Coal layoffs cause major home foreclosures in Gillette

More than 500 homes are for sale in Gillette ... And ten percent of them are in foreclosure ...after April's layoffs left more than a thousand people without incomes.

The foreclosure rate is already three percent higher than last year.

Jamie Pederson of the Northeast Wyoming Realtor Alliance said, "So we do expect to see that number climb, but it's very slightly...6–12 months down the road might be a different story."

Pederson says Gillette sees an average of 400 homes on the market but the number currently sits at 525 homes for sale.

In the last two months, forty homes have sold in Gillette ... But Pederson feels this is the calm before the storm.

"Peoples unemployment hasn't run out yet, people are still receiving payments, they're still able to make payments," Pederson adds.

If there is a bright side ... It's the reduced prices on many of the homes for sale ... Making them good deals for buyers.