Tag Archive for: Christy and Garth Gillespie

New Real Estate Office Opens in Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates – Christie’s Great Estates opened its doors last week. JHREA is a new company that combines agents from many different real estate firms in the valley. The office will have multiple locations in the valley but most prominently at their current office next to Sports Authority and the old Real Estate of Jackson Hole site on East Broadway.

The eight partners of this new firm are Bob and Karen Graham and Julie and Matt Faupel of the Graham 4, David Viehman, Brad Andrews, Bill May, Carlton and Cathy Loewer, Chad and Dianne Budge and Bomber Bryan. Christy and I have the highest respect for these brokers and wish them the best.

If you would like additional information about real estate in Jackson Hole please contact the JacksonHoleExperts – Christy and Garth Gillespie at Sotheby’s International Realty. Feel free to call us toll free at 877-739-8056 or email us at garth.gillespie@sothebyshomes.com.

Jackson Hole Mortgage Update – Jackson Hole Expert’s Report

For some interesting reading on “Record Low Mortgage Rates” go here.

Another interesting article about the New Mortgage Reform Bill.

Then there is the HOT STUFF report from T.R. Pierce at the Bank of Jackson Hole. T.R. produces this report when there is interesting and informative information about the “World of Lending”.

The more you know…
UNDERWRITING CHANGES
It would be an understatement to say that the mortgage industry is changing everyday… and so we wanted to share a couple of the more recent changes we are seeing from a couple of our secondary market investors.

RESERVE REQUIREMENTS – Some mortgage loan programs require that the borrower have sufficient liquid asset reserves to cover two (2) months principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) payments at time of closing. This has always been a requirement on owner occupied conforming high balance (over $417,000 up to $625,500) loans. Now we are seeing that borrowers of second homes will be required to have two (2) months PITI reserves on all conforming loans (regardless of loan amount) and for investment homes the PITI reserve requirement is six (6) months.

Plus, the borrower will have to have two (2) months reserves for each additional financed second or investment property! The thought behind these changes appears to be an effort to insure that borrowers have sufficient reserves for their new mortgage payments.

INTERST ONLY LOANS – This week we received our first announcement of the elimination of interest only loans with one of our secondary market investors. Now, this is just one of many investors we have, but often times we see one investor make an underwriting change and then the rest of the mortgage industry follows. This change appears be an effort to give borrowers the opportunity to reduce their principal with principal and interest payments… especially in markets with declining real estate values.

It is important to note that these changes are just with a couple of our secondary market investors and we still have investors with no reserve requirements and we still have investors who offer interest only loans. Just want to keep you informed of the changes we are seeing that might have an impact on your borrower’s qualifications.

Great stuff T.R.!!! Check back later this week for our weekly Mortgage Rates Update.

If you would like information about the Jackson Hole Real Estate Market please visit www.JacksonHoleExperts.com or call Christy and Garth Gillespie toll free at 877-739-8056. Have a great day!

Protection for the Snake River and Surrounding Mountain Range – Needs One More Signature!

In encouraging news this week the U.S. House of Representatives passed a new bill to protect 387 miles of the Snake River and its tributaries in Wyoming and to put 1.2 million acres of the Wyoming Range off-limits to oil and gas drilling.

To read more about this protection click here: Snake River and Wyoming Range

For additional information on local events and news please feel free to contact the JacksonHoleExperts, Christy and Garth Gillespie at 1-877-739-8056.

Top Real Estate Deals in Jackson Hole — Top Picks Updated!

Update – Update – Update

Christy and I just updated our “Top Picks” of the week at www.JacksonHoleExperts.com. Please check them out.

The week in review for Jackson Hole real estate according to the Teton County Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service is as follows:

There were 10 listings that experienced significant price reductions. Listings of notice include – 2 lots on the “West Bank of the Snake River” located on Wiley Lane which are both about 3 acres in size have been reduced to $675,000! These lots are priced at a very value.

There have been 8 new listings added to the inventory in the Jackson, Wyoming area. Included in the new listings are 3 Love Ridge units at the Snow King Resort. We saw a new listing in Cottonwood Park and also another in Rafter J – unfortunately the pricing does not seem to accurate.

As for action we saw 3 new pending transactions and 1 closing of interest. The closing was a Teton Pines Cluster home listed for $2,395,000. Congrats to the agents involved.

Have a great weekend and if you would like additional information on the Jackson Hole, Wyoming real estate market please contact the JacksonHoleExperts – Christy and Garth Gillespie at 877-739-8056.

Good News On Housing! Anything Happening with the Jackson Hole Real Estate Market?

We woke up this morning to good news on Wall Street as reaction to the new “Toxic Asset” program was cheered by traders with big movement in the financial sector. Wall Street is also reacting to better than expected housing data. The interesting stat to notice is that this is the first time housing sales and median price both increased at the same time since May 2008.

What about the Jackson Hole real estate market? Well, so far the month of March could be labeled the “Month of Showings”. Activity has been quite strong with buyers looking at property but not yet pulling out their wallets. The news out of the federal government is great for home buyers as mortgage rates are very low, there are extremely favorable tax credits for first time home buyers and financing is becoming a little easier to find. All of this should add up to some transactions but currently we are waiting. Prices in Jackson Hole are still holding fairly strong but we are seeing some movement just not an overall pattern.

Data includes: Current inventory staying about the same since March 3rd with a slight increase (3%) to 732 listings. The big increase came into the residential market with an additional 16 listings. There have been a total of 45 price reductions since the start of March. As for buying activity — slow go. Only 1 confirmed pending transaction in March — Aspen’s Condo 2B/2B priced at $595,000.

For additional real estate information on Jackson Hole -please feel free to email or call us at 877-739-8056. Christy and Garth Gillespie, Sotheby’s International Realty, are ready to answer any questions.

Where’s the Jackson Hole Real Estate Market Headed – Feburary Review

That’s a good question. Currently we are at a stand still as transactions are almost nonexistent. The month of February will go down as a month to forget or should I say a month that was forgotten. Totals for sales volume and units sold are unbelievably small.

Okay – enough baiting. When looking back on the month of February for sales in the entire Teton County Multiple Listing Service we find a grand total of 3 transactions! Since there are only three I can actually list them: 1. Fractional Sale at the Teton Club, 2. 1 Bedroom Condo, 500 square feet in the Town of Jackson for close to $300,000 and 3. a small single family home with development potential for a little over $600,000. That’s it. Sales Volume totaled close to $1,000,000.

How about new activity? Well, we did see some activity in Melody Ranch. 2 homes which were priced at, or above $1,000,000 this past summer, had some very aggressive price reductions which motivated a couple of buyers. Both transactions, if they close, with be under $700,000. There are a total of 41 pending residential transactions. Interesting to note – of the 41 pending transactions almost 30 of them are in the construction phase of development. 6 of the pending transactions are priced above $1,000,000 and 1 of those transactions is listed for $10.5 million! There are also 4 fractional units pending.

Current active inventory is at 708 listings, 506 of which are residential, 48 are fractional units and there are 152 building sites. Of the 152 building sites there are 5 pending transactions (2 in my opinion are suspect) and the other 3 are Commercial properties.

Where are we headed? …as I mentioned above – Good question. It is our opinion that until we see some light at the end of the tunnel with our economy our real estate market will stay in hibernation. We are still waiting to see some significant price reductions – especially on the lower/lowest end of the market. Christy and I see a solution to get our market moving but that takes the low end to move another 20% to 25% downward. This would stimulate first time home buyers. From there, the sellers of these properties could make a move at the next tier and so on.

The stimulus plan does give some incentives for first time home buyers ($8,000 tax credit) and interest rates are at historically low-low rates (under 5%). Incentives, low interest rates and lowering prices – bring it on. Christy and Garth Gillespie are eager to help. We want to be part of the “Jackson Hole Stimulus Plan”. Call us and let us help you make a move in this market. Read our blogs, our top picks or call for a free consultation.

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.

United States Senate Approves $8,000 Tax Credit For Home Buyers -Including Jackson Hole Home Buyers

American flagwater ripple and water drop falling in the middleIf you decide to purchase a home, whether it is in Jackson Hole or not, within the next year, you will be entitled to a $8,000 tax credit, thanks to an amendment written by Georgia’s Senator Johnny Isakson. This amendment to the economic stimulus bill will be available to any home buyer within a year of it’s enactment. Homebuyers will be entitled to claim a total tax credit of $8,000 or 10% of the purchase price, which will not be difficult to do in the Teton County, Wyoming real estate market.  In Teton County our average sale is way over $1,000,000. To avoid possible abuse of this credit, it is only allowed for your primary residence and will only have to be re-paid if said house is sold within two years of purchase.

Isakson has a lot of experience in the Real Estate market, as he ran one of the most successful Real Estate Brokerage companies in the Southeast for twenty years. He is convinced that this credit will work because of a similar tax break Congress introduced in the mid-1970’s, when our country was in the midst of a housing crisis similar to the one we are faced with today. The results back then were positive, as home values did eventually stabilize and the market recovered.

It is our belief that adding this tax credit to the already established benefits to home owership will help to kick start the real estate market in Jackson Hole. We are starting to witness a renewed interest in the market as showings have increased tenfold from November. Offers are still scarce but time is of the essence and Buyers are starting to feel more comfortable with the current market in Jackson Hole. For more information on the real estate market in Jackson Hole please feel free to call Christy and Garth Gillespie, associates at Sotheby’s International Realty of Jackson Hole, at 877-739-8056.

Overall Market Update – Real Estate – Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Preliminary Market Update for Year End 2008
Sotheby’s International Realty – Jackson Hole and Christy and Garth Gillespie, the Jackson Hole Experts, have been busy looking back at 2008 putting together final real estate market numbers which are not quite finished. In the meantime we thought we would update the most current information we have gathered and give out the preliminary market update.

November and December were the 2 worst sales months in the past 10 years! With the election, economy downturn and the credit crisis in full swing the housing market nationally took a huge hit and Jackson Hole was not immune to the crises. There were 9 sales in November and 12 sales in December. November unit volume is 51% below that of 2007 and 55% below that of 2004. Sales volume fell 39% to $460 million compared to $750 million in 2007. All five regions (Teton Village, West of the Snake River, North of Town, Town of Jackson and South of Jackson) of the Jackson Hole real estate market saw major declines in activity through the first 11 months. The strongest segment was the Town of Jackson with 110 (-43%) transactions and $120 (-14%) million in sales volume. South of Jackson took the biggest hit with sales volume down 64% and unit sales down 61%! The large decrease in activity in the South of Jackson category is explained by a huge reduction in sales at 3 Creek Ranch and the now bankrupt Snake River Sporting Club.

If we look at sales by property type we see that vacant land sales had the largest decline with sales volume down 47% and unit sales down 67%! Overall the averages were Condos down 33%, Single Family homes down 42%, and Vacant land down 47%. The bright spot in the market has been Commercial listings with sales volume up 35% and unit sales only down 24%.

Active inventory has been trending upward with a slight decease in November 2008 due to sellers removing listings from the market. When we look back we see that active listings have been trending upward since May of 2007. This increase in listings is market wide with active listings under $3 million at 548 and greater than $3 million at 150.

Do we see any positive trends? Of course – we have to find some positives in this market. First and foremost we have great inventory to show potential buyers and the prices are starting to trend downward. There have been many times in the past ten years that Jackson Hole has offered a very limited number of options for buyers in the market. Well that has changed! We also are starting to see some very unrealistic sellers adjusting their pricing. We have a new page on our website at www.jacksonholeexperts.com that offers our “Top Values” – check it out! Another trend we are starting to see is an increase in interest in our market. The Christmas / Holiday season was very busy in Jackson Hole. Most of you may have heard but the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort received over 5 feet of snow between Christmas and New Years. Many visitors filled a day or two of their visit with a real estate agent. Showings increased two-fold and real estate inquiries doubled at Sotheby’s. To turn this market around we need interested parties so this was a good first step. Stay tuned for more information and thanks for reading — please send comments to garth.gillespie@sothebysrealty.com or give us a call at 307-739-8056.

Jackson Hole Real Estate Hotsheet Highlights Jan. 1 – Jan. 11, 2009

What is the Jackson Hole Real Estate Hot Sheet? One of a Realtor’s most important tools is the local Teton County Multiple Listing Service, a dynamic database of currently available properties and much, much more, including sales histories, Competitive Market Analysis programs and information only available to members. The MLS also provides a daily “Hot Sheet” brimming with the latest price changes, new listings, pending and closed sales, as well as expired, withdrawn and back on the market properties.

New listings:
There were 28 new listings for residential property in Teton County, WY, between New Year’s Day and January 10. The least expensive is a 1-bed, 1-bath, 760 sq. ft. condo in the Aspens listed at $419K and the most expensive is “Bighorn Lodge,” an 8,000 sq. ft. new home on 5.23 acres in Solitude priced at $12,750,000. Ten properties were listed below $1M, another 10 were priced between $1M and $2M, and 6 between $2M and $3.5M.
Coincidentally, the same 10 days in 2008 also saw 28 new listings for residential property in the same area. Thanks to the “custom” Hot Sheet, we can see also see how these newly listed properties fared over the course of the year.
· Twelve of the 28 properties eventually sold, with the least expensive being a Ponderosa Village condo (2-bed, 1-bath, 716 sq. ft.) for $379K and the most expensive being a $3.95M home in Willowbrook.

· Three are still active, 11 listings expired and one was withdrawn.

Closed and pended listings:

Perhaps more indicative of any overall trends may be a look at closed and pended transactions for the same time frame.
· This year has seen 2 closings on homes in Teton County, with one of them being a fractional (1/6th) unit in Teton Pines and other a home on Munger Mountain for $900K. No property has gone under contract so far in 2009.

· In 2008, there were six closings year to date at this point, with 8 properties going under contract.

· Teton Village:

With the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort now 100 percent open (when avalanche conditions permit!) and winter in full swing, many of the buyers in town are focusing their attention on Teton Village property.
What’s the latest in the land of the big new shiny red tram?
· The first thing that jumps out is that of the 130 active listings in Teton Village, 42 are fractional ownerships at Teton Club with the least expensive being 2 weeks (one fall, one spring) in a 2-bed unit and the most expensive being 4 prime weeks including New Year’s in a 3-bed unit for $350,000.

· The least expensive full ownership condo in TV is a 464 sq. ft. studio built in 1972 listed at $389K. The lowest priced unit with 2 baths is $685K.

Thanks for visiting the Jackson Hole Real Estate and Community News Blog sponsored by Christy and Garth Gillespie from Sotheby’s International Realty of Jackson Hole. For more information on the “Hot Sheet” please feel free to contact me – Brian Siegfried, sale associate and Gillespie Real Estate Team member at brian.siegfried@sothebysrealty.com.