Mortgage rates in Jackson Hole had been staying steady for almost a month with a percentage change every once in a while so this should be interesting…. The following is a report from our friend T.R. Pierce who works as the “Mortgage Guru” at the Bank of Jackson Hole. If you read previous posts you will be able to compare where rates have been are then make your own prediction as to where they are going. Fact is – rates are low and if you have good credit you should take advantage of these rates while you can. Timing mortgage rates is like timing the stock market so if you see value in making a purchase or refinancing we suggest you call T.R. Pierce to learn more about the Jackson Hole Mortgage Rates! T.R.’s report follows:

Conforming thirty year fixed, 7/1 and 10/1 ARM rates are down this morning as the U. S. trade gap widened less than expected in March as exports fell 2.4% and imports dropped for the eighth consecutive month. Imports of industrial supplies, materials and capital goods were the lowest since April 2004. U. S. exports to China grew 19.1% in March to $5.6 billion, the highest in five months.

BANK OF JACKSON HOLE
Residential Mortgage Rates for May 12, 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
3.750%
4.750%

3/1 ARM
5.000%
6.625%

30 YEAR FIXED RATE FHA LOANS TO $693,750: 4.750%
PRIME RATE: 3.250%
ONE YEAR LIBOR RATE: 1.748%

For more information contact the Jackson Hole Experts toll free at 877-739-8056 and ask for Garth!

Holiday lull; more REJH fallout; looking ahead to 2009

The Web is crawling with ways to search for real estate listings. In this region, the best way to get started is at Jackson Hole Experts.com. But for when you want to know what Realtors know … you need the Hotsheet!

New listings: Activity has been light during the holiday period, with many “new listings” representing extensions of listing contracts that often expire at the end of the year. For example, Garth and Christy Gillespie extended their listing for a beautiful home in 3 Creek Ranch listed at $3M. There are now 8 homes available in this private development just south of Jackson listed between $2.695M and $5.295M.

Real Estate of Jackson Hole: Also notable in the last week under new listings are all the properties formerly listed with Real Estate of Jackson Hole, which completed a nearly yearlong demise earlier this month when they announced on Dec. 22 they would be closing their doors. As the approximately 70 agents resurface at other valley brokerages, their listings are steadily reappearing. An article written in the Jackson Hole News and Guide is published here – http://www.jacksonholenews.com/article.php?art_id=4045

One other note on REJH: Sotheby’s agents were provided a good bit of information in this week’s sales meeting that was not available in the extensive newspaper coverage of REJH’s demise. I would be glad to help anyone better understand this complex story, to the best of my ability, or refer them to someone even closer to the facts.

Outlook for 2009: What will next year bring in the Jackson Hole real estate world? From my perspective — opportunity. As a buyer’s agent, I am working with several people very interested in entering the Jackson market in 2009. With sales prices generally regressing to years past, market watchers are well aware this will be one of the best times to buy into Jackson in the last 20-25 years. And with current interest rates near historic lows, the question becomes: Even if prices have not reached bottom, will an increase in the cost of credit in the coming months offset any future price reductions?

My advice is to identify a specific area or neighborhood and a price range and make an offer on available properties based on what you are willing to pay, regardless of the listing price. Many sellers today do not have the luxury of being “insulted” by offers much lower than asking price – in fact, my inbox is filled daily with e-mails from agents saying their sellers are willing to look at any and all offers. In other words, ask today for next summer’s price reduction, and you might get it. And if the market rebounds before that, your deal will look even better.

For details about any property mentioned in this blog post or a FREE PERSONALIZED Jackson Hole real estate market analysis, please call Brian Siegfried [my name should be a link to my bio page] at 690-9346 or e-mail him at Brian.Siegfried@sothebysrealty.com.

It isn’t every day that workers at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort get applause for their work. But then, a new Aerial Tram at isn’t exactly an everyday occurrence.

In late October, spectators gathered at the resort and clapped as crews placed the first of two bright-red Tram cars from Switzerland onto their track cables. Seeing the cars put into place was like watching the curtain lift at the theater, although in this case the performance is to start December 20, when the Aerial Tram will begin carrying skiers and snowboarders up Rendezvous Mountain. For the legions of people who are passionate about this particular ski hill, it will be as though Christmas arrived five days early.

Anyone who has skied at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort any time from the 1960s to more recent years will find the sight of the little red boxes moving along their cable to be a familiar sight. The Tram cars are red, like their iconic predecessor, which shuttled skiers up the mountain for 40 years before being retired. But the new tram will be bigger and faster, whisking 100 passengers at a time to their starting point for their adventures in about nine minutes.

Change is afoot at Teton Village as a whole. The Village has kept hold of its classic attractions, like the Mangy Moose Saloon, while adding new ones like Hotel Terra, a boutique property that’s sleek, upscale and eco-friendly. Some changes at the Village are subtle, like the acoustical upgrades at Walk Festival Hall, home to the Grand Teton Music Festival. Other changes are more dramatic, a case in point being the new Shooting Star™ golf course.

Teton Village has become famous for its resort offerings. But it has become viewed more and more in recent years a great place to live, whether year round or on a part-time basis. The new hotels, for example, offer condo ownership opportunities in addition to options for out-of-towners to stay in style and comfort when they come to Jackson Hole. With the opening of the Four Seasons Resort, Teton Village acquired a “grande dame” hotel as well as a new group of slopeside luxury residences. In addition to Hotel Terra, there’s also Teton Mountain Lodge and others are coming, including the second phase of Hotel Terra.

Another new arrival in Teton Village is the newly completed Timbers, a group of three- and four-bedroom homes in Granite Ridge. Designed by John Carney, they average 3,300 square feet, with vaulted ceilings, gourmet kitchens, stone fireplaces and private Jacuzzi decks. Elsewhere in the village, the condos along McCollister Drive and Rachel Way, though not exactly new, are newly interesting to the real estate market. With upgrades and improvements the units, which like the Timbers, are zoned for short-term rentals, creating an attractive opportunity for investors who would like to generate some revenue from their properties.

As for Shooting Star™, it’s easy at this time of year for Nordic skiers to look out at the snow covered rolling terrain of the Tom Fazio-designed golf course and fantasize about streaking along a freshly groomed track. The golf course will, in fact, be a Nordic ski center, but its big unveiling will be next summer, when the golfers who have been watching the new facility take shape can finally walk out onto those greens and play a few rounds.

Construction is well underway on the Shooting Star™ club house, which will feature spa and fitness facilities, as well as a restaurant. The residential portion of Shooting Star™ includes cabins by architect Paul Bertelli of JLF Associates, featuring reclaimed materials and old world craftsmanship, plus spectacular views of the Tetons and the golf course.

Not everything planned for Teton Village is on such a grand scale, but little things make a difference. The pond behind Crystal Springs Lodge will eventually be replaced by a group of smaller water features and landscaping better suited for functions or for just relaxing. An 812-space, paved parking lot was just approved by the Teton County Board of Commissioners to be built between Granite Loop Road and Highway 390. It’s possible that someday there will be an automated “lift” that will whisk skiers and snowboarders from the lot to the clock tower so they can begin their day on the slopes. There’s no doubt that the opening of the new Arial Tram at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is the biggest story for winter 2008-09 at Teton Village. But as is always the case with news, some of the other stories are pretty interesting, too. For first timers and veterans, Teton Village is worth exploring this winter.

For more information on Teton Village or Jackson Hole please feel free to email or call the Jackson Hole Experts – Christy and Garth Gillespie.

Where does the Jackson Hole Real Estate Market stand during these turbulent economic times? As you can imagine, Jackson Hole is not immune to any crisis and from where Christy and I sit the Jackson Hole Real Estate Market is feeling the pain. Activity, not in the sense of actual statistical activity, but activity in the sense of phones ringing, buyer’s inquiring, copy machines printing and fax machines dialing is probably at an all time low in the real estate careers of Garth and Christy. Being at work 9-5 every weekday we can get a feeling of where the real estate market is going and yes November and December are usually the slowest months in Jackson Hole real estate but so far November was extremely slow and December has started slow out of the gate. The Gillespie Real Estate Team continues to work extremely hard during these slower times. We are busy communicating with customers, business planning and strategizing, creating advertising programs and completing other real estate activities but on a whole we have seen a noticeable lull in showing activity.

As for the statistics…they tell the same story. When comparing 2007 numbers to the current 2008 numbers we are experiencing a much slower market. In October we saw 25 closings in Teton County, Wyoming (according to the Teton County Multiple Listing Service) where in 2007 we saw 47 closings. Surprisingly, listing price volume was almost identical. This is due to less lower priced properties selling and a few very large transactions taking place. Days on market increased by almost 3 months. In November the news gets worse – 10 closings in 2008 verses 43 closings in 2007. Days on market for the closed transactions was not as dramatic as October but shows an increase of 40 days. Currently there are 21 pending transaction in the entire valley – 6 of which are in the Pine Glades development which is under construction.

Highlights in the market include some very strong upper tier sales. In October there were closings of listed properties of $19.5 million, $6.3 million, $5.8 million and $5.3 million. In November the upper tier market continues this trend with 2 closings where the listed properties were priced at $19.9 million and 8.5 million!

Active listing inventory numbers are staggering! We have seen an almost 75% increase in actively listed properties on the market over 2007 numbers. Getting a completely accurate number is difficult with the changing market but there are about 700 active listings on the market in Teton County, Wyoming.

So what does all this mean? Lowering prices, excellent choices, extremely good buying opportunities but also less liquidity, more competition and increased market time. If buyer’s purchased their property before 2006 they have seen a robust growth and appreciation but if someone just recently purchased property they are probably going to see a depreciating asset for the next few quarters. Jackson Hole is still the wonderful place it was before these difficult economic times offering unbelievable beauty, National Parks, the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and a very favorable tax climate. The real estate market and for that fact the community will survive and the market will rebound. We rarely have seen buyer’s markets in Jackson Hole so it is also a time of opportunity. To get more in depth analysis or if you have any questions please fee free to call Garth Gillespie at 307-739-8056 or Christy Gillespie at 307-739-8146.