Jackson Hole on a roll after strong April

Winter endures atop Glory Bowl, but in the valley the turn toward summer is clear.

Winter endures atop Glory Bowl, but in the valley the turn toward summer is clear.

Stable. Healthy. Active. There’s really no other way to read the Jackson Hole real estate sales figures from April, when 45 properties sold for $32.5 million.

Stability can be inferred by the fact that sellers collected 96 percent of list price in April. Also, only one sale price was not reported to Teton County Multiple Listing Service, an ongoing trend that indicates the days of distressed sales and significant price cuts are mostly behind us. In April 2012 there were six unreported sales.

Healthy factors from last month’s sales figures include an average sales price of $722,000, well below the $1.32 million ASP in March and the $1.38 million ASP in 2012. The median, not surprisingly, also dropped to $613,000, though this plunge is not nearly as precipitous as ASP.

Throughout the recession the average sales prices remained in line with pre-recession levels even as properties plummeted in value, indicating ongoing strength at the high end. Today, the majority of the transactions are below the median price for residential properties that will be occupied by full-time residents.

The aspens have yet to leaf out, but lawns are beginning to green.

The aspens have yet to leaf out, but lawns are beginning to green.

Also signifying market strength are steady building site sales, with five reported in April. In particular, three of these sales were for less than $440,000, a price point that indicates imminent construction of non-luxury homes.

Activity in April also was remarkable, with a 60 percent jump in transactions compared to April 2012. Sales volume actually dropped 14 percent, however that only accentuates the points above and the anomalies that occur month to month. For example, in April 2012, two large vacant land sales totaling $15+ million skewed the ASP upward while the highest sales price this year was $2.3 million for a Teton Pines home.

April sales highlights include:

  • The unreported sale was a 4-bed, 3-bath, 3,000-square-foot home near Teton Village listed for $1.975 million and on the market for 339 days.
  • Low-end sales continued to drive the market with 50 percent of all residential sales less than $500,000.
  • Melody Ranch enjoyed a surge with four residential sales and a vacant land sale.
  • A Karns Hillside building site on Rodeo Drive listed for $440,000 closed for more than 40 percent above its 2012 sale price.
  • Teton Village reported two sales, both in Teton Mountain Lodge..

To receive personalized market updates on a daily, weekly or on-demand schedule please sign up for a newsletter or send me a direct email.

 

Fore! Golf real estate drives 10% of Jackson market

These Teton Pines townhouses were built in 1998.

These Teton Pines townhouses were built in 1998.

Though April in Jackson Hole saw more snowy days than not, and on Monday of this week daily low temperatures were in the single digits, recently I have been thinking a lot about golf.

When I’m not helping buy and sell real estate I’m often doing freelance writing and photography, most recently editing this summer’s edition of Jackson Hole Golfer. The weather outside has been frightful, but the verdant images of freshly shorn greens and tales of sun-drenched afternoons playing golf on my computer screen have been delightful.

One article, written by yours truly, takes a look at the real estate that surrounds the four established Jackson Hole golf course communities – Teton Pines near Wilson, Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis near Jackson Hole Airport, Shooting Star in Teton Village and 3 Creek Ranch located just south of Town of Jackson.

Highlights of the research, conducted on April 15, for the article include:

  • There are 26 residential properties and 52 building sites listed for sale in Teton County Multiple Listing Service, with a list price range of  $710,000 to $7.65 million.
  • 35 golf course property sales occurred in the last 12 months. The high sale was an 8,000-square-foot home in Teton Pines listed for $8.45 million. This diverse subdivision also reported the least-expensive sale, a Garden Home 2-bed townhouse listed for $850,000.

    Two Jackson Hole golf courses, including Golf & Tennis, open this weekend.

    Two Jackson Hole golf courses, including Golf & Tennis, open this weekend.

  • 3 Creek Ranch, developed beginning in 2005, has the most building sites for sale with nearly 40 percent of the inventory. Listed half-acre “Cabin” lots begin at $720,000, ranging up to $1.5 million for premium locations.
  • Snake River Sporting Club, formerly the embattled Canyon Club located south of Hoback Junction, has emerged from bankruptcy with a new owner. The Tom Weiskopf-designed course is one of the finest layouts in Teton County, but it is unclear when it will be ready to play after lying semi-dormant for the last three summers. Real estate options do exist here, but the future of the half-built homes and remaining building sites also is unclear at this time.
  • Shooting Star will be offering additional residential and building site options at lower price points, including their first townhouse project.
  • About 10 percent of Teton County’s residential listings are in a golf course subdivision. Similarly, the 35 sales reported during the last 12 months in this segment also represent approximately 10 percent of overall sales.

Teton Pines opens for the summer tomorrow, with Golf & Tennis close behind this weekend. The weather forecast is for clear skies and temperatures in the 60s.

As for this summer’s Jackson Hole golf course real estate outlook, that too appears favorable. Contact me for a personalized look at these communities or the broader market. And keep an eye out for this summer’s Jackson Hole Golfer, available in June throughout the valley.

 

February sales fab as volume jumps 131%

The welcome mat is out for March visitors to Jackson Hole.

The welcome mat is out for March visitors to Jackson Hole.

There were 27 real estate sales in Jackson Hole in February, six more than in 2012, but only two closed below $250,000 and five for less than $500,000. Not surprisingly, this led to a whopping 131 percent increase in sales volume with monthly sales hitting approximately $40 million.

Why the slow down on the low end? Partly because of a lack of inventory, partly the result of the pendulum swinging the other way after low-end sales led the way in January. In all of Teton County, there are currently 43 residential units are priced below $500,000 and just 3 priced below $250,000.

Let that sink in: just three full-ownership homes for sale below $250,000 in an area larger than 4,000 square miles; just nine priced less than $300,000. After five years of plummeting prices and increasing options for working families, the market has come almost full circle with fewer and fewer free market affordable housing choices in one of the nation’s wealthiest communities.

As a newly minted board member of the Teton County Housing Authority and a longtime advocate of deed-restricted housing that enhances ownership opportunities for the hardest working residents of Jackson Hole, this is a community challenge I am intimately aware of. The good new is that the inventory of affordable housing units has risen in the last five years and the goal of housing more than 65 percent of the county’s workers in Jackson Hole currently is being attained. I will dedicate a future blog post to the state of affordable housing in Teton County.

skiing, Tetons Jackson Hole

The best part of the ski season is upon us and spring skiing on Teton Pass is the go-to slope.

Meanwhile, highlights from February’s residential sales, as reported by Teton County Multiple Listing Service include:

  • Teton Village has been very active with four sales, including the high-ticket closing of the month on a 7,300+ square-foot home on Granite Ridge, listed at $7.95 million.
  • The second-highest priced listing to sell in February was a 7-bed, 10-bath, 8,100+ square-foot home in Bar B Bar on 19 acres listed at $6.75 million and on the market for 745 days.
  • Three Teton Pines homes and 2 Aspens/Racquet Club homes sold, a solid month for this vibrant West Bank neighborhood. Keeping with this month’s theme, the two Aspens properties were quality 2-bed properties listed just below $500,000 and selling for close to asking price, and well above the 2-bed average sale of approximately $350,000 in this short-term rental overlay.
  • Town of Jackson sales continued to soar with 8 closings, including the top vacant land sale for a 6.76-acre commercial piece located near the “Y” intersection of Highways 22 and 189, on market for 1,884 days.

Building sites also continued their steady resurgence with 6 sales, topped by the aforementioned. Additional sales included a 7.92-acre home site north of Wilson listed for $1.395 million; an Amangani building site listed for $895,000, less than an acre; a premium Melody Ranch lot with top-notch South Park views of the Tetons, listed at $399,000.

Always keep in mind these posts are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Jackson Hole real estate research. Contact me for a personalized, up-to-the-minute look at the market. 307-690-9346.

 

May flowers for Jackson Hole real estate

Thinking about diving into Jackson Hole real estate? Strong May sales indicate there may be no time like the present.

Jackson Hole real estate unit sales jumped 52 percent in May to 32 and sales volume climbed a whopping 172 percent to approximately $32.2 million compared to May 2011. The month’s significant increases were driven by several high-end building site sales and a comparison to one of the weakest months in 2011 when just 21 properties sold for $12.2 million.

May saw six building site sales in Teton County, bringing the yearly total to 23, or 67 percent of the 34 that closed in all of 2011. Leading the way were two sales in Bar BC Ranch that were listed for a combined total of $15.4 million and two sales in Bar B Bar listed for a total of $11.45 million. All properties were between 35 acres and 53 acres and final sales prices were not reported to Teton County Multiple Listing Service. Sales figures above include 90 percent of list price for unreported sales.

Reported buildings site sales included a 0.89-acre site on the slopes of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort listed for $2.75 million and a commercial property in downtown Jackson bought by the town government for $2 million that will be used for much-needed parking.

The market below $500,000 also enjoyed continued consistency with 16, or 50 percent, of monthly sales. Highlights from sales in this market segment include:

  • Six short-term rental properties sold, including three in Teton Village, two in the Aspens/Racquet Club and one near Snow King in Jackson.
  • Several low-end, long-term rentals also changed hands. One of the best per square foot deal was for a 3-bed, 3-bath, 1,598-square-foot townhouse in Jackson listed for $285,000 that sold after just 136 days.
  • Similarly, a 2,436-square-foot, 4-bed, Freddie Mac-owned townhouse in East Jackson sold for approximately $150 per square foot.
  • Town of Jackson single-family home sales were strong with seven sales in May ranging from $399,000 for a 4,000-square-foot home built in 1972 to a 4,016-square-foot “Bristlecone” in East Jackson that sold for 56 percent more.

    Teton Pines enjoyed the only Jackson Hole golf property sale in May.

     

June and July also promise strong sales figures with 62 properties in Jackson Hole currently under contract. Nearly 25 percent (14) are listed below $300,000. Total list volume of pending properties is $44 million with an average list price of approximately $725,000.

Please contact me for a personalized Jackson Hole real estate market report.

36 options for Jackson Hole golf properties

Tee it high and let it fly! The first hole at Shooting Star in Teton Village.

Tee it high and let it fly! The first hole at Shooting Star in Teton Village.

When Shooting Star in Teton Village opened last week, all Teton County golf courses were officially open for the season. The golf season may be short in Jackson Hole, lasting until about mid-October, but it can definitely be sweet with four high quality courses to choose from.

For those looking for golf properties in Jackson Hole, each course is imbedded within a subdivision of the same name. In addition to Shooting Star, a Tom Fazio design built in 2009 and the most recent addition, golf communities include Teton Pines, Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis and 3 Creek Ranch.

Teton Pines offer the most residential options with 21 of the 36 active listings as of this writing. (Link is active for only a limited time. If it has expired contact me for an updated search.) Golf & Tennis, located north of Jackson near Jackson Hole Airport in Grand Teton National Park, has seven listings; 3 Creek and Shooting Star each have four listings.

The 16th hole at Teton Pines is a great place for reflection.

The 16th hole at Teton Pines is a great place for reflection on why golf is such a great game.

Jackson Hole golf property highlights include:

  • The least-expensive full-ownership options are townhouses in Teton Pines, with three listed just below $1 million. A 2-bed, 1,974-square-foot Garden Home built in 1995 is priced at $949,500 after 102 days on market.
  • The median price for golf properties in Jackson Hole is $2.45 million, represented by a 4-bed, 3,688-square-foot single-family Teton Pines home on 1.33 acres. On the market 880 days with no price reductions.
  • Shooting Star homes are priced between $4.2 million and $5.5 million for Jonathan Foote designed cabins between 3,321 and 4,105 square feet less than four years old.
  • Teton Pines also includes the two homes with the highest list price. For $7.65 million you can be neighbors with Dick Cheney, for $7.95 million you can live a few fairways over in a 5-bed, 8,219-square-foot log and stone beauty.

    The golf course at 3 Creek Ranch opened in 2005.

  • Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis is the oldest Teton County golf course, originally built in the 1960s. Accordingly, many of the homes are older and generally represent a lower per square foot price. Four of the seven homes are listed between $1 million and $3 million. However, three newer homes are priced between $2.15 million and $3.395 million.

What have these Jackson Hole golf properties sold for in recent years? Contact me for a comparable market analysis.

These Jackson Hole golf communities are surrounded by additional subdivisions that also offer proximity and often access to the facilities. Contact me for a personalized search of these properties.

 

Winter: Jackson Hole’s most passionate season

Sidecountry skiing outside Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is a major draw for visitors and residents.

In October, I wrote that fall is Jackson Hole’s finest season. Come July, as the valley swells with indigenous life forms and human visitors from every corner of the globe, I may (again) claim summer is Northwest Wyoming’s most vital time of year

Today, however, I am moved by the pure passion of the winter season. I write from my office at the bottom of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort on the eve of a snowstorm that is predicted to last all week. The energy and anticipation is palpable, in both the swirling alpine air as well as the hushed excitement of the throngs here for the President’s Day holiday.

Stoke for the impending snowstorm is perhaps even higher for those who live here than the visitors. Many a “powder clause” will be invoked as the week goes on by those of us who love to ski so we can take advantage of premium conditions that may only come a handful of times a year. As I peruse Facebook this afternoon, links to NOAA Radar pages and mountain weather forecasts abound.

Cross country skiing at Teton Pines.

I especially love when someone shares a forecast in ALL CAPS!

SNOW WILL INCREASE ACROSS THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE NIGHT AS THE WINDS START TO PICK UP. A WINTER STORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. PERIODS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW ARE EXPECTED. SNOWFALL OF TWO TO THREE FEET IS EXPECTED IN THE TETONS.

When the flakes start flying, I’ll check out the Webcams at the top of Teton Pass and throughout Teton County.

One irony of Jackson Hole is that the number of summer visitors dwarfs the amount of people that come during winter, but the single most popular reason people visit the region is to ski or snowboard. People come to Jackson Hole in the summer to fish, hike, raft, bike, horseback ride, tour the national parks and more or to simply soak up the best weather on Earth. In the winter, most come despite some of the harshest weather in the country because it creates ideal conditions for the pastimes they care passionately about.

The Cutter Races, held annually during President's Day holiday, are just one of the many late-winter events.

And within the winter season, the period between Valentine’s Day and early April is clearly the nectar. At Snow King, the north-facing Town Hill can be a cold, dark, icy place between snowfalls in December and January, but by mid-February the sun finally finds the slopes and a lunch run is a wonderful way to get some color on your face and a little exercise. At JHMR and Targhee, the warming trend often means big dumps of high-moisture content snow that eventually turns to delicious corn conditions once the lifts stop turning.

The next several weeks also feature some of the winter’s best events with the Town Downhill, Pole Pedal Paddle, World Championship Hill Climb, Cutter Races, WinterFest and other sporting events as well as a slew of live entertainment acts aimed at serving the younger visitors and seasonal workers.

Yes, winter can be overbearing sometimes. Inevitably there will be a two-week stretch, or more, when the temperature fails to rise above zero and your nose hairs freeze, your joints creek and your car hates you for starting it. And shoveling snow is a pain in the back that gets old early in December. There’s no sugarcoating it.

But for those willing to brave the conditions, for those who share a passion for the outdoors when they are the least hospitable, I’ve found there is a reward just a little sweeter than those earned the rest of the year.

End-of-summer sale for Jackson Hole real estate

A $1 million price reduction on one of the premier building sites in Bar BC Ranch is just one of several discounts on Jackson Hole real estate announced in recent days.

Everything must go! Shop now for best selection on deeply discounted inventory!

With just a few weeks until September, the busiest month for sales in Jackson Hole, price reductions have dominated the Teton County Multiple Listing Service Daily Hotsheet this week. Since Monday, there have been 23 price reductions on residential properties priced as low as $230,000 to as high as $10.5 million.

And just pick a neighborhood, virtually any neighborhood for big, big savings! Take $200,000 off for a building site in Shooting Star, now just $3.795 million for 1.3 prime acres. Or save $3.2 million dollars off original list price on an 8,365-square-foot home in Indian Springs. Like Teton Pines? Two Cluster units reduced this week with one now at $1.495 million.

As discussed in a post on jhpropertyguide.com earlier this month, the high end of the market has been where most of the action has been this year. This is due to a variety of factors but certainly one of them is this market segment has seen the largest price reductions in both dollar amounts and percentage off market highs.

Of the 23 price reductions this week, 11 of them are on properties north of $1 million and 7 priced higher than $1.795 million. Savvy buyers who have the means to purchase in this price range are taking advantage, resulting in an average sales price thus far in 2010 of approximately $1.55 million.

Properties on the low end of the market, which has been stagnant, have been heating up this week as well with a bellwether sale of an Elk Run townhouse and numerous price reductions. Additional price reductions on the lower end of the market include:

  • A 2-bed, 1-bath Ponderosa Village condo is now $230,000; however this is more than $90,000 above the least-expensive unit in this neighborhood.
  • A 3-bed, 3-bath, 1,400-square-foot Creekside townhouse is now $355,000. Originally listed at $625,000 and on the market for 676 days.
  • A 3-bed, 3-bath, 1,671-square-foot single-family home in Rafter J was reduced $40,000 to $539,000 after just 23 days on the market. However, this home was originally listed by same seller in June 2008 for $865,000.

Contact me for a full Comparable Market Analysis on any of these properties or neighborhoods, or to discuss the dynamics that are driving the Jackson Hole real estate market. 307-690-9346.

Report: Summer sales sluggish but average sales price rises

The most recent Jackson Hole Sotheby's Market Update reported fewer sales in July 2010 than during July 2009, the first time this year a month has underperformed compared to last year.

July marked the first month in 2010 with year-to-year sales below those in 2009. There were 18 real estate sales in Teton County in July for a total sales volume of $27.935 million, compared with 22 unit sales in July 2009 for $33.280 million, according to Teton County Multiple Listing Service.

That was the headline during a market update presented on Wednesday at the Jackson Hole Sotheby’s weekly office meeting. The entire 11-page report – which includes a closer look at average sales prices, year-to-date comparisons back to 2002, current national sales data and more – is available as a PDF via email upon request.

And with nearly two weeks already gone in August, closed transactions continue to be sparse with just five closings for an approximate sales volume of more than $5 million.

However, in the last 24 hours the Hotsheet is reporting two large under contracts – a home on the golf course at Teton Pines and a slopeside home in Teton Village – with list prices totaling more than $10 million. That makes five homes reported as under contract so far in August with list prices totaling more than $17 million!

Other highlights from the market update include:

  • July’s average sales price rose to $1.552 million from $1.513 in July 2009, an increase of 2.6 percent.  Year to date, residential average sales price increased 12 percent to $1.4 million; condos jumped 52 percent with single-family homes rising 14 percent.
  • During the last nine years, 2010 tracks most closely year to date with 2003 in terms of sales volume with $193.2 million in 2010 compared to $191.5 million in 2003. However, at this point in 2003 there had been 293 transactions compared to just 138 thus far in 2010.
  • Unit sales in July were down 18 percent from the same month last year and sales volume fell 16 percent.
  • There were seven sales higher than $1 million in July compared to nine in July 2009.
  • August 2010 sales will need to exceed 17 units and a total of $15.874 million to avoid a second consecutive year-to-year monthly slowdown.
  • Even though July was slower than its 2009 counterpart, year-to-date unit sales are up 70 percent and volume is up 69 percent compared to 2009.

Monthly sales streak in jeopardy

With just nine sales reported so far for the month of June, Teton County's streak of consecutive months with higher sales than the previous year could be coming to an end.

For the first time this year, monthly sales of real estate in Jackson Hole are in danger of not outperforming the same month in 2009.

As of the 23rd, June sales reported by the Teton County Multiple Listing Service total just nine with a total sales volume of $5.165 million. June 2009 included 16 sales for $14.2 million in sales volume.

May 2010 was strong for real estate sales in Jackson Hole, with 31 sales compared to 15 during the same month in 2009. Similarly, April’s 19 closings were up nine from 2009, March’s 27 sales were 16 more than in 2009 while January and February easily outpaced dismal 2009 numbers for these months.

Why the pause? It’s hard to say it is even significant with such a short period of time and relatively few numbers to consider. And there are currently 32 properties under contract with total list prices exceeding $50 million, not including the 13 Hotel Terra 2 units still under contract. But if June sales do not increase dramatically in the next week, the month will bring to an end a winning streak dating back to last year.

Some highlights from the Teton County closings so far this month include:

  • A 3-bed, 2-bath, 1,221-square-foot home in Cottonwood Park sold for $525,000. That’s $429 per square foot.
  • A 3-bed, 2-bath, 1,507-square-foot condo in Iron Rock sold for $660,000. Was on the market for 329 days but only came down $15,000 from original list price.
  • A 2-bed, 2-bath, 1,607-square-foot downtown Jackson condo listed for $1.095 million sold for $905,000. Was on the market in 2009 for $1.2 million before being reintroduced this year.
  • The deal of the month may have been the 6-bed, 6-bath, 5,998-square-foot Teton Pines home on 1.89 acres that sold for $2.75 million. This new home was originally listed for $4.75 million in July 2008.

Contact me for a link to these properties or a personalized Jackson Hole real estate property search.

April sales total 18 units, positive trends continue for Jackson Hole real estate

With 18 closings for the month of April reported by Teton County Multiple Listing Service for a total sales volume of $18,509,000, the Jackson Hole real estate market is on a quantifiable roll. This is an early take with additional April sales likely to be reported in the coming days.

And a closer look at the individual sales reveals several positive trends including lower average sales price, stabilizing prices in Jackson and Melody Ranch and a pick-up in activity for Teton Village and short-term rental properties.

The easy comparison is to April 2009, when there were just 9 sales for a total sales volume of $9.95 million. This year roughly doubles that on both counts. That also makes 68 sales for 2010, compared to 28 at this time in 2009.

True, April 2008 (29 sales for more approximately $30 million), April 2007 (33 sales for more than $30 million) and April 2006 (31 sales for more than $30 million) were more prolific, but 2003-05 averaged 17 sales and $21 million. Once again, 2010 is looking more and more like the new 2005.

Some highlights from April’s real estate closings include:

  • Excluding a $5.2 million sale in Teton Pines, the month’s highest recorded sale, the average sales price for the remaining 17 sales was $782,000. Including the 5-bed, 5-bath, 6,589-square-foot Pines home, the average was $1,082,000. The lower this average, the better for the overall market.
  • There were five sales at or below $470,000, including two standard Aspens units at $241,000 and $280,000 and a larger Aspens unit (1,407 square feet) going for $470,000. More good news for a hard-hit subdivision.
  • Four single-family homes in the town of Jackson sold between $532,500 and $600,000. In each case the home was on the market for at least six months and saw a significant price reduction during that time, but the more comparable sales that occur in this range the stronger the case for the market having reached bottom.
  • Same story in Melody Ranch where there were three sales in April. The least-expensive sale was $800,000 for a 4-bed, 4-bath, 2.881-square-foot home on the market for 658 days. Contact me for a much closer look at Melody Ranch.
  • Two sales in Teton Village are also encouraging. Still slow in this market but the sale of a Granite Ridge cabin at a great price ($1.5 million) and a closing at Hotel Terra 2 are definitely noteworthy. Contact me for a closer look at Teton Village and other short-term rental property opportunities.