2011 Year End Report for Teton County Wyoming

The overall real estate market in 2011 has shown signs in a positive direction.  The overall number of sales increased about 26% over 2010. This shows that buyers are out there and they are ready to make their move given the correct circumstances.  However, most of these buyers are looking for value.  This is evident in the continuation of a lower sales price trend.  The average sale price of real estate decreased about 17% as compared to 2010. This decrease is attributed to several factors including the continued presence of distressed properties available and tight lending practices.

The single family segment of the market mirrors the overall market with a marked increase in transactions (27%) and a modest decrease in average sales price (-17%).  The single family segment has been popular with buyers with nearly half of all the transactions occurring in this sector.  This is attributed to the nationwide tightening of the rental market, driving investors to the under $500,000 single family homes which can provide a decent return.  These investors can take advantage of rock bottom pricing, strong rental rates, and often times can bypass the lending hurdles with cash purchases.  The areas that showed the most activity were in the Town of Jackson and the South of Jackson areas.

Condos and townhomes have followed the same overall trend with a strong increase in transactions (29%) and an equally strong decrease in average sale price (-24%).  The primary factor that led to this stout decrease was the large amount of value priced foreclosure transactions in some lower priced developments in 2011 driving the average sale price down.  Over half of the transactions were in the under $500,000 segment.  This can be attributed to investor buyers who were quick to take advantage of these values as well as the newfound affordability for many local residents who previously couldn’t afford to enter the market.  The primary area for condo and townhome activity was within the Town of Jackson.

Although land transactions increased over 15%, the vacant land segment of the market continued to struggle in 2011 due to the continuation of the lack of lending opportunities and the continual devaluation in existing home sales.  This increase in transactions is primarily attributed to a few multimillion dollar land sales. It still remains true that in most cases it is less expensive to buy an existing home than to purchase the land and build a new home.  Although we are seeing increased sales in vacant land, the large amount of vacant land inventory and lower home prices will continue to keep this segment of the market down for some time.

The activity of distressed (either bank owned or short sale) properties throughout 2011 is a positive sign that these properties are moving through the system. Although distressed properties have caused a lowering of price points in most segments of the market, the inventory of distressed properties has significantly decreased.  Only about 22% of the sales occurring in 2011 were distressed and only about 5% of the current available inventory is considered distressed.  This indicates that the distressed inventory is depleting which is the first step toward a market recovery.

2011 was a positive year overall with some optimistic signs indicating the market is improving.  The strong increase in transactions combined with a decreasing distressed inventory all point to a market recovery.  Big appreciation is still not expected in the near future, however, the stabilization of the market shines some light at the end of the tunnel.  It is feasible to expect in 2012 that the market will continue to improve toward stabilization.  While some segments of the market have already stabilized expect them to remain relatively flat in the near future.

This report outlines some of the general trends found in 2011, however, we are more than happy to provide more detailed information geared toward specific areas of Jackson and the surrounding areas.  Please feel free to contact us anytime for more information at jerryhodson@jhrea.com or (307) 690-4010