Tag Archive for: Teton County

Jackson Hole Luxury Homeowners –

Exterior - northside_revToday’s luxury homeowners and buyers are savvier and more confident than ever according to a study by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.  Christy and I found the information very interesting and it seems to support what we are seeing in the Jackson Hole Real Estate market today.  In 2012 we had a total of 49 transactions over $3,000,000 and as of today we already have 35 transactions with some of our strongest closing months ahead.

The national survey of over 500 luxury home buyers had many interesting findings:

  • 75 percent of the luxury home buyers believe home ownership is a more sound investment than the stock market and 57 percent of employed luxury homeowners believe home ownership is a bigger indicator of success than their job or title.
  • A majority of luxury homeowners surveyed (53%) prefer owning multiple “lifestyle” homes to support activities like skiing and golf.
  • 58% of luxury home buyers already own multiple homes to support their lifestyle activities.
  • 60% of luxury buyers surveyed would rather have as many upgrades as they can afford verse larger square footage.
  • Nearly all (94%) of luxury home buyers would be willing to give up 1,000 square feet of living space from their next home in order to get a lifestyle amenity they desire, such as — Living in a better neighborhood (54%), living in a house that has “character” (51%), more land (44%), access to dining and entertainment (39%).
  • (66%) would rather have a “smart” home verse a “green”” home.
  • (87%) would not consider living in a home that is not tech-friendly.
  • Three of the top 5 luxury home essentials are outdoor orientated:  A garden oasis (53%), outdoor fire pit and or fireplace (50%) and a separate guest house outside of the main home (47%).

Those are some very insightful results.  If you are thinking of buying a luxury home or are in the process of remodeling or building one in Jackson Hole these results should be considered.

If you have any interest in learning more about Jackson Hole’s luxury real estate market please feel free to email us at  garth.gillespie@jhsir.com or drop us a phone call at 307-413-5243.

 

2011 Shows Improvement in the Middle Market, Unit Sales Increase

First quarter results for the Jackson Hole Real Estate Market show encouraging trends. Teton County has experienced a slight increase in sales volume, and over 57% increase in units sold for the first quarter of 2011 vs. Q1 in 2010. This is a positive indicator for potentially continued improvement in the market.

Teton County Multiple Listing Service (MLS) also shows a significant increase (over 85%) of units sold in the under $1 million segment.  In the above $1 million segment, MLS reports a 23% increase in units sold in Q1 2011 over Q1 in 2010. Regarding dollar volume of sales, overall in Teton County, Q1 2011 is 12% above 2010. As such, the overall average sales price is down to $1.176 million in Q1 2011 due to the increase in volume in the middle market (under $1m.

Buyers in Jackson Hole are taking advantage of opportunities in the middle market in addition to the high-end market, which has already shown signs of stabilization in 2011. Please contact The Gillespie Real Estate Team at 307-739-8078 to learn about these great opportunties in Jackson Hole real estate.

Receive emergency updates from Teton County

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.)

Jackson Hole Sotheby’s International Realty Leads the Way…

The Teton County, Wyoming real estate market experienced an increase in buyer demand during the first quarter of 2010 and Jackson Hole Sotheby’s continues to lead the way with a 70% market share as reported by Teton County MLS. 

In May 2010, sales volume rose 166% over last year and units sold doubled.  Teton County MLS reported elevn sales over $1 million in May, verse 7 in April and 4 in May.  The interest above $1 million has been encouraging and when you compare this years sales (40) over $1 million verse only (19) last year.

The sales team at Jackson Hole Sotheby’s continues to dominate the market.  Christy and I appreciate working with such a great team because it offers us so much insight.  When you work with the best agents in Jackson you are bound to learn a thing or two.  We also have the opportunity to hear about new listings not yet in the MLS or we are able to “sell” or educate an agent on a property we have listed if we hear they have a buyer looking for something in particular.  It is just a great resourse.  To give you some data to support this representation we just have to look the sales in May.  During the month of May 2010, 73% of the properties that sold in Teton Countywere liste with Jackson Hole Sothebys and our Sotheby’s team sold 55% of all properties that closed in May as reported by Teton County MLS. 

Pretty great numbers for our agents and we are proud to be part of the team.  The Gillespie Team has been contibuting to these numbers during 2010.  We have been involved in 10 transactions for 2010 and in May we sold 5 listings!

To learn more about the Gillespie Real Estate Team or about the advantages of working with Jackson Hole Sothebys International Realty please feel free to call Garth Gillespie at 307-413-5243 or email me at garth.gillespie@jhsir.com.

Real Estate Activity for January 2010 – Jackson Hole

The headlines could be misleading if taken out of context when reviewing the recent sold activity in the Jackson Hole real estate market.  “Sales transactions and volume more than double from previous year!” or “2010 starts off with a bang!”  You never know what some agents will report if you do not know their agenda.  Here at the Jackson Hole Experts Blog we try to give the facts but also try to give you our opinion as to where the markets are trending.  Our agenda is to give you a feeling of what we are seeing in the field and follow that up with the statistics that the MLS reports.

January felt very slow and quite possibly worse than this time last year.  The economy and job outlook in Jackson feels like it is slower and weaker than in years past.  With that said we did see activity more activity than we witnessed last year and sales did double and sales volume more than doubled so our “gut impressions” did not hold up when reviewing the past’s months activity.

 When looking very macro – Teton County MLS recorded 10 closings with a sales volume around $19 million.  This compared to 2009 when we had 4 transactions and just over $7 million in sales volume.  2009 was just plain awful so to compare any month to January 2009 we are bound to report better results.  One issue when looking at the 2010 numbers is that there were 2 very large transactions ($8.2 and $3.8 million) which account for $12 million in volume!  Remove those 2 transactions and we have volume numbers that are almost identical to lasts years awful results.  As we continue to go micro with the stats we can see how those 2 “big transactions” play with the data.  When including all 10 transactions the average sold price is $2 million.  When we peel away the Indian Springs transaction ($8.2) the average sold price slides to $1.2 million and if we also peel away the Four Seasons penthouse sale the average sales price slides to $900,000. 

 To wrap up the report I’ll pass on a few more statistics:  Of the 10 reported sales there are a total of 20 transaction sides.  Sotheby’s International Realty – Jackson Hole Brokerage represented half (10) sides.  The rest of the sides are spread out but coming in second was our friends Jackson Hole Real Estate and Appraisal with (3).  There was 1 sale in Crescent H Ranch, 5 sales in the town of Jackson, a sale in Teton Pines, 2 sales in Teton Village (includes the above mentioned sale) and the Indian Springs sale.  The average days’ on the market was 262.

In the next update we will detail the pending transactions currently reported in the (MLS).  There is a little upside as we see a good set of inventory under contract.  Stay tuned!

For more information about the Jackson Hole real estate market please feel free to call us – Christy and Garth Gillespie at 307-739-8056.  We are full time Realtors who enjoy their jobs….

Jackson Hole Housing Market Explodes!

Well let’s put that phrase in context – The Jackson Hole / Teton County active listing market is exploding! Yes – everyday there are more and more listings hitting the market and unfortunately not many of them are going under contract. There are currently about 845 active listings in Teton County, Wyoming. Previously the high was reached in October of 2008 so we have basically been drowning in listings for over 6 months.

When comparing today’s active listings to last year we see that in May of 2008 there were about 480 listings and if we look at May of 2007 there were only about 400 listings. The current inventory load will only continue the price pressure we are witnessing on the market. Transactions are taking place but in most cases we are seeing 20% to 30% discounts given from the high of the market!

Stay tuned as we are currently updating our Top Picks. For more information on the current market please call or email the JacksonHoleExperts – Christy and Garth Gillespie Sotheby’s International Realty – Jackson Hole Brokerage. We are here to help and work everyday to exceed your expections.

Sotheby’s International Realty – Jackson Hole Brokerage – Jackson Hole Real Estate Report – 1st Quarter 2009


The final real estate results are finally in from our master “Statistic Wizard”, Leonard Kleiman. Unfortunately you did not have to be a master mathematician in the 1st quarter of 2009 as we only recorded 18 transactions for a total of $43.2 million in sales volume. Teton County, Wyoming could very well have it bottom which if it is true will be music to our ears. To give you perspective the 2008 1st Quarter was a previous record low in transaction total with 67 transactions! Q1-2009 unit volume was down 73% from ’08 and volume was down 57%.

Another interesting fact we are noting is that since September 2007 every month since we have seen decreased sales volume year over year. This is an astonishing stat that really illustrates how the market was out performing for years and is now correcting and definitely under performing. March ’09 for example was down 60% vs. March ’08.

With so few transactions it is almost impossible find a pattern or trend in a certain location except for the fact that all areas are seeing decreased activity. Teton Village only saw 2 transactions during the ’09 ski season (Jan-March). Wilson or “west of the snake” only saw 3 transactions compared to 11 in ’08. And the Town of Jackson only recorded 8 transactions compared to 33 in ’08.

When looking at active inventory we are starting to see a number higher than ever before. On March 31st there were 687 active listing in the Teton County Multiple Listing Service. Today, May 1st we have 725 active listing with more on the way. Christy and I currently are working on 4 new listings that will hit the market in the next 2 weeks. To know more call us toll free at 877-739-8056! One area of stability has been in the over the $3 million market as there were only 126 listings as of March 31st. This is only 11% over the 2007 numbers.

Activity has increased during the month of April. There are currently 18 pending transactions excluding 35 pre-construction projects that include Terra/Sweetwater Lodge, Pine Glades and Pearl Street. There have been some exciting (depends on what end of the transaction you are on…) price reductions in the past two weeks which should stimulate the market. Without a doubt – if a buyer has the means to make a purchase 2009 will go down as one of the best buyer opportunities Teton County has seen in years. Inventory is close to a high, there are some quality listings available in all locations and prices are falling.

If you are a seller – it is a difficult time – yet if you position your property correctly there are buyers looking around for property and that is more than you could say in November of 2008.

If you would like to see the actual report from Sotheby’s International Realty – Jackson Hole Brokerage please email or call the Jackson Hole Experts – Christy and Garth Gillespie. We are happy to assist any of you understand this challenging market.

Teton County, Wyoming – Jackson Hole – 1st Quarter Preliminary Real Estate Results –April 6, 2009

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.

Housing and the Stimulus Package – Jackson Hole Status Report

February 17, 2009

Christy and Garth Gillespie, the “Jackson Hole Experts” have reviewed the Stimulis Bill and Treasury announcements made last week and being signed today and here are our thoughts.

We were in support for a $15,000 tax credit but that was defeated. We are very excited to report much of what the National Association of REALTORS campaigned for was introduced and kept into the bill and are equally excited to see the already established tax breaks stay in effect.

So here’s what is part of the package: 1) the loan limits will be raised to $727,000 in high cost areas, 2) the tax credit will be raised to $8,000, 3) the bill has over $50 billion in it for foreclosure mitigation, 4) Fannie has just agreed to lift the cap of 4 investment properties eligible for loans and raise it to 10.

In addition, the Government preserved what we have – mortgage interest deductability, real estate tax deductability, and the $250,000/$500,000 cap gains exclusion (an overall package worth more than $100 billion).

We also reviewed where the $727 billion dollar stimulus package was being spent – unfortunately NOT in Teton County, Wyoming or Idaho….

We will continue to update the benefits of the Stimulus Bill as more details are released. For more information on the Jackson Hole Real Estate market please feel free to contact us at 307-739-8056 or send us an email to gillespie@NUMBER1EXPERT.com.

Year End Real Estate Results For Jackson Hole — 2008

Year End Real Estate Results For Jackson Hole — 2008

Looking strictly at the Teton Board of REALTORS multiple listing service (MLS) the numbers are quite stagering. Transactions totaled 282 and sales vloume was $480 million. Verse 2007 – unit volume fell 51% and sales volume declined 39%. Charting the past seven years we saw the unit volume peak in 2005 (746) which results in a 62% reduction when comparing to 2008.

If we are looking for a bottom we believe we have a way to go. The MLS system reported only 7 sales in Teton County, Wyoming in Januray 2009! The previous low was 9 in November of 2008. And the real eye opening fact is when looking aside from the past 3 months the “low water mark” was 23 in January of 2002! Sales volume for January 2009 was $9.2 million and the previous low was February, 2002 @ 16.9 million. Wow!

Looking for a brightside? There are 47 pending transactions (includes 23 presales in Teton Village). Of the remaining 24 pending transactions this number represents twice the amount of pendings reported in January!

Currently there are 675 active listings in the Teton Board of REALTORS MLS.