Teton Village Update - April 22, 2008

  Actually the Tram Tower is no longer there….but a new one is being built!

The update at Teton Village: What has happened since the March report? The ski season at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will go down as one of the very best. Highlighted by over 600 inches and a base of over 100 inches skiers were delighted by quality skiing all season. Next year will be the debut of the new Aerial Tram so we will be excited about the 2008-2009 season too. With that said - we have had it with winter! Bring on Spring!

Real Estate News - There have been 3 closings since March 1st. A Four Seasons Resort Penthouse for $4,500,000, a new "Timber’s" Free Standing Townhome for close to $3,400,000 and an older condo that sold for close to $1,600,000. The last month of skiing proved to be fairly active on the sales side as there are 9 Pending transactions with an average list price of $2,260,000. This includes 2 Granite Ridge Lodges and 1 Four Seasons Penthouse.

The 9 Pending Transactions sound great but the real news is in the available active inventory — 54 Active Listings. The median active listing price is $1,995,000 so there is a lot of inventory priced in the "millions" category. Average Days of Market is climbing and is at an average of 157 days (that’s an entire ski season!).

Overall the Teton Village Market is a strong Buyer’s market. There are a lot of condos and townhomes to choose from and there are probably many Seller’s willing to negotiate. The biggest issue with the available inventory is that the prices were set when the market was much more active. Now we do not have Buyers and the pricing is at pre decline pricing.

If you would like information on:
Teton County, Idaho - please visit: www.tetonvalleyexperts.com

Jackson Hole, Wyoming - please visit: www.jacksonholeexperts.com

Market Update - Jackson, Wyoming
April 22, 2008

Temperature at the Jackson Hole Airport = 39 degrees! Brrrrrrrr…..
Yes as you read the headline it was 39 degrees on April 22, 2008. This would not be such news but those of us in Jackson Hole have had just about enough winter. We finally had some warmer weather during the weekend to melt some valley snow but overall this has been the spring that just has not started yet. Last year - a warm dry year - was on the other end of the spectrum as most of us were concerned about drought and wildfires. This year we are starting to be worried about when the tulips are going to bloom.

March came and went and there is not a lot to talk about. For the third straight month the number of transactions has not crested 25! In March, there were a total of 22 transactions with a closed sales volume of $38.5 million. To illustrate the slow transaction data we only have to look at the number of transactions during the previous 3 years: 2007 – 60, 2006 – 53 and 2005 – 68.

Of the 22 transactions in March of 2008 – 18 were single family homes and 3 were vacant lots. Highlights are 1. A home in Tucker Ranch sold for $8,000,000 2. There were 2 sales in Teton Village over $3 million and 3. There were 9 sales in the Town of Jackson (mostly condos and townhomes).

There are currently a total of 55 Pending transactions with a total Listing Volume of $133 million. The average list price being $2,425,944. There are 3 transactions that are priced over $10 million!

In real estate news - The Teton County Planning Commission voted 3-1 to advise the Teton County Commissioners to enact a freeze on subdivisions and zone changes for parcels of 20 acres or more.

If you would like information on:

Teton County, Idaho - please visit: www.tetonvalleyexperts.com
Jackson Hole, Wyoming - please visit: www.jacksonholeexperts.com

Over the past month there have been several real estate developments moving through the approval process in the Town of Jackson and Teton County, Wyoming.  I will use this post to update many of them.  If you have any questions about these developments or others that you have heard of please do not hesitate to give me a call at 307-413-5243 or email me.

1.  28 unit development in East Jackson:  Yet to be officially named, this development takes place in East Jackson on 3.35 acres between Rancher Street and Nelson Street.  The planned unit development is proposed to be 145,700 square feet in size which includes 8 single family residences, eight duplexes, and four townhomes.  The development requires affordable housing for 9.79 people and the developer generously is providing affordable housing for 10.  This particular property is in a very attractive location and the developer has a great track record.  It should be a very attractive property with landscaping, sidewalks and a good neighborhood feel.

2.  The Snake River Brewery and Restaurant is expanding!  The "Brew Pub" will be expanding by 2,300 square feet and will include a second floor outdoor deck, new bathrooms (desperately needed!) and an upgraded kitchen.  Congrats and good luck!

3.  A Developer is planning on developing the property that is currently the Painted Buffalo.  The development will be 151,000 square feet in size and will be of a mixed use.  Most of the space will be a new 155-room luxury hotel, spa and fitness center, conference space, restaurant, bar and limited retail space.  The proposed plan calls for a 4 story building.

4.  A beautiful new property is going to be built on the corner of Pearl and Jackson.  The new building will be 31,000 sq feet is size and will be of mixed use.  Retail/Commercial space will be on the first floor with a mix of affordable, employee and free market "lofts" will be on the 2nd and 3rd floor.  The units on the 3rd floor are incredible and should be in big demand when they are released.  The parking will be underground.

5.  A major development was proposed in the county by 3 ranching families - Lucas, Von Gontard, and Robertson families.  The application consists of 692 acres with up to 315 homes.  The acreage is located in 3 different areas - South Park (across the street from 3 Creek Ranch), Hog Island (next to the WYDOT building) and Game Creek.  The property in Game Creek would transfer development rights to the other 2 properties.  Preliminary plans show the South Park property would contain a total of 181 homes - 107 market homes and 74 deed restricted units.  The Robertson property would consist of 128 total units with 33 free market, 11 affordable, 48 PUD affordable and 36 PUD affordable market homes.  This looks and sounds much better than the awful Teton Meadows plan.

6.  There is a lot of new development taking place at Teton Village.  Most recently the Little Nell hotel went before the planning commission for its first hearing.  Little Nell, a project of Terra Development Group, would be a 50 unit condominium-hotel.  The 121,000 square foot hotel includes a conference room, a spa, 3,500 square feet of retail and a 5,000 sq ft restaurant.  The property is 1.3 acres in size.

I hope you found this information informative and easy to read.  Please visit www.JacksonHoleExperts.com if you would like additional information.

2007 was a record year for the Jackson Hole real estate market, and even better one for Sotheby’s International Realty Jackson Hole Brokerage, which increased its local market share to 61.8% based on its sales volume contrasted against Teton County total sales as reported by the Teton County Assessor’s office.

Looking at the market as a whole, the total dollar volume of sales reported through the Teton Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in 2007 rose 9.1% over 2006.  Even in the fourth quarter, a rocky period for the national real estate market, sale volume was up 5.6% over the same period in 2006.  Sotheby’s sales associates outpaced their competitors for the year, boosting the MLS sales volume in 2007 by 12.2%.  Based on the Teton County Assessor’s numbers, which include both MLS and non-MLS transactions, Sotheby’s associates handled 61.8% of the $1.055 billion real estate sales volume in the Jackson Hole region.  The company’s average market share for the past five years is now 58.2%.

As the result of agent’s efforts and enhanced support they receive, listings with Sotheby’s International Realty in 2007 resulted in an in-house sale nearly 60% of the time.  This was more than 50% better than the company’s nearest competitor - Real Estate of Jackson Hole.  Sotheby’s agents do 88% more transaction sides per agent and 83% more dollar volume than their closest competitor.

This story was written by Sotheby’s International Realty Jackson Hole Brokerage with contributions and editting by Garth Gillespie, sales associate. 

For more information on these statistics or if you have any questions about the Jackson Hole Market please feel free to visit JacksonHoleExperts or to call me at 307-413-5243.

Spring is in the air and here in Jackson we are starting to feel a slight change in the weather. During the last week of January Jackson broke out of the 30’s for the first time since November. It is amazing how nice it can feel after the long winter. That is not to say that skin season is over yet. Jackson Hole is blessed with some of the best skiing in the west. The base snow depth is above 100 inches and total snowfall at Rendezvous Bowl is already over 400 inches. We are anticipating a very busy spring ski season with flights mostly booked.

2nd Blog in a series of updates on 2007 statistics:

Sotheby’s International Realty of Jackson Hole has been busy compiling statistics from the past year (2007) and in next series of blog updates I will be taking some of that information and sharing it with you.  Leonard Klieman of the Jackson Hole Sotheby’s office has done an incredible job of analyzing Teton County Multiple Listing Service information along with comparing and contrasting data received from Teton County, Wyoming County Assessors Office.

Source:  Teton County Multiple Listing Service — Sales Volume for 2007 equaled $792 million.  A new record!  There were 83 less sales, but $65.9 million more in gross sales volume verse 2006.  Since 2005 unit sales have been declining yet volume has been increasing.  What does this mean??? Increase sales prices!

There was a noticeable decline in activity in the 4th quarter of 2007.  In 2007 unit volume peaked in July which is completely different from years past when September was the busiest month for sales.  There were only 26 sales reported in December and only 21 in January of 2008.  That is the first time in 3 years that there were 2 consecutive months of fewer than 30 sales.  Six months ended Jan. 08 units sales declined 29% from six months Jan. 07.

Look for more statistics in early March!

For more information or if you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact the Gillespie Real Estate Team.

Sotheby’s International Realty of Jackson Hole has been busy compiling statistics from the past year (2007) and in next series of blog updates I will be taking some of that information and sharing it with you.  Leonard Klieman of the Jackson Hole Sotheby’s office has done an incredible job of analyzing Teton County Multiple Listing Service information along with comparing and contrasting data received from Teton County, Wyoming County Assessors Office.

As of January 2008 there were 404 current listings in the Teton County MLS.  Due to a extreme slow down in current pending activity this gives Jackson a 20 month supply of inventory.  (Months of Inventory = Active Listings / Unit Sales).  In January 2008 we saw the first increase in active listings for the first time in 3 years.  In 2006 there were 386 active listings and in 2007 there were 364 active listings at this time.  The biggest change in the data however is that pending transactions are trending down instead of up when comparing the past few years.  This trend started in November of ‘07.

Properties listed for less that $3 million:  296.  Active listings are up 11.7% vs. last year and is up in January vs. December for the first time in 3 years.

Properties listed greater that $3 million:  116.  Active listings are up 9.4% vs. last year.

Teton Valley, Idaho - - Residential and Building Sites — 1,601!!!  January 2008 active listings are 46% higher than in Jan - 07 and 153% higher than in Jan - 06.  Rising inventory coupled with falling unit sales is contributing to the jump in months of inventory.  You ask what the months of inventory for Teton Valley, Idaho is….5 years!

Jackson Hole / Teton Valley Wyoming 2007 Summary:  The overall market experienced…

• 9% rise in sales volume
• 25% increase in average sales price
• 30% rise in median price of a single family home
• 34% jump in the median price of a condo
• Decline of nearly 13% in total unit sales
• Inventories remain tight but rose slightly in January

Teton Valley, Idaho 2007 Summary:  The overall market experienced…

• 4 years of solid growth through 2006 ended with a 15% decline in 2007.
• Unit sales declined 9%
• Quarter 4 of 2007 - unit sales declined 58% vs. 2006
• Inventory has more than doubled in 2 years.

Hope you enjoy the statistics and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact The Gillespie Real Estate Team.

Market Report
February 9, 2008
Teton Valley, Idaho

Including the communities of Driggs, Victor and Tetonia and the resort communities of Teton Springs, Grand Targhee, River Rim, The Ponds, Trail Creek Springs, Spring Hollow Ranch, Huntsman Springs, and many others.

Looking over at the Teton Valley of Idaho, I really had to search to find out where the sales have been coming from and what had sold in 2008.  The news over the past summer was that inventory had been growing and activity had dropped considerably. 

I agree that inventory had exploded and activity had slowed but I disagreed with many who were and are predicting a major collapse of the market.  Jackson Hole is not getting bigger but the desire to live there and the need for workers is going to help support the Teton Valley.  I also believe that there are communities being created right in front of our own eyes and with that a sense of community is being born. 

Last week, Grand Targhee Resort, won approval for a major expansion (see previous post) which is major news concerning the valley.  From an economic perspective it should be welcoming news yet for some, many in Alta, are upset with the changes that will be coming.  From my perspective, the Gillette family has been enhancing the Teton Valley ever since their ownership began and I hope and trust they will develop Targhee in a responsible way.

As for the year to date statistics through January 31, 2008

There have been 24 sales to date with a volume of $8,184,100.
Of the 24 sales 8 are lots, 2 are town homes, 5 are homes and 9 are condos.
7 of the transactions took place at Teton Springs.
5 of the transactions took place in Driggs, 2 in Tetonia and 17 in Victor.
There are currently 69 pending transactions.

Now the scary part – Looking back at 2007 Statistics for the same time period Jan. 1 through Jan. 31, 2007.  Last year to date there were already 113 transactions!  What has changed?  Last year of the 113 transactions a whooping 40 came from Mountain Meadows in Teton Springs.  There will be a future blog dedicated to Teton Springs but the statistics show that there were a lot of speculative buyers out there only 1 year ago.  Including Teton Springs of the 113 transactions last year 95 of the transactions were vacant land.  These are staggering numbers!  18 of the transactions were either single family homes, condos or townhomes.  Today’s (2008) residential numbers are just one shy of last year.

I will continue to watch over the Teton Valley of Idaho and if you would like more information or would like discussing investing in the valley please do not hesitate to email or call me toll free at 877-739-8056. 

• A 3 bedroom/3bath townhome came on the market in the Wilson area for $875,000 on Wednesday and by Thursday evening there had been a least 2 offers of over asking price! 
• An older home on 2 lots in the Gill Addition priced at $1,640,000 went under contract in less than 1 week.
• A townhome in the Town of Jackson on Rancher Street which has been on the market for a lengthy period went under contract.
• A Four Seasons Resort Penthouse listed for $4,800,000 and a Crystal Springs Condo listed for $1,575,000 both went under contract.
• 3365 Tucker Ranch – An 8,400 square foot log home went under contract with a list price of $8,995,000.
• 2 Hotel Terra Units in Teton Village sold “publicly” with an average sales price per square foot of $1,400.00.
• Teton Pines “Cluster Home” closed for $2,250,000.
• A 16 acre lot in Wilson closed for $2,900,000.