Jackson Hole Economic Dashboard – Sept 2011

Every month the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce prepares a “Economic Dashboard” for the Jackson Hole, WY area. This useful report analyzes sales tax revenue, tourism and visitation numbers at Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park, Jackson Hole Airport enplanements, lodging occupancy at local hotels, real estate sales, construction permits and job and rental ads in the Newspaper. All of these numbers, along with their comparison to last years numbers, better helps us understand the economic climate in Jackson Hole.

In summary…….

Sales Tax Income for the Town of Jackson and Teton County for July 2011 was up 11% verses July 2010 and up 23% compared to 2009. (As reported by the Wyoming Department of Revenue).

Tourism & Visitation: Visitation at Yellowstone National Park was down by 6% for August 2011 (vs. Aug 2010) However, year to date visitation was down only 3% compared to 2010.  Visitation at Grand Teton National Park was down 5% for August 2011 (vs. Aug 2010). Year to date visitation was down 7% from year to date 2010.

Jackson Hole Airport Enplanements for August 2011 were only slightly down (0.4%) compared to Augst last year, but down 6% from August 2009.

On the positive side……

Visitor inquiries for August 2011 were up by 16% as compared to August 2010 and up 40% compared to August 2009.  It appears more people are looking into traveling to Jackson Hole.

Lodging rates were pretty similar compared to August 2010. Year to date lodging rates were up 2% from 2010 and 8% from 2009. Not reported in this economic dashboard report is the Fall Arts Festival, in Jackson Hole between September 8 and September 18, which currently has in Town hotels and lodges at full occupancy.

Real Estate Sales (our area of expertise) were up 24% (unit sales) and up 11% (sales volume) for the second quarter of 2011 when comparing to the same quarter in 2010 and up 163% (unit sales) and up 102% (sales volume) from the ‘bottom’ of the market in 2009.

Construction Permits for August 2011 were up by 57% compared to August 2010 and up 7% from January-August verses last year.

For additional information, contact The Gillespie Real Estate Team at 307-739-8056 or garth.gillespie@jhsir.com.