Novemeber 2011 has come and gone here in the Jackson Hole Real Estate Market and we witnessed a pretty strong month when looking at the year as a whole.  There were 31 transactions last month — No quite the 13780 properties that sell every day in the United States but Jackson does contribute!  “How’s the Jackson Hole Real Estate Market?” — Well, “We sell a property every day!” 

In a couple of weeks we will be able to show you a graph of how we measure up when comparing Nov. 2010 to Nov. 2011 but in a nutshell, last year we had about $10 million more in sales volume but transactions were 16% lower.  November 2011 saw a median sales price of about $550,000.  This is quite low indicating a stronger low end market.  This is encouraging in my eyes as we are really starting to see the lower end market strengthen.  This of course is being generated by a few short sales, bank sales and realistic sellers.  1/3 of the market in Novemeber sold for under $400,000.

The higher end market saw some good signs too as we saw 2 transactions of about $7 million.  The Jackson market had 9 sales over $1 million. 

Other stats:  3 vacant land transactions, 5 condo transactions in Teton Village, 10 sales in the Town of Jackson.

Please call with any questions or if you need any additional information on the Jackson Hole Real Estate Market — Garth Gillespie, sales associate and partner of the Gillespie Real Estate Team – Jackson Hole Sotheby’s, 307-413-5243 or email at garth.gillespie@jhsir.com. 

Don’t miss the opportunity to tour Cottonwood Flats – Jackson Hole’s newest townhome development. These brand new townhomes feature hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, attached garages and plenty of windows. The covered front porches and sidewalks throughout the development contribute to an ‘old neighborhood’ feel. All units come with a 1 year builders warranty.

Cottonwood Flats is located off South Park Loop Road and Whitehouse Drive – across the street from Indian Trails, a single family home neighborhoood. Cottonwood Flats is within walking distance to the Middle School and a bike ride away from the High School. There are connections to the great bike paths throughout the development.

There are currently 24 units complete - with 8 more units under construction and should be completed by Fall 2011. There are two 2-bedroom units available for sale and two 3-bedroom units available. The 2 bedroom units are 1,105 square feet and have a 1 car garage. The 3 bedroom units are 1,602 square feet and have a 2 car garage. Living in Cottonwood Flats is maintenance free as the HOA installs and maintains the landscaping, plows the sidewalks and driveways and will maintain the neighborhood park (constructed in a future phase). Dogs and cats are allowed.

We have model units that are open and available to show – just make an appointment.  Contact Garth Gillespie, sales representative and partner of the The Gillespie Real Estate Team at Jackson Hole Sotheby’s International Realty by email garth.gillespie@jhsir.com or call me at 307-413-5243 to set up an appointment.

The Gillespie Real Estate Team has recently learned about a message alert system called NIXLE through Teton County Emergency Management.  This system allows local emergency services in Teton County to send an immediate email or text message to subscribers to the system.  This enables you to know firsthand what is going on in the valley whether it’s an accident, closure on Teton Pass or an earthquake.

There are two ways you can subscribe to the NIXLE system:

1. Visit www.nixle.com and click “sign in here” in the upper right corner, then click “register now for free”. (Tip: If your actual address won’t register, just use the intersection of N Cache and W Broadway as your address.)

2. Text your zip code to 888777 from your cell phone. If you do this, you will only receive text message alerts. If you follow the weblink in the text message, you can access more detailed information which is included in the email alerts.

NIXLE is a completely free service that costs nothing for subscribers or for taxpayers. We hope you will find this service useful and please feel free to forward this message to friends, family and coworkers who also may wish to receive timely emergency information via text message and/or email.

(Note: Local emergency services to not have access to your information, as it is held on a private and secure server managed by the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System.)

A few weeks ago, Andrew Cornish, owner and president of Rocky Mountain Appraisals in Jackson Hole, Wyoming released his Year End Report. The main conclusion: Despite an increased number of real estate sales in 2010, home values in Jackson Hole continued to decline, with entry level homes hit the hardest.

Andy Cornish explains that while the number of sales in Teton County, WY was up over 32% from last year,  certain segments of the market are still experiencing value losses up to 30-40% from peak values in 2007 and 2008.  The single family home market saw the average transaction price increase by over 12% in 2010.  However, Mr. Cornish explains, this is due to a prevalence of higher-end transactions, not an increasing value trend.

Available Inventory (homes for sale on the market) has remained relatively constant between 2009 and 2010, however currently inventory levels are double of that in 2007.  The type of inventory is interesting to note as well. According to the Teton County MLS, the least amount of ‘distressed’ properties exist north of town, while the greatest concentration of distressed properties exist in the Town of Jackson and South of Town, where an estimated 12% of homes for sale are described as bank-owned or have short sale potential.

Conclusion – According to Mr. Cornish’s Year End Report, while the real estate market continued to lose value in 2010, an increase in the number of transactions can provide hope that a market stabilization is in sight. For the entire Year End Report, visit Rocky Mountain Appraisals or contact The Gillespie Real Estate Team at 307-739-8078 or by visiting www.jacksonholeexperts.com

Cottonwood Flats are Jackson Hole’s brand new 2 and 3 bedroom townhomes. Offered by The Gillespie Real Estate Team, all townhomes include…

• covered front porch
• attached garage
• backyard
• hardwood floors
• large windows
• brand new appliances
• pet friendly
• limited common walls with other townhomes

 Cottonwood Flats are located in a great part of the town of the Jackson near the Middle School, next to the bus stop, and surrounded by the town bicycle and pathways.

The 2 bedroom townhomes are 1,068 square feet with 2 baths and a 1-car attached garage. The 3 bedroom townhomes are 1.600 square feet with 3 baths and a 2-car attached garage.

We host an open house every Sunday from 3:00 -5:00 pm or give us a call for a showing.

 Find pictures and more information @ http://www.jacksonholeexperts.com/cottonwood-flats-townhomes.asp

Construction Update:

Block I of Cottonwood Flats Townhomes is complete and includes eight 2-story townhomes. All units have been issued their Certificates of Occupancy and are ready for move-in.  Of the eight units, two of the townhomes (a 3 bedroom and a 2 bedroom) have been sold to the Housing Authority as Affordable Units**. Unit 2, a market rate unit with 2 bedrooms is now under contract. There are 4 two-bedroom units and 1 three-bedroom unit still available for purchase in Block I. Landscaping of Block I will be completed in early spring.

Construction continues on Block II of Cottonwood Flats Townhomes. Fifteen additional units (a mix of 2 and 3 bedroom units) will be completed this summer.  Many of these homes have direct views of the Grand Teton and views of the Jackson Hole Mountain Ski Resort. Homes are stick built off site by Stratford Homes in Idaho and then brought to the site and connected to the foundations and utilities.

 ** The town of Jackson requires 15% of every new development to be deed restricted affordable, which means they have limits on appreciation (usually tied to Denver CPI) as well as limits on the income of the families that purchase the units.

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.

Beautiful South Jackson Hole

The Top Real Estate Picks of the Week in Jackson Hole is a selection of properties Christy and I feel are well priced for our market and can be considered a Top Pick of the Week. We currently list 3 properties.

In new exciting news the Jackson Hole Experts contracted with our wonderful website designer to create the “Jackson Hole Real Estate Power Rankings”. Here we will start to rank the Top Ten Real Estate deals in Jackson Hole. This is going to be an exciting challenge as we have the opportunity to move properties up and down the list as new listings come aboard, current listings have price reductions or the real estate market changes in certain locations. Stay tuned as we will be getting the Jackson Hole Real Estate Power Rankings online in the next few weeks.

The current market is showing some signs of activity. Yesterday at the Sotheby’s International Realty – Jackson Hole Brokerage – Wednesday morning meeting multiple properties were announced as “pending-under contract”. The list included a condo at the Aspen’s, a vacant lot in the Jackson Hole exclusive neighborhood of Indian Springs and a small, older home in the Town of Jackson. This is great to hear!

For more information on Jackson Hole Real Estate please contact the Jackson Hole Experts toll free at 877-739-8056 or visit our website.

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.

Recent data is showing that homes being built today are smaller than they were in the beginning of 2008. In the third quarter of 2008 median home size was 2,090 square feet, down from 2,629 square feet in the second quarter of 2008. With housing prices dropping and the economy weakening, homeowners may be looking at homes with less unused space, more energy efficiency and a home that better fits their overall needs. There is more of an interest in economizing space and making one room of the home a more flexible space that can be used for a myriad of activities. Outdoor kitchens and entertaining areas are becoming more popular as square footage decreases.

Of course this is national data – what is going on in Jackson? For one thing the Town of Jackson is attempting to limit the size of homes on standard Town of Jackson buildable lots. The standard size lot in town is 50 X 150. The current proposal would limit house sizes to 3,000 square feet. As this is debated by the planners we will keep you up to date.

Do Christy and I see a pattern of smaller houses? Not yet but we believe this could be contributed to a lot less construction taking place in the valley. According to the Teton County Planning and Building Department and the Town of Jackson, February permits for new homes and remodels dropped considerably from January. January had 23 permits issued and February had just 13 issued for a total of 36 for the year compared to 54 in 2008. Another interesting fact is that the Town of Jackson has not received one application for new construction in 2009. We will keep you updated on any trends in new construction in the Jackson Hole real estate market.

Research shows that builders are paying very close attention to what buyers want. The National Association of Home Builders is reporting that 88% of homebuilders surveyed plan to build more smaller homes, and that 89% of homebuilders surveyed claim that they plan to build lower-priced homes.

For additional information on the current Jackson Hole real estate market and current events in the Town of Jackson and Teton County, Wyoming feel free to call the Jackson Hole Experts, Christy and Garth Gillespie, Jackson Hole real estate associates for Sotheby’s International Realty – Jackson Hole Brokerage toll free at 877-739-8056.