Low availability, high home prices spur Affordable Housing Task Force
Jul. 15—CHEYENNE — With a major missile upgrade coming to Laramie County, bringing thousands of jobs with it, one of Cheyenne's biggest problems could get worse. But the newly created Affordable Housing Task Force had its first meeting Monday, ready to find solutions and best practices to make affordable housing a reality in Wyoming's capital city.
It will be a daunting problem to tackle, as housing is continuously selling faster and at higher prices. Data from the Cheyenne Board of Realtors found that in June 2011, existing housing units spent an average of 61 days on the market. Right now, the average is 11 days.
The red-hot market also brought with it increased prices, with existing home sales having increased from a $179,662 average in June 2011 to $311,176 in 2021.
Pointing again to the phrase "You're either green and growing or ripe and rotting," Mayor Patrick Collins said, "If we don't have places for people to live, we're going to be dying. So, for me, this is the number one problem we need to fix."
But Collins also added that the problem is plaguing communities across the state. He said his hope is this committee can lay the groundwork for other Wyoming communities to follow.
"I'm hoping that the best practices that we learn and come up with here can help everyone else, and we can become statewide partners in doing this."
The task force's first task will be to amend the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce's 2018 Affordable Housing Study, taking a look at what will need to be accomplished through 2030. Three years ago, the Chamber found a shortage of 3,000 housing units, and Collins said he expects that shortage to worsen in coming years with community growth and developments.
The task force established working groups at its meeting Thursday, which will work on identifying the problems and finding actionable items to fix them. From gathering data on rental availability to seeing how other communities incentivized more affordable developments, the task force ultimately hopes to provide the Cheyenne City Council with tools and recommendations.
An update on the group's progress will be presented to the council in August.
And as Century 21's Linda Weppner pointed out, "It's got to cover all segments of the housing market."
Right now, high demand and low supply are affecting homebuyers at each stage in the process, as Weppner laid out. People who have been living in starter homes and are ready to upgrade can't find housing that works, so they're staying in place. That leaves first-time homebuyers and folks whose kids have grown up with limited options for buying a home.
While the Chamber's initial housing study didn't address rental units, the Wyoming Center for Business and Economic Analysis at Laramie County Community College found that the vacancy rate for apartments in 2020 hovered around 1%.
Besides 2019, when the vacancy rate was closer to 0.6%, the rate is by far the lowest it's been in 20 years. The vacancy rate previously sat closer to 50%.
Collins said, "Unfortunately, we haven't found a solution, and our problems continue to grow."
But the hope is the task force can work toward solutions in the years to come.
Margaret Austin is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's local government reporter. She can be reached at maustin@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3152. Follow her on Twitter at @MargaretMAustin.
