Real estate market activity in Hot Springs County

The three main realty companies in Hot Springs County — Remax All-Star Realtors, Properties West and RoundTop Real Estate — said there have been few dips in the market despite the economic downturn in not only Hot Springs County but in Wyoming.

Remax Under Contract Coordinator Buddy Rangel said sales have even gone up.

“Last year, 178 total transactions were made in Hot Springs County and 96 transactions by this time,” he said. “So far this year, we’ve had 120 transactions. For our office, that’s a 25 percent increase.”

Rangel said the prices on properties have went down slightly, but not by much. He said they had more sellers than buyers last year.

This year has resulted in the opposite with more buyers than sellers.

Property West Broker Steth Daniels said their business has went down slightly, but it has picked up this month.

“Inventory has increased,” he said. “I think we are slower than we have been. We don’t feel it as much as bigger communities, such as Gillette. This spring, I think Thermopolis watched what happened around the state. It seemed like we were behind on new listings this year. The first of July, more properties were listed. Price values have stayed almost the same. Last year was a really good year, going off some market values from this year.”

Daniels said for this year compared to last year, Property West is down 16 listings that have sold, which is about a 14 percent decline. However, there are five or six new listings within last two weeks that are under contract, which means that percentage could improve.

“We are down a little bit, but not too bad,” he said. “The average sale is pretty much exactly the same, within $500 from where it was.”

Last year’s average price was $145,700 and this year it is $145,200. The 2015-2016 year, Property West had the highest selling rates than other offices in the county, he said.

“It’s good to see that our office is still up in volume, price and everything,” he said.

RoundTop Real Estate Realtor Mark Manig said that in spite of the energy crisis in Wyoming, the average price of sold residential properties in Hot Springs County increased by 14 percent. However, they have experienced a slight decrease in the number of home listings compared to last year.

“Strategic thinking coupled with creativity have allowed us to realize a 69 percent increase in sales over the same period last year,” he said.

Manig said as a small, family owned and operated real estate brokerage, they have a deep inherent sense of service to the Thermopolis community.