The affordable quality starter home: does it exist?

CASPER, Wyo — The rising price of homes, the lack of subsidized housing units and other challenges in housing, as well as potential solutions, have arisen in various discussions recently on the Casper City Council.

“We know that we have a need for residential development… particularly as it relates to starter homes, affordable homes, workforce housing, and so on,” said City Manager J. Carter Napier said at work session on Tuesday.

That discussion centered on rezoning lots on an empty 9-acre tract off Robertson Road in hopes of selling it off to developers who might deliver the kind of one-to-four-unit housing structures that councilors most want to see.

The work session also included a presentation by Casper Housing Authority Executive Director Kim Summerall-Wright, which focused on housing assistance but included figures relevant to the broader picture.

“In July of 2024, the average home price was over $390,000,” Summerall-Wright said, citing state data. “That’s completely out of the ballpark for anybody who is just starting [and] young families… there’s a lot of people that just can’t do that.”

Vice Mayor and real estate broker Lisa Engebretsen shared an even starker figure with Oil City News on Thursday.  Using the Wyoming Multiple Listing Service, she put the average home price at $517,305. The median was about $380,000.

Those prices have dropped considerably since the peak in the second quarter of 2022, but it’s still up over 5% from last year, according to the state economic analysis division.

That’s a big gap for families looking to make their first step out of the rental market, especially after relying on credit to deal with inflation, Engebretsen said.

Engebretsen added that the rising cost of homeowners insurance due to the age of the homes has also been a deal-breaker for some first-time buyers.  Of the 37,531 housing units in Natrona County, 70% are over 35 years old, Summerall-Wright said.

Engebretsen added that builders are trending toward multi-story homes with tiny yards on smaller lots, which is more economical for them but not preferred by Wyomingites. The elderly in particular do not want homes with that many stairs, and many are choosing to remain in larger homes rather than size down and lose value in the market.

The Wyoming Community Development authority said this week that about 20,000-40,000 homes are needed in Wyoming to accommodate job and population growth, and there are a number of barriers.

One is that Wyoming’s relatively small population and population density makes it difficult to attract large-scale developers and home builders. “Small-scale local builders are a vital component of a healthy housing market, but often cannot achieve the cost savings of large builders,” the WCDA said.

Engebretsen said that problem should be partially alleviated by recent changes to state law that allow governing bodies to recognize contractor licenses granted in other Wyoming counties, cities and towns.

The WCDA also recommends that cities, nonprofits, and contractors work together to build shared funding pools and land banks, and to coordinate on efforts to seek state and federal grants. New builds also require towns to build out more public works infrastructure.

Councilor Amber Pollock asked about whether the city might find partners to pursue funding through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which provides grants to secure abandoned or foreclosed properties for rehabilitation.

“That is something we’re actively exploring,” City Attorney Eric Nelson said, speaking as a board member of the Natrona Health Trust Collective, which has a committee focused on housing.

Summerall-Wright’s presentation focused specifically on housing challenges among low-income families and individuals struggling to find housing of any kind.

The median household income in Natrona County is about $85,900, Summerall-Wright said. Housing authority assistance is only available to those making half that or less, though there are some federal tax credits to those making 60% or less.

She said the CHA is currently maxed out on assistance it can provide to qualified low-income families and individuals, adding that 8,634 people are living in poverty. Single-parent households and people with disabilities suffering the most.

“We believe we are short about 1,500 housing units,” Summerall-Wright said. For now, those people are staying in overcrowded and substandard homes, in temporary homes with family, or in cars, tents, and trailers. The Wyoming Rescue Mission is the only emergency housing in the city, while the CHA has some properties dedicated to transitional housing.

Meanwhile, Wyoming communities too small to build out housing assistance infrastructure are sending people to Casper for assistance that the CHA can’t accommodate, Summerall-Wright said.

“What’s happening is we’re getting overwhelmed with homeless and low income people because there are no services elsewhere in the state,” she said.

She said that’s partially due to a change in Wyoming law 30 years ago that consolidated waitlist administration for all eight communities with HUD services with the Cheyenne Housing Authority.

It’s a problem only the governor could fix, she said.