It wasn’t real estate heaven, the market didn’t party like it was 2007, but overall Jackson Hole real estate was pretty darn good in 2011.
The calendar year ended last week with a total of 326 closings in Teton County, including 289 residential and 37 building site sales. The sum exceeds the 261 sales in 2010 by 26 percent. However, sales volume dropped in 2011 by 16 percent to approximately $323.5 million.
The jump in unit sales in 2011 followed a similar increase in 2010 of 29 percent compared to 2009, though 2010 also saw a 69 percent increase in sales volume from that terrible, horrible, very bad year that recorded just 203 unit sales for $229 million.
The 37 building site sales, up 15 percent from 2010 and 68 percent from 2009, echo the steadily improving residential numbers. Sales volume for vacant land in 2011 totaled $34.4 million, not including two unreported sales on Bar BC Ranch properties with a total list price of $19.5 million.
Nearly all market statistics indicate 2011 represented a strengthening market in which prices found bottom in most segments and more buyers got off the sidelines. And perhaps most encouragingly, this strength comes despite lingering limiting factors such as an unreasonably tight lending climate, local and global economic concerns and the simple fact that so many homeowners cannot sell for what they have into their property.
Highlights from 2011 real estate sales in Teton County, WY, include:
- There were five sales at or below $100,000 in 2011, the first such sales since January 2000.
- There were 45 residential sales in 2011 below $300,000. In 2008, for context, there was not a single sale reported by Teton County Multiple Listing Service below $300,000.
- Eleven of the 12 sales below $130,000 were in two subdivisions: Ponderosa Village in West Jackson and Hillside Business Complex Condos, located about 2 miles south of Jackson.
- Thirteen of the residential sales, or 4.5 percent, were not reported, as is the prerogative of the seller in Wyoming. The highest list price for a non-reported sale was $10.7 million for a 7,900+ square-foot home in Crescent H on 28 acres. These sales are not included in the annual sales volume figure above.
- The highest reported sale in Jackson Hole in 2011 was $7.3 million for the much-publicized auction of the Bighorn Lodge near Jackson Hole Airport.
- There were eight sales above $5 million; 21 above $3 million; 32 above $2 million; 85 above $1 million.
- The median sale was $685,000, represented by a bank-owned Love Ridge condo in Jackson and a 2-bed Teton Mountain Lodge condo in Teton Village.
Bar BC Ranch reported three sales during 2011 and four since December 2010, helping sustain modest growth in the vacant land segment. - Bar BC Ranch dominated the vacant land market, with three sales in 2011 and four since December 2010. Ranch 1, perhaps the finest building site in Jackson Hole at the confluence of the Gros Ventre and Snake rivers, was listed for $10.5 million and sold on Dec. 30 for an unreported price.
- The least-expensive land sale in 2011 was for six acres in Alta, WY, that changed hands for $165,000. The least-expensive sale on the Wyoming side of the Tetons was a bank-owned, 0.33-acre lot in Melody Ranch for $199,900.
Without a doubt the current market remains challenging, placing a higher premium on research, market knowledge and due diligence. However, great opportunity exists for those determined to reach their goals. Contact me today to begin your Jackson Hole property search with a personalized market update.
