Here is a view from Lot 50 at Spring Hollow Ranch – This lot is sold but it helps show the beauty Spring Hollow Ranch has to offer.  Jackson Hole Sotheby’s International Realty along with Garth Gillespie represent the developers of Spring Hollow Ranch and we are excited to offer extremely competitive pricing for the summer of 2010. 

All lots at Spring Hollw Ranch have access to 130 acres of open space.  This is not your normal open space but it is recreational space where we have hiking trails, a spring fed pond with gazebos, access to the Rails to Trails and excellent cross country skiing in the winter.

Summers in the Teton Valley are some of the best in the west.  The towns of Driggs and Victor have farmers markets, there is an outdoor music series every Thursday night, Grand Targhee resort offers downhill biking, hiking and 2 nationally known music festivals.  There are excellent resturants (just opened Teton Thai in Driggs).

Prices for 6 to 30 acre lots start at $150,000 and go to $350,000.  44 of the 50 lots have incredible views of the Grand Tetons.  Call for details – 307-413-5243.

The Teton County, Wyoming real estate market experienced an increase in buyer demand during the first quarter of 2010 and Jackson Hole Sotheby’s continues to lead the way with a 70% market share as reported by Teton County MLS. 

In May 2010, sales volume rose 166% over last year and units sold doubled.  Teton County MLS reported elevn sales over $1 million in May, verse 7 in April and 4 in May.  The interest above $1 million has been encouraging and when you compare this years sales (40) over $1 million verse only (19) last year.

The sales team at Jackson Hole Sotheby’s continues to dominate the market.  Christy and I appreciate working with such a great team because it offers us so much insight.  When you work with the best agents in Jackson you are bound to learn a thing or two.  We also have the opportunity to hear about new listings not yet in the MLS or we are able to “sell” or educate an agent on a property we have listed if we hear they have a buyer looking for something in particular.  It is just a great resourse.  To give you some data to support this representation we just have to look the sales in May.  During the month of May 2010, 73% of the properties that sold in Teton Countywere liste with Jackson Hole Sothebys and our Sotheby’s team sold 55% of all properties that closed in May as reported by Teton County MLS. 

Pretty great numbers for our agents and we are proud to be part of the team.  The Gillespie Team has been contibuting to these numbers during 2010.  We have been involved in 10 transactions for 2010 and in May we sold 5 listings!

To learn more about the Gillespie Real Estate Team or about the advantages of working with Jackson Hole Sothebys International Realty please feel free to call Garth Gillespie at 307-413-5243 or email me at garth.gillespie@jhsir.com.

Entry sign to Spring Hollow Ranch

 SPRING HOLLOW RANCH – TETONIA, IDAHO

Christy and I are proud to be able to offer an outstanding vacant land opportunity just over the hill from Jackson Hole, Wyoming in the lovely Teton Valley of Idaho.  Spring Hollow Ranch is a 50 lot development in the north end of the Teton Valley of Idaho offering outstanding views of the Tetons, high quality ammenties, strong ownership and very affordable pricing.

Lot sizes vary from 6 acres to over 30 acres in size.  All but 6 lots have full Teton views and all of the lots have access to the most beautiful recreational space available in the Teton Valley.  A private trail sysytem links both phases of development and offers the opportunity for miles of hiking, bike riding, horseback riding and cross country skiing.  34 acres of the open space includes a spring fed pond that attracts wildlife to the property.

For more information on Spring Hollow Ranch please feel free to contact Garth Gillespie at Jackson Hole – Sotheby’s International Realty at 307-739-8056 or 307-413-5243.

Jackson Hole Q1 Real Estate Results

Today at Sotheby’s International Realty – Jackson Hole Real Estate Brokerage we sent out this informative newletter to out client base.  It is a very good article about recent active in the Jackson Hole housing market.  I think you will find it very helpful in understanding what is currently happening….

With things a bit quieter here now that Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has successfully closed out the ski season, Sotheby’s International Realty is studying recent real estate activity and preparing for what by recent indications could be a hot summer selling season. Click for more

So far this year data from the Teton County Multiple List Service reports an upward trend in real estate sales in Jackson Hole. In March, for example, unit volume was up 170 percent suggesting increased buyer demand.

Looking at entire first quarter of 2010, dollar sales volume rose 88% percent over the same period in 2009 according to our analysis of the market and MLS data. Interestingly, twenty-five sales were for properties of more than $1 million, versus only 11 in the first quarter of last year. This could be read as a sign that though there are still excellent values to be found, some buyers see current prices as true bargains and are taking action and the lower end of the market is beginning to stabilize.

Certainly proper pricing has played a key role in getting the market back on track. Our market-watch committee meets each week to review pricing of the latest pending sales, closed sales, current inventory and new listings. The committee reports its findings at our weekly sales meetings.

While the lines on the graph are heading in the right direction, we continue to increase our sales and marketing efforts keeping us on top of the latest trends with increased e-marketing as well as creative print advertising.

Our overall expertise as well as in specific market areas around the valley such as the Town of Jackson, Shooting Star, Teton Pines, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Hotel Terra, north of town, in eastern Idaho, etc. – allows us to closely monitor the pulse of the daily market activity and helps us deliver exceptional service to our clients.

Initiatives like this appear to be working for Sotheby’s and its clients. In Q1 of 2010, Sotheby’s Jackson Hole Brokerage accounted for more than 70 percent of the total dollar volume in the Teton County.

The Gillespie Real Estate Team at Sotheby’s International Realty in Jackson Hole Wyoming has just updated the “Top Picks of the Week”. Please follow this link: Top Jackson Hole Real Estate Values to see the top values in the Jackson Hole real estate market. Every week or so the Gillespie Real Estate Team will update the Top Picks to showcase great deals in Jackson Hole including townhomes, condos, houses, golf course property, ranch land, ski-in ski-out properties and other great values we see in our real estate market. We also showcase a Listing of the Week, a Sold Property of the Week and a Price Reduction of the Week.

Don’t miss out on learning about the great values in the Jackson Hole Real Estate Market brought to you by The Gillespie Real Estate Team of Garth & Christy Gillespie, Katie Colbert and Don Alsted.

Last fall, Congress extended the Home Buyer Tax Credit to April 30, 2010 and expanded the program to apply to non-first time homebuyers as well. These buyers are sometimes referred to as “repeat buyers” or “long term residents”.

 Here are some further details on the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit:

Deadline: All buyers must be under contract to purchase a home by April 30, 2010 and must close on that home by July 1, 2010.

Type of Property: This credit may only be applied to primary residences and can include townhomes, condos and single family homes.

Type of Buyer: In order to qualify as a first time home buyer, buyers cannot have owned a home anytime over the last 3 years. In order to qualify as a ‘repeat buyer’, the current homeowners must have used the home that is being sold as a principal residence for 5 consecutive years within the last 8 years. Additionally, the full credit is only available for taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income of $125,000 or less.

Tax Credit: The tax credit for first time homebuyers is $8,000 and the tax credit for “long-time residents” is $6,500. Buyers can apply their credit to their 2009 return or apply the credit on their 2010 tax return.

Trivia: For 2008 and so far for 2009 tax year, the IRS reported that 1.763 million tax payers applied for the First Time Home Buyer Credit and received credits of $12.4 billion. (Source: CNBC 03/17/10)

 Time is running out – must be under contract by April 30, 2010.

Check out great Jackson Hole properties offered by Christy & Garth Gillespie at www.jacksonholeexperts.com

Wanted to post with an update on the improving sales and activity in the Jackson Hole real estate market.  As with the January statistics we have to put the numbers in perspective — last year we only had 4 sales….  February 2010 was much better with 10 recorded sales in the Teton Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.  7 sales under $1,300,000 and 3 sales over $4,000,000.  Notice the market gap between $1.3 and $4 million — This is the market Christy and I see as the slowest segment. 

Of the lower priced properties 4 look to be “local” purchases which is very encouraging.  Last year Christy and I did not see the “local” market move around much through out the valley.  We are currently showing a lot of properties to locals so we hope this translates to an active spring and summer sales season.  Of course the only way this market will move forword will be if the sellers of all properties properly understand the market and price their homes at current market prices.  There is an indication that we are starting to see the new listings enter the market with proper price placement.

The other segment of the market – over $4 million looks to be responding to the more stable ecomony and rising stock prices.  We still see uncertainty in the markets but it seems like there is a general consensus that we have turned a corner.  This news seems to have brought a few additional buyers into the market.  We will continue to watch this trend as we close out the first quarter. The three other transactions mentioned above were:  All on the “west bank” with one in Teton Village (ski/ski out home – Granite Ridge), one in HHR and one in John Dodge which sold for over asking price (listed at $7.4 million!).

Updates should be coming more frequest as we will have Katie Colbert – Buyer and Commercial Real Estate specialist – for the Gillespie Team adding to our blog posts.

Here’s to a Happy St. Pats.  Go Marquette and Wisconsin in the NCAA Tourny!

For additional information on Jackson Hole Real Estate please feel free to call or email the Jackson Hole Experts!

Christy and me are excited to introduce Katie Colbert, real estate sales Broker, as a new member of the Gillespie Real Estate Team.  Katie has been working behind the scenes for us for the past 6 months and has an excellent grasp of contracts and client communication.  Jackson Hole commercial real estate is an area that we are often asked about but are usually forced to referral to others.  With Katie’s extensive knowledge and networking skills we will have the opportunity to lend our experience in this segment of the market.  As mentioned in a previous post, Christy and I are working on a new townhome development in the town of Jackson called Cottonwood Flats Townhomes.  Katie will be one of our main sales people on the site so feel free to contact her at 307-739-8078 for additional questions.

Katie has extensive experience in both residential and commercial real estate in Jackson. Originally from Minnesota (Viking Fan – I will not hold it against her), she graduated with a degree in Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Go Badgers!) and has been pursuing a successful career in the field ever since. Katie enjoys working with buyers and assisting them in all levels of the transaction. She is relentlessly optimistic and has incredible passion for the business. The Gillespie team is eager to have Katie join us as an Associate Broker and we are ready to meet the demands of 2010 with a dynamic team to help you with your real estate needs.

For additional information on the dynamic real estate market here in Jackson Hole, Wyoming please feel free to contact any of us at 307-739-8056 or visit us at Jackson Hole Experts.

The final, final statistics are not quite finished but Sotheby’s International Realty Jackson Hole Brokerage has compiled the final sales numbers from the Teton Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service for 2009.  The past year will go down as one of the most difficult real estate years in history.  With financing difficult to find and more importantly a complete lack of buyer interest, sales across the entire spectrum slowed t a crawl.

The year did not start out well at all with only 20 transactions in the first quarter!  The second quarter improved a little with 63 transactions.  Finally during the last half of the year we started to see some activity market wide and had a total of 143 deals take place.  The totals are incredible when compared to the previous few years.  Unit volume declined 28% vs. 2008 and 65% vs. 2007.  Sales volume was even worse being 52% lower than 2008 and 71% lower than in 2007!

From Garth and Christy’s perspective the Jackson Hole market has a ways to go before we see any type of recovery.  There are chunks of the market that have not realized the decline in sales and prices and have refused to adjust with the current market.  There are 53 active listings between $2 and $3 million with only 1 pending sale in this price range.  The low range in the market $350,000 and below has barely adjusted which is resulting in a completely stalled market. 

What does this mean?  I will be updating the blog in the next few weeks and I’ll try to lay the frame work for recovery.  We have seen some motivated sellers which have resulted in sales so we are hoping sellers and the real estate community is starting to grasp the severity of the declining market.  The only way we recover is for the market to reflect the 30% to 40% decline and adjust the prices accordingly.

Jackson Hole is still a fantastic community.  It offers good schools, a top notch hospital, incredible arts and social environment, fabulous resturants and that small town charm many people desire.  Wyoming still offers incredible tax savings, abundant wildlife, great ski resorts and ample space for recreation.  These aspects are still here so we see a lot of opportunity for Jackson and the real estate market to rebound.

Stay tuned for additional information and thank you for visiting the Jackson Hole Experts Blog provided by Garth and Christy Gillespie.

Here we are 2 days before a new decade! Christy and Garth Gillespie have been extremely busy this month which is a good thing. We are very excited about our new opportunity — we have been choosen to market a new development in the Town of Jackson – Cottonwood Flats Townhomes. This is an amazing opportunity for us and for the buyers in Jackson Hole.

Cottonwood Flats Townhomes will be a neighborhood consisting of 65 townhomes ranging from 2 bedrooms to three bedrooms and all of them offer garages and property. They will be brand new! This is a big deal — I just looked in the Teton County Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service and there are 27 available “like” units for sale between $350,000 and $450,000. Do you know what the average age of those units are? 27 years old!

Stay tuned for more information. We will have a price list, development plan and property descriptions very soon.