Newcastle

According to Hoversland, in 2021, 41% of renter households were cost burdened in Newcastle. The rental vacancy rate in 2023 was 12%.

Newcastle Apartments manager Jennifer Donner said in an email on March 8 that Weston County hasn’t seen the employment booms that Campbell, Johnson and Sheridan counties have experienced. Booms in those counties prompted people to move into town, creating a need for more housing.

The report stated that Weston County’s population decreased 2.5% from 2010 to 2021, while Sheridan County’s rose 8.6% and Campbell County’s increased 8.3%. Johnson County’s increased 1.8%.

While the average incomes of households leaving Campbell County have been higher than those moving into the county, the opposite is true for Johnson and Sheridan counties, the report said. Weston County’s average income has been about the same for people moving into the county as that of people moving out of the county.

“It should be noted that these are averages and can be skewed by a small number of very high income households in some of the years,” the report said.

Donner said she was “a little shocked” to see the vacancy rate for Weston County since Newcastle Apartments is at full capacity 85% of the time and people looking for housing have a hard time finding units to rent. Having more one-bedroom apartments would be helpful, according to Donner, who said that most of her applicants are middle-aged and older single people. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development occupancy guidelines state that two-bedroom and three-bedroom units should have at least two or three residents.

“Buying a house anywhere is hard for anyone,” she said. “At 10%, or even 5%, cash down, it’s going to take a lot of time saving. Most people have to ask family to help with down payments. … Most of the young adults these days would rather live in a van by the river compared to the older generations (who) started life by planting roots, with buying a home, starting a family and working hard every day.”

 

Upton

Hoversland said that Upton’s population grew 20% from 2010 to 2021. All of that population increase was in people who are at least 45 years old. In 2010, there were three households that paid at least half of their gross income on household costs, he said. In 2021, 68 households were devoting that much of their income to those costs. Households that paid between 30% and 50% on household costs rose from 39 in 2010 to 53 in 2021. In 2021, 17% of owner households and 46% of renter households were spending that much on household costs.

Upton Clerk-Treasurer Kelley Millar said in an email on March 8 that she did not feel comfortable commenting on low-income housing needs in Weston County.

“I have not had the opportunity to read the study entirely and cannot offer reputable or valid opinions as to the content at this time,” Millar said. “I can offer this: Does Weston County have a need for attainable single and multi-family housing regardless of income and without the cumbersome red tape that can come with federal or state funding sources, yes.”

Upton is working on a local housing study in-house, according to Millar.

 

Buying versus renting

Julie Domina, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty Black Hills who lives and works in Newcastle, said in an email on March 10 that her passion, and the reason that she became a real estate agent was to help families with low or median income leave “the rental roller coaster” and begin owning a home so they could produce some generational wealth and gain some stability.

“A very basic residential search for homes under $200,000 on the North East WY Realtor Alliance (NEWRA) MLS website for Weston county produced only 9 properties for sale,” Domina said. “These homes vary of course in condition which can affect which loan types can be used. Some of the least expensive homes can only be purchased with cash as they do not meet loan requirements.”

Someone paying off a 30-year mortgage on a $200,000 home at the mortgage rate she saw on March 10 –7.125% — would be paying $1,212.69 per month, which doesn’t include taxes, insurance or the down payment that is required for a conventional loan.

Potential buyers have told her that their families can’t afford to rent a three-or-more bedroom apartment, which costs between $1,000 and $1,500 monthly, but they also don’t have the credit to buy a home, she said.

“Some landlords have seen the need and increased the rental amounts,” Domina said.

With the low inventory and higher interest rates and home prices, many are in a “wait ‘n see” game, but it’s better to buy a home and then refinance later, she said. Many mortgage companies are offering to refinance at 0% or reduced prices, and there are programs, including some through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, that offer little to nothing down.

“Get a lender that is patient and communicative, they’ll guide you into a loan that suits your finances,” she said.

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