It has been a while since this site has been updated – we are sorry. The Jackson Hole Experts – Christy and Garth Gillespie of Sotheby’s International Realty – have been extremely busy over the past 4 months and unfortunately our Blog fell silent.

We are excited about getting back into posting current information about Jackson Hole and the Jackson Hole Real Estate Market. 2009 has been a challenging real estate climate nationally and locally. Financing continues to be a struggle and declining property and home values are creating a burden for many homeowners. We understand these issues and hope to cover topics within our blog that offer solutions and opportunities.

In our first Blog back we want to bring people back up to speed on the current market statistics. We will be updating the information soon as our last current review of the market is thru October 2009. Year to Date there have been a total of 152 closings with a sales volume of $182 million as reported by Teton Board of Realtors (TBOR) MLS system. When comparing this information to 2008 unit volume was down 41% and down 70% from 2007. Sales volume is down 58% from 2008 and 73% from 2007. Positive news is that in October we had 29 closings which was the high for 2009 and also in October we saw 7 sales over $2 million.

Christy and I believe that Sotheby’s International Realty – Jackson Hole Brokerage offers our customers the best opportunity for success. If you are a seller, hands down there is nobody in Teton County that can offer you so many marketing opportunities and exposure to the most buyers. For buyers – the same can be said – we work extremely hard in the office to educate each other on the most up to date statistics which offers our sellers the most educated price analysis. This in turn offers a buyer the opportunity to look at properties that are priced correctly for the market. We have incredible tools for both Buyers and Sellers as too how the real estate process works in Jackson Hole.

The statistics uphold our thoughts above. In October alone, Sotheby’s was involved with 23 transaction sides (a transaction = 2 sides a buyer and a seller). This equaled a 62% market share. Year to date Sotheby’s has sold 72 properties and has assisted 61 buyers complete a transaction. This equals 133 transaction sides or 55% market share. These are fantastic numbers.

As for Christy and Garth Gillespie – we continue to work extremely hard to produce results for our sellers. We have sold 8 listings so far in 2009 and have been involved in 14 transaction sides. When compared to years past we are lagging our average but we are proud of our efforts and continue to learn more about our market every day.

If you would like additional information, please feel free to call us at 307-413-5243 or email me at garth.gillespie@sothebyshomes.com. Thanks for visiting our site and we hope you stop by again real soon.

In changing times it’s important to have people we can call on for advice we can trust! At The Jackson Hole Experts, one of those people is T.R. Pierce. T.R. is a mortgage broker with The Bank of Jackson Hole. He has worked with many of our clients here in Jackson and regularly provides our team of REALTORS with the latest in mortgage news. We received information below from T.R. today and with his permission we are sharing it with you. It looks like mortgage rates are on the rise. If you’re a Jackson Hole first-time home buyer this could impact your purchasing power. If you are a homeowner with a mortgage coming up for renewal, you’ll want to consider your options carefully. If you have a question about your current or future Jackson Hole mortgage needs, T.R. is a great guy to call on! You can call him at 307.734.8111.

Conforming ARM rates are lower this morning after the NAR announced that pending home sales continued their upward swing in May. Home sales rose (0.1%) for the fourth straight month… the first time this has happened since October 2004! The manufacturing sector’s activity rose to 44.8 in June as well. This was the six straight month this index has increased and the index reading indicates that manufacturing contraction has slowed, but not reversed itself. Manufacturing is a key indictor in gauging the strength of the economy.

BANK OF JACKSON HOLE
Residential Mortgage Rates for July 1, 2009

The following rates are thirty (30) day quotes for fully documented, owner-occupied and/or second home loans for borrowers with a minimum credit score of 700 which feature a one (1%) percent loan origination fee and the escrow of taxes & insurance.

PLEASE NOTE THAT CONFORMING LOAN AMOUNTS OVER $417,000 TO $693,750
ARE AVAILABLE AT HIGHER INTEREST RATES THAN INDICATED BELOW.

PROGRAM CONFORMING
(Loans to $417,000)
JUMBO
(Loans over 417,000)
30 Year Fixed
5.125%
7.875%

15 Year Fixed
4.750%
6.875%

10/1 ARM
5.125%
7.875%

7/1 ARM
4.750%
5.000%

5/1 ARM
4.000%
4.500%

3/1 ARM
5.125%
6.625%

30 YEAR FIXED RATE FHA LOANS TO $693,750: 5.375%
PRIME RATE: 3.250%
ONE YEAR LIBOR RATE: 1.590%

For additional information on Jackson Hole Real Estate please call the Jackson Hole Experts – Christy and Garth Gillespie – 877-739-8056.

In changing times it’s important to have people we can call on for advice we can trust! At The Jackson Hole Experts, one of those people is T.R. Pierce. T.R. is a mortgage broker with The Bank of Jackson Hole. He has worked with many of our clients here in Jackson and regularly provides our team of REALTORS with the latest in mortgage news. We received information below from T.R. today and with his permission we are sharing it with you. It looks like mortgage rates are on the rise. If you’re a Jackson Hole first-time home buyer this could impact your purchasing power. If you are a homeowner with a mortgage coming up for renewal, you’ll want to consider your options carefully. If you have a question about your current or future Jackson mortgage needs, T.R. is a great guy to call on! You can call him at 307.734.8111.

Rates are unchanged this morning on an unexpected rise in jobless claims causing investors to sell again. A day after the Federal Reserve expressed confidence in the economy, the government said new jobless claims rose by 15,000 to 627,000 last week. The market expected a decline and stock futures fell ahead of the market’s open on Thursday. Although rising unemployment claims shouldn’t be surprising to investors since unemployment usually continues to increase even when the economy is improving, the uncertainty about when the economy will turn around. and how fast it will grow makes for rocky times in the market. The Dow average remains up 26.8 percent from its 12-year low hit on March 9, but it is down nearly 500 points, or 5.7 percent, from the five-month high it reached on June 12..

BANK OF JACKSON HOLE
Residential Mortgage Rates for June 25, 2009

The following rates are thirty (30) day quotes for fully documented, owner-occupied and/or second home loans for borrowers with a minimum credit score of 700 which feature a one (1%) percent loan origination fee and the escrow of taxes & insurance.

PLEASE NOTE THAT CONFORMING LOAN AMOUNTS OVER $417,000 TO $693,750
ARE AVAILABLE AT HIGHER INTEREST RATES THAN INDICATED BELOW.

PROGRAM CONFORMING
(Loans to $417,000)
JUMBO
(Loans over 417,000)

30 Year Fixed
5.250%
7.875%

15 Year Fixed
4.750%
6.875%

10/1 ARM
5.250%
7.875%

7/1 ARM
4.750%
5.000%

5/1 ARM
4.125%
4.500%

3/1 ARM
5.125%
6.625%

30 YEAR FIXED RATE FHA LOANS TO $693,750: 5.375%
PRIME RATE: 3.250%
ONE YEAR LIBOR RATE: 1.640%

In today’s post we though we would update you on what’s happening on a national level with the banking industry. We have been hearing from almost all media outlets that there is still a lending issue with the banks. As a matter of fact two nights ago Donald Trump was on Larry King Show and he said multiple times that banks are not lending. His suggestion to the viewers were to get owner finacing. In a future post I’ll highlight owner fiancing – how it works, when it works and who is offering owner financing in Jackson Hole.

When reading through the Federal Reserve Survey of Lenders, Winter 2009 statement it was found that 58% of lenders have upped the credit standards for consumer loans in just the past three months. That said, consumers with good credit can still borrow- Car loans is a good indicator: in October of 2008 less than 80% of consumers with good credit were qualifing for car loans. Today that has increased to over 85%. How about home loans? According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, March 2009 there was $138 billion in home loans for purchases in the first quarter of 2009 but it is estimated that about $250 billion will be loaned during the second quarter!

In local Jackson Hole mortgage news we like to ask the “mortgage expert” T.R. Pierce at the Bank of Jackson Hole. Below is the banks current rates and report:

Conforming interest rates are unchanged again this morning after Citigroup surprised Wall Street by delivering its first profit statement in more than a year. The company reported net income of $1.6 billion for the first quarter… up from a loss of $5.1 billion a year ago! General Electric also posted a first quarter profit of $2.9 billion. With businesses ranging from manufacturing to finance to media, GE is seen by many as a proxy for the broad U. S. economy and their profitability is a strong indication that the economy may be recovering!

BANK OF JACKSON HOLE
Residential Mortgage Rates for April 17, 2009

The following rates are thirty (30) day quotes for fully documented, owner-occupied and/or second home loans for borrowers with a minimum credit score of 700 which feature a one (1%) percent loan origination fee and the escrow of taxes & insurance.
PLEASE NOTE THAT CONFORMING LOAN AMOUNTS OVER $417,000 TO $625,500
ARE AVAILABLE AT HIGHER INTEREST RATES THAN INDICATED BELOW.

PROGRAM CONFORMING
(Loans to $417,000)
JUMBO
(Loans over 417,000)

30 Year Fixed
4.500%
7.875%

15 Year Fixed
4.375%
6.875%

10/1 ARM
4.750%
7.875%

7/1 ARM
4.250%
5.000%

5/1 ARM
4.000%
4.750%

3/1 ARM
5.000%
6.625%

30 YEAR FIXED RATE FHA LOANS TO $693,750: 4.875%
PRIME RATE: 3.250%
ONE YEAR LIBOR RATE: 1.915%

If you would like additional information on the Jackson Hole Real Estate market please contact us – the Jackson Hole Experts – Garth and Christy Gillespie. Feel free to call us toll free at 877-739-8056.

What a great year at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort… It all started with the new tram and what a piece of machinery it is. Everyone in Jackson and visitors from afar were equally impressed by the new $31 million dollar tram. The speed, the size and the appearance were all impressive. Tram lines were never as short as they were this year when compared with the old tram.

The 2009 ski season will be remembered for the tram but it will also be remembered as the year we received “crazy” snowpack during the Christmas and New Year holiday. A very weird/unusual snow storm impacted the Northern Rockies and deposited feet of snow. It all started with a huge storm on Christmas that was characterized by cold temperatures. Then on the 26th it got warm and continued to snow creating what is called an “upside down” snow pack – cold, dry snow on the bottom and warm, wet snow on the top. This makes for a very unstable snow pack. Well the results were horrible. A young skier was killed in bounds at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort just after Christmas. Then a few days later a large avalanche crashed into the Bridger Gondola building closing the mountain for 2 days. It was a very eventful week during what was supposed to be a time of celebration. The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort should be credited for handling the situations professionally and well managed. The snow pack finally settled down and stabilized.

For the year we had 502 inches recorded at the mountain weather station with a settled snow base of 120 inches. The last 2 weeks of the ski season will be remembered by a lot of people, including me, as the best weeks of the season with over 8 feet of snow! Yesterday at the “end of the year” bash under the tram Christy and I witnessed a lot of smiling faces. It was a great party with friends and visitors enjoying the wonderful ski season at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

Now —- It’s time to bring on Spring!!!! Please warm up and melt all the snow…..

As we know, Jackson Hole has a very large “second-home” market. Is it being effected by the economy slow down? We will have stats to discuss in an upcoming report but here is some interesting reading:

High-End Housing Market Ravaged by Stock Selloff

How about some positive news?

Pending Home Sales Post Increase of 6.3%

Current news about mortgage rates:

Mortgage Rates Hold Steady According to Freddie Mac’s Weekly Survey

Finally – how about a link to the Gillespie Real Estate Feb. Newsletter?

The Gillespie Real Estate Jackson Hole News Letter!

For more information about the Jackson Hole real estate market or just general real estate thoughts please call us at 877-739-8056 or email at garth.gillespie@sothebyshomes.com.

Insuring your Jackson Hole home, condo, townhome or vacation home with the proper coverage is so incredibly important since your home is almost always your biggest investment – and it is where you stay dry and warm. Following are some things every person who is looking to purchase a policy should know:

 

• Always insure your home for 100% of the cost to rebuild. To figure out that number you can go to buildingcost.net to use their free calculator.
• Flood and earthquake coverage is important to include in Teton County, Wyoming and are extra beyond what your basic policy will cover.
• The contents of your house is usually covered at 50% of what the value of the structure is. You must make sure this is adequate coverage for all of your belongings by making an inventory. Use knowyourstuff.org’s free home inventory software to determine this number.
• Take pictures of all of your valuables in case you do need to file a claim. Pictures make the process so much easier.
• Make sure you buy enough liability coverage – you need enough to match your assets.
• Always buy “riders” for any expensive artwork or jewelry that you own. If it is worth more than $2,000, you may consider buying a separate policy for it.
• Shop around as prices vary dramatically. Start with your car insurance company, because they often give discounts to multiple policy owners. You may also go to insure.com to compare prices. 
• Keep your deductible high. Starting with a $1,000 deductible is wise, as most people do not make claims for less than this amount as there are insurance companies that will drop you if you make more than two claims per year.
• Always ask about discounts. Many insurers have them, but you must ask for them. Discounts for installing smoke detectors, an alarm system or a fire-retardant roof are common. Also, if you are 55 years of age or older, mention that as you are considered low-risk – and can get a price reduction.
• Keep your policy up-to-date! Changes to your home, such as a re-model, need to be covered.

For more information on insurance in the Jackson Hole area the Jackson Hole Experts recommend you call these insurance providers:

Todd Seeton at FARM BUREAU INSURANCE SERVICES – 307-733-3813

Shirley at HUB- BHJ Insurance – 307-733-2464

Every home needs maintenance repairs over time, but if you are putting your Jackson Hole house on the market you may want to know the top four places to put your money so that you will get the biggest return out of it. According to a survey done by HomeGain, in order to get the highest return on your investment, spend your repair dollars on the following in this order:

1. Cleaning and de-cluttering
2. Lightening and brightening
3. Home staging
4. Landscaping

Obviously the monetary returns may vary slightly based on where you live in the country, due to the cost of a repair and the importance of each particular improvement to buyers in that area. HomeGain estimates that making the above repairs and spending between $5,000 and $8,000 on them, you may see a price increase in the West as high as $22,762, in the East as high as $23,532, in the South as high as $21,740 and in the Mid-West as high as $20,279.

Other things never to overlook when putting your house on the market are dirty windows, electrical repairs, plumbing problems, old carpeting, old paint and damaged floors.

To learn more about home improvements go to HomeGain.

If you have interest in learning more about the Jackson Hole Real Estate market please feel free to call us at 307-739-8056 or visit our website JacksonHoleExperts. We also can recommend home staging at Home Again Furnishings at 307-739-2232. Lighting advise and excellent inventory at Jackson Moore Lighting – ask for Andy Romo! For a cleaning suggestion we recommend Antonio at ABF Professional Cleaning Services at 307-734-2748. For landscaping (you may have to wait a few more months but it is ever to early to schedule a landscaper) we recommend calling Ben Bartlett, Growin Green, at 307-690-5288.

What is the Jackson Hole Real Estate Hot Sheet? One of a Realtor’s most important tools is the local Teton County Multiple Listing Service, a dynamic database of currently available properties and much, much more, including sales histories, Competitive Market Analysis programs and information only available to members. The MLS also provides a daily “Hot Sheet” brimming with the latest price changes, new listings, pending and closed sales, as well as expired, withdrawn and back on the market properties.

New listings:
There were 28 new listings for residential property in Teton County, WY, between New Year’s Day and January 10. The least expensive is a 1-bed, 1-bath, 760 sq. ft. condo in the Aspens listed at $419K and the most expensive is “Bighorn Lodge,” an 8,000 sq. ft. new home on 5.23 acres in Solitude priced at $12,750,000. Ten properties were listed below $1M, another 10 were priced between $1M and $2M, and 6 between $2M and $3.5M.
Coincidentally, the same 10 days in 2008 also saw 28 new listings for residential property in the same area. Thanks to the “custom” Hot Sheet, we can see also see how these newly listed properties fared over the course of the year.
· Twelve of the 28 properties eventually sold, with the least expensive being a Ponderosa Village condo (2-bed, 1-bath, 716 sq. ft.) for $379K and the most expensive being a $3.95M home in Willowbrook.

· Three are still active, 11 listings expired and one was withdrawn.

Closed and pended listings:

Perhaps more indicative of any overall trends may be a look at closed and pended transactions for the same time frame.
· This year has seen 2 closings on homes in Teton County, with one of them being a fractional (1/6th) unit in Teton Pines and other a home on Munger Mountain for $900K. No property has gone under contract so far in 2009.

· In 2008, there were six closings year to date at this point, with 8 properties going under contract.

· Teton Village:

With the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort now 100 percent open (when avalanche conditions permit!) and winter in full swing, many of the buyers in town are focusing their attention on Teton Village property.
What’s the latest in the land of the big new shiny red tram?
· The first thing that jumps out is that of the 130 active listings in Teton Village, 42 are fractional ownerships at Teton Club with the least expensive being 2 weeks (one fall, one spring) in a 2-bed unit and the most expensive being 4 prime weeks including New Year’s in a 3-bed unit for $350,000.

· The least expensive full ownership condo in TV is a 464 sq. ft. studio built in 1972 listed at $389K. The lowest priced unit with 2 baths is $685K.

Thanks for visiting the Jackson Hole Real Estate and Community News Blog sponsored by Christy and Garth Gillespie from Sotheby’s International Realty of Jackson Hole. For more information on the “Hot Sheet” please feel free to contact me – Brian Siegfried, sale associate and Gillespie Real Estate Team member at brian.siegfried@sothebysrealty.com.

New Listing – 405 Moulton Loop – North of Jackson Hole – Just Minutes from Grand Teton National Park!

Christy and I just listed a wonderful property in Moulton Loop – North of Jackson.  The best part….very affordable for Jackson Hole — $1,335,000 for 2.5 acres, an almost 3,000 square foot house and a large barn and workshop.  The views do not get much better from this property. 

     

North of Jackson is known for big views, open space and a lot of wildlife.  As we were listing the property a beautiful fox ran across the backyard.  There is fantastic landscaping with large spruce and pine trees, a manmade refection pond (full of friendly frogs), and large "estate" quality lilacs and aspen trees.  The home is perfect for "easy living".  The main floor consists of the kitchen, living room, dining room, guest bedroom or office and the master bedroom.

           

The workshop is perfect for storing all the Jackson Hole toys or converting into a guest home.  As you can see the views from the northern end of the workshop are fantastic.  The property is easy to show..Just Call!  For more information on this home or other homes in the Jackson Hole Region visit www.JacksonHoleExperts.com.