The number of real estate sales was off slightly in the first part of 2019, but dollar volume took a big jump, according to local agents, and reported recently by Jackson Hole News & Guide.
 
The cause? More high-end sales and a continuing rise in prices at the lower end, where locals are finding themselves struggling in their search for a place to buy, the experts said.

At the rich end “we’re seeing a lot of sales in the $3-million-plus range,” said David Viehman, an Engel and Volkers agent who publishes the Jackson Hole Report. “We are also getting much more action in larger properties, $10 million, $15 million properties … we’ve doubled our sales over $10 million last year.”

Viehman put the total number of sales in the first quarter at down 3%, with overall dollar volume up 45%. He calculated that 61% of sales were for more than $1 million. He said there were 27 sales at prices topping $3 million, up 50%.
 
Katie Brady, an associate broker at Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates, the local Christie’s affiliate, generally agreed: She calculated that dollar volume in the first quarter was up about 40 percent, riding a strong 2018.

“2018 was super explosive, not just an uptick,” Brady said. “It was a very strong year, mostly thanks to the high end.”

Besides the healthy performance in the $1 million to $5 million segment, Viehman recorded 12 sales topping $5 million, with the highest at $17 million.

Viehman said that in Jackson proper even the “small stuff” is seeing “8 to 10% appreciation right now.”

He pointed to the old Virginian Apartments, 56 units previously filled mostly by workers that are being remodeled and sold, some with restrictions designed to keep them in the local housing market and eligible for Federal Housing Administration financing and others now being sold on the open market.

Though small, the units are selling fast and seeing a run-up in prices. Viehman said open-market units have seen prices rise up to 20% in the past few months.

Recent records show a one-bedroom, 476-square-foot unit at the Virginian on the market at $308,000. A pending sale of a two-bedroom unit of 762 square feet was listed at $420,000.

The Virginian units prove that, despite price increases, there’s strong demand in the part of the market where people with jobs are looking for places to live. Though small, the Virginian units are in town, sit next to the library and are being refurbished. Brady said she has sold two of them.

“It’s a great location; they’re nice, remodeled, have new appliances,” she said. “They’re the nicest thing on the market at that price point.”

Anything in that price range — these days almost entirely condos and townhouses rather than single-family houses — moves quickly.

Viehman said there are “multiple offers … on anything under a million.”

“I’ve had clients looking for two years,” he said. “There are hundreds of people looking for condos under $500,000 or $600,000 … the locals who still want to get in, who don’t want to drive to Idaho or to Star Valley.”
 
Brady sees the same. “Multiple-offer situations,” she said, are common in “a very competitive market.”

The strong market and continuing confidence is widespread. At the local Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices affiliate, Brokers of Jackson Hole Real Estate, majority owner Kurt Harland said a strong first quarter came on top of a good 2018. Harland said his office came close to doubling its business in the first quarter this year compared with the same period last year.

“Numbers are up; the dollars were up,” he said. “It would be a dream year if we continued like the first quarter.”

At Jackson Hole Sotheby’s International Realty, Chief Operating Officer and responsible broker Donna Clinton agreed. She said that Sotheby’s “had a record year last year” and that the surge continued in the first quarter, with dollar volume up nearly 53 percent. Sotheby’s put the number of sales at down about 10%.

Though Sotheby’s saw a slight slowing in the start of the second quarter, Clinton expects a big year.

“The third and fourth quarters are usually very strong,” she said.

Clinton also has seen some more mid-price housing coming on the market, a factor she thinks will push sales and see “people finding something they can move into.”

Viehman noted that inventory remains tight, as it has been for the past four years, with only about 280 listings of all kinds last week. But Brady said some new properties are coming on the market as potential sellers decide recent good prices and demand are a reason to stop waiting and sell. She said “sellers are feeling very bold, understandably,” and she tells people looking to buy that they should be ready to move quickly.

“Demand remains high, not just with people here but people who want to move here,” she said.

When Brady hears people say they’re waiting for a break in the market and a chance to get in cheap, she says, “I don’t think that’s good advice, I don’t think that’s happening.

“Part of me says the current trend is not sustainable,” she said, “but the other part says, ‘What’s going to stop it?’”

*Article from Jackson Hole News & Guide and published by Mark Huffman on May 15, 2019.

*Image courtesy of Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates.

In the latest edition of Global Economic Insights, LeadingRE’s Chief Economist Dr. Marci Rossell, Ph.D., addresses the temporary economic factors causing uncertainty.

The beginning of 2019 has already experienced disruption with the
shutdown of the U.S. Government. While the shutdown has come and
gone, the economy is still facing other temporary factors that are causing
uncertainty.

Factors causing uncertainty:

• Brexit is creating uncertainty in the global financial environment.
• The trade war between the U.S. and China continues.
• The Federal Reserve is tacitly tightening monetary policy as an effort to reverse many years of quantitative easing.

Economic uncertainty creates three different responses:

1. Irrational Response – These consumers are not making any investments. They hold on to cash or invest in gold.
2. Rational Economist Response – These consumers see the current economy as a buying opportunity.
3. “Wait and See” Response – This is the most common response and falls in between the first two responses. These consumers wait for the uncertainty to dissipate before making any type of economic decision.

The factors causing uncertainty are temporary and most will dissipate near the end of the first quarter of 2019. When that happens, the global economy and U.S. economy are likely to go back to a trend of 3% growth, year-overyear, which will be good for the markets, good for employment and good for real estate.Irrational Response – These consumers are not making any investments. They hold on to cash or invest in gold.

Contact Christy and Garth Gillespie for more information on the real estate market.

Another year for the books! Last week, Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates commemorated another landmark year as the region’s leading real estate brokerage at the annual Year-End Awards Dinner. Marked by a night of revelry, the company celebrated its agents’ many successes throughout 2018, which included continued growth company-wide, personal milestones and collective achievements.

We joined our many colleagues and were awarded the Chairman Award for consistently being top producers and dedicated to our community, clients and company. A big congrats to our entire team for a year of many accomplishments!⁣

The camaraderie, energy and professionalism at Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates is unique, Owners, Matt and Julie Faupel, told the group during a champagne toast—not only locally, but nationally and even globally. Agents’ teamwork, and hard work, helped drive another remarkable year.

In 2018, Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates’ production increased 37 percent in sales volume and 33 percent in gross commissionable income year-over-year. The number of transactions grew 16 percent, once again establishing JHREA as the region’s top-performing brokerage.

Additionally, over the past year Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates opened a new office in Teton Village and remodeled its Thayne and Driggs offices. The company is also expanding its presence in Wyoming and Idaho, which will be announced soon.

From company owners, “those are no small accomplishments, and they owe entirely to agents’ dedication and professionalism.”

Want to learn more about our leading brokerage and real estate services, we’d love to hear from you.

Jackson Hole is a place of adventure. The valley’s rugged beauty attracts visitors from around the world, and its grandeur is matched only by the personalities of those who call it home. It should be no surprise that the Last of the Old West has a long and storied past that carries on still today. Under the shadow of the Grand Tetons, the West lives on in Jackson Hole.

The Early Pioneers

Long before Jackson Hole was settled by Western pioneers, Native American tribes frequented the area. The region’s abundant wildlife provided seasonal hunting grounds for the Blackfoot and Shoshone Indians, who would make camp in the valley following the spring thaw. Harsh winters, however, limited their stays to the summer months, after which the tribes would migrate to milder climates.

Responding to ads in East Coast newspapers calling for hunters to be deployed to the Rocky Mountains, the first fur trappers arrived to Jackson Hole in the 1820s. They were met with a bounty of ecological diversity, and the region became a crossroads for at least six major trapper trails. These early explorers would host annual rendezvouses, and word soon began to spread about the area.

It wasn’t until the mid-1880s that the first settlers arrived to the area, but within a decade the valley was dotted with cabins and early settlements. Many of these structures survive today, like Menor’s Ferry near the headquarters to Grand Teton National Park and Cunningham Cabin, which is the oldest standing cabin in the valley.

These early settlers braved long winters and short summers to begin some of the area’s first successful cattle operations. It was a tough existence, but the first ranchers capitalized on the region’s lush growing conditions to raise alfalfa hay and oats, which they would then feed to livestock in the winter. Their herds contributed to the cattle trade that was burgeoning across the West.

Jackson Hole Comes on the Map

Around the turn of the 20^th Century, as railroads facilitated commercial travel, visitors began arriving to Jackson Hole in greater number. Many were drawn by the region’s now renown hunting and fishing, along with stories of the area’s natural wonder, creating a boon for local outfitters. This, in turn, gave way to the emergence of dude ranches, which allowed guests to experience the Western life that was being popularized throughout the country.

Jackson Hole’s dude ranches provided an authentic, immersive experience. Many would put guests to work tending to horses and cattle, in addition to hunting, fishing and pack-tripping. The first of Jackson Hole’s tourism, dude ranches began to propagate the area’s stunning beauty in earnest.

In 1914, the Town of Jackson was incorporated. Though small, it offered conveniences that catered to visitors. Fifteen years later, in one of his final acts in office, President Calvin Coolidge dedicated 96,000 acres in Jackson Hole as a national monument.

The same year, 1929, Congress established the land dedicated by President Coolidge as Grand Teton National Park. At the time, it was a controversial move. Many considered it a land grab by bureaucrats back East. Ranchers and outfitters, especially, opposed the decision, and many refused to sell their property. Some of these “inholdings” can still be seen inside the Park boundaries.

In 1949, John D. Rockefeller – who, after visiting Jackson Hole, had begun to purchase up many of the area’s ranches and outfitting business through the Snake River Land Co. – donated his land holdings to be incorporated into Grand Teton National Park. Today, the Park spans over 310,000 acres.

World-Class Skiing Discovered

With the emergence of air travel, and as tourism in the Teton region continued to grow, the Jackson Hole Airport was built in 1930s. At first it was little more than a dirt runway. But it was slowly developed, and soon commercial flights began arriving. In 1943, the airport was declared a national monument, and in 1950 it was incorporated into Grand Teton National Park. Today, Jackson Hole Airport offers non-stop service to 13 destinations, and it remains the only airport in the continental U.S. located in a National Park.

With the designation of Grand Teton National Park, an airport and automotive travel becoming popular, Jackson Hole’s tourism began to boom in the latter half of the 20^th Century. From the adventure seekers to casual travelers to those looking for a retreat at the area’s newly emerging resorts, visitors from around the world began to flock to Jackson Hole.

In 1964, construction of what is now Jackson Hole Mountain Resort began, and, in 1965, Jackson Hole Ski Corporation opened Après Vous Mountain. Snow King Mountain Resort, which first began operating in 1939, had already popularized Jackson Hole’s alpine skiing, and quickly the valley became known for its world-class slopes. Jackson Hole remains one the country’s top destinations and has consistently been ranked the top ski town by Forbes, Ski Magazine and numerous other publications.

Jackson Hole Today

Cradled in the lap of the Grand Tetons and surrounded by natural beauty that will be preserved for generations to come, Jackson Hole remains the premier destination of the Mountain West. There may be fewer cowboys saddled up at the iconic Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, and the cattle herds have thinned. But make no mistake, the Western spirit is still vibrant here.

We invite you to experience this remarkable destination. Contact Us to learn more about the area and experience the Last of the Old West.

*Article courtesy of Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates blog and images of Time Magazine and Jackson Hole Historical Society