<prompt> Human: Back story: I live in central Wyoming and theres been several mine layoffs in this area recently. It just so happens that my SO and I have been house hunting for over two years now, and finally found the one. We were poised to put in an offer until my fiancé talked to his father who promptly scared him into putting the brakes on the whole operation. Hes been filling my fiancés head with talk of our town dying like it did in the 70s and the housing market plummeting to half the prices were seeing right now. Personally, I think hes being a doomster and is overly paranoid, but of course hes lived through it and knows what hes talking about. Is there any validity to his panic? Are we really on the verge of an economic crash?  <response>: I currently live in Gillette Wyoming. Here the price collapse has begun due to the low energy commodity prices, and I do think odds are high it will get worse over the long run due to the move away from fossil fuels. In my opinion it is too risky to buy a house at this time due to our areas economic climate. Im going to continue to rent, too much risk for me. Maybe that will change but Id let the election cycle play out at the very least before considering buying.Also, I have quite a few friends who bought over the last few years. Most did not put down twenty percent, many are upside down now. If you have the twenty percent and an emergency fund, youll be fine. But whatever price you purchase represents risk as well. Good luck in your choices!! 