While the focus today, the day after Thanksgiving, is on retail bargains like $99 flat screen TVs, a look at the Jackson Hole real estate inventory reveals the best buying environment in years.
One barometer I’ve been tracking for the last two years is the number of residential properties in Teton County listed below $300,000. Today there are 35 such properties with 29 of them in Jackson. In April 2010 there were 24; on Jan. 28, 2010 there were 20. In 2008, there were none in the Town of Jackson and but a handful in the entire county.
Additionally, interest rates on home mortgages are at historical lows, values have reverted to prices last seen in 2005 or earlier and banks are slowly but steadily improving their capacities for dealing with short sales and bank-owned properties.
On the other hand, the job market remains unsteady, lending restrictions are slow to relax and prices, though much lower, remain out of reach for many household budgets. However, these challenges are becoming easier to surmount for a growing number of buyers and the sales figures from this year bear that out.
Some highlights from the current inventory below $300,000 in Teton County, according to the Teton County Multiple Listing Service, include:
- The least expensive home in Teton County is a 2-bed, 1-bath, 716-square-foot, bank-owned condo in Ponderosa Village listed for $134,900, down from $206,900 after 216 days on market.
- The second-lest expensive home is also in Ponderosa Village, a short sale listed at $139,000.
- Seven condos are listed for less than $200,000.
- Five properties on this list are larger than 1,000 square feet.
- Four properties are in Teton Village, but only one is in the Aspens/Racquet Club area. This is surprising as the Aspens has been very active below $300,000 in the past year, but makes sense as this subdivision saw some of the biggest “bubble” prices and earliest repositionings after the market crashed in 2008.
Please contact me at TetonRealtyToday@gmail.com for closer look at any or all of the properties included in this post or for a personal market analysis of any neighborhood or price range in Jackson Hole.
