Large 4 Bedroom Home in Melody Ranch

Below is some interesting information about this wonderful community.

Melody Ranch, just four miles south of the Town of Jackson, is a place of wide-open spaces, remarkable views and a strong sense of community. While residents appreciate the development for its close proximity to town and its natural beauty, they also love the fact that it feels like a true neighborhood, a place where people have chosen tomake as their year-round home in Jackson Hole.

Melody Ranch has deep roots in Jackson Hole history. In 1888, the area was settled as Cheney, one of the first townships in the valley. In the 20th century, an out-of-towner named Paul von Gontard visited the area as a boy and was so bowled over by the soaring mountains and grassy meadows that he later returned to establish a cattle ranch on the land. The main lodge and outbuildings from those days still stand, and their historic character is complemented by the design of today’s Melody Ranch homes, which are in the Western mountain and ranch styles, in natural earth tones.

As a planned residential community, Melody Ranch retains all the openness and close-to-nature attributes of its ranching heritage. Development started in 1995 in accordance with amaster plan that emphasizes preserving open spaces. Today, in fact, open spacesmake up 70 percent of the community.As Melody Ranch Development states, “Our philosophical approach is thatmaintaining these views and landscapes will enhance and protect what we value so highly – the freedom to live in, and appreciate, the wide open spaces of the hard-won West.”

Flat Creek, the water source for the haymeadows of Melody Ranch, still meanders through the development, and thanks to careful planning, the Teton and Snake River mountain views that made such an impression on young von Gontard more than 50 years ago can still be enjoyed in full. Cottonwoods, spruce and aspen dot the landscape and add a sense of privacy. Melody Ranch “has incorporated time-honored concepts of historic ranch development into its master plan, to preserve the open character of horse and cattle pastures and haymeadows while allowing native and natural vegetation to protect and shade its buildings,” the developer says. The development features manmade improvements that give residents a backyard playground. There are bike trails, trout fishing ponds, playgrounds and playing fields that make the development ideal for families with children. Schools, grocery stores, shops, restaurants and all the other amenities of town are within easy reach, as are Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. But at Melody Ranch, staying home is just as an attractive option as getting out to other parts of the valley. Great views are just the beginning.

For additional information or to set up a showing call Garth and Christy Gillespie – the Jackson Hole Experts at 877-739-8056.

What a deal! Beautiful townhome on flat creek. $975,000

In general terms – Prices are dropping due to the anomaly that occured during our recent market boom (2000-2007). Historically, homes have appreciated at a rate of about 5% per year on a national level. Information gathered from the recent REALTOR magazine states: Professor Karl Case of Wellesley College and contributing author of the Case-Schiller Home Prices Indices, a quarterly nominal housing price report, looked at appreciation of median home value over 5 year increments dating back to 1980. The research showed that home values appreciated 26.5% on average for the 20 year period from 1980 thru 2000. In the six years that followed (2000-2006), average appreciation was 89%!

Home prices nationally and in Jackson Hole are now adjusting to the incosistent and insustainable growth that occurred during the recent price run. So – the market is not in decline - it is just moving toward stabilization – which will mean a healthier market in the future.

Just a little tibit of information that we like to share. For more information about prices or if you would like a free listing presentation and value assessment on your property contact Christy and Garth Gillespie – The Jackson Hole Experts - at 877-739-8056 to set up an appointment! We are happy to help and to share our expertise in this market.

1st Quarter Real Estate Results for Jackson Hole, Wyoming

It will go down as a quarter to forget… Probably the weakest quarter of results that Teton County, Wyoming has seen in recent history. This on the heels of a rather bleak report in the 4th quarter of 2008 where we only had 48 units sold (wait till you read below the 1st quarter results) and volume of just over $100 million.

The preliminary results that we have gathered are taken strictly from the Teton County Multiple Listing Service data. There are always transactions that take place off to the sidelines but with all the reporting we do we always use the data supplied to us by the MLS and the agents that report the results to the board. During the 1st quarter of 2009, Christy and I wondered where the buyers had gone. There were very few transactions taking place and although we did show property, we DID NOT see many offers. That was the case throughout the real estate business in Jackson Hole.

During the months of January, February and March there were 17 reported closings in all of Teton County, Wyoming. The sales volume is an estimated $36 million as 4 closings did not report the closing price and one of the 4 unreported closings was listed for $10,500,000. Taking a closer look at the 17 closings – 1 was a lease, 2 were fractional ownerships, 3 were commercial properties, 2 were condos and 9 were single family homes. The most activity occurred in Melody Ranch with a total of 4 single family homes sold!

The pending transaction data leaves us questioning where we are heading. We recently reported that most of the pending transactions are from soon to be completed development projects (Terra/Sweetwater Lodge in Teton Village, Pine Glades in the town of Jackson and 270 W. Pearl) and that has not changed. There are currently 39 pending transactions with 29 of them being “pre-sale” purchases. In reality that leaves us with 10 pending “deals”. To make the numbers even better (wink, wink) of the 10 remaining – 4 are fractional sales. That leaves us with only a condo in the Aspens, a townhome in the town of Jackson, a home in South Park, a Four Seasons Resort penthouse and 2 commercial purchases as the only property pending. The biggest void in all of these numbers is transactions below $500,000. Currently, there are NO pending transactions in condos under $500,000 in the town of Jackson, south of town or on the “West Bank”. If we are to look for the root of our stalled real estate market Christy and I will put the blame on the complete failure of the “low-end” market. We often use the analogy of tipping over dominos in real estate – need one domino to fall to get another to fall. Well – no one is tipping over the first domino.

Active inventory has been staying fairly stable as we are witnessing a lot of potential sellers keeping their properties off the market and waiting to see what happens. Inventory has actually dropped (40 units) since February. There are currently 516 residential units and 143 vacant land parcels for sale in Teton County.

As more data is released and when Sotheby’s International Realty – Jackson Hole Brokerage computes their data we will update our report. Christy and Garth Gillespie – the Jackson Hole Experts – are happy to compile this information so if you would like to discuss the current data, are considering listing your home or interested in learning more about the Jackson Hole real estate market please do not hesitate to call us toll free at 877-739-8056. We also have a great feature we call the Top Picks – which are Christy and Garth’s top real estate values in Jackson Hole – feel free to check them out.

That’s a good question. Currently we are at a stand still as transactions are almost nonexistent. The month of February will go down as a month to forget or should I say a month that was forgotten. Totals for sales volume and units sold are unbelievably small.

Okay – enough baiting. When looking back on the month of February for sales in the entire Teton County Multiple Listing Service we find a grand total of 3 transactions! Since there are only three I can actually list them: 1. Fractional Sale at the Teton Club, 2. 1 Bedroom Condo, 500 square feet in the Town of Jackson for close to $300,000 and 3. a small single family home with development potential for a little over $600,000. That’s it. Sales Volume totaled close to $1,000,000.

How about new activity? Well, we did see some activity in Melody Ranch. 2 homes which were priced at, or above $1,000,000 this past summer, had some very aggressive price reductions which motivated a couple of buyers. Both transactions, if they close, with be under $700,000. There are a total of 41 pending residential transactions. Interesting to note – of the 41 pending transactions almost 30 of them are in the construction phase of development. 6 of the pending transactions are priced above $1,000,000 and 1 of those transactions is listed for $10.5 million! There are also 4 fractional units pending.

Current active inventory is at 708 listings, 506 of which are residential, 48 are fractional units and there are 152 building sites. Of the 152 building sites there are 5 pending transactions (2 in my opinion are suspect) and the other 3 are Commercial properties.

Where are we headed? …as I mentioned above – Good question. It is our opinion that until we see some light at the end of the tunnel with our economy our real estate market will stay in hibernation. We are still waiting to see some significant price reductions – especially on the lower/lowest end of the market. Christy and I see a solution to get our market moving but that takes the low end to move another 20% to 25% downward. This would stimulate first time home buyers. From there, the sellers of these properties could make a move at the next tier and so on.

The stimulus plan does give some incentives for first time home buyers ($8,000 tax credit) and interest rates are at historically low-low rates (under 5%). Incentives, low interest rates and lowering prices – bring it on. Christy and Garth Gillespie are eager to help. We want to be part of the “Jackson Hole Stimulus Plan”. Call us and let us help you make a move in this market. Read our blogs, our top picks or call for a free consultation.