Jackson, nestled in the Teton mountains, is the hub of the Snake River Valley, and only 60 minutes from Yellowstone National Park. With one of the most intact ecosystems and with less than four percent of the land owned privately, (the rest is government reserves) Jackson Hole Valley is an extremely desirable place to live if you are a nature and outdoor sports lover.

"The Teton County real estate market has been extremely strong the past two months," say Realtors Chad and Dianne Budge. "As compared to October and November of 2001, the number of transactions has almost doubled and total dollar volume is up 40 percent or $23,000,000. This is somewhat misleading as the events of 9-ll greatly affected the market for that same time period. For the year the market is up 4 percent as compared to 2001.

The Budges explain, "Demand for vacant land is increasing, although high inventory has kept prices in check. The total number of transactions is almost identical to last year's numbers while the average sale price is up 7 percent. If we take out the sale of a Riva Ridge lot for $3,325,000, average sale price is only up 1 percent with the average sales price of vacant lots at $739,000. Sellers have had to be patient, average days on the market for vacant land is up almost 40 percent from last year to 207 days.

"The town home and condominium market continues to be strong," the Budges continue, "helped in part by the continuing low interest rate. While inventory is up 25 percent from last year, sales are trying to keep pace, up 15 percent from last year in number of transactions and up 11 percent in dollar volume. Residential sales have picked up considerably in the last month, allowing that segment of the market to be above last year's totals for the first time this year (up 4 percent). This number is somewhat misleading, as it has been the overall number of transactions (up 6 percent) that is causing the upswing, buyers' dollars are going further then last year, with average sale prices down 2 percent on the year. "The high-end market has continued to heat up, both from investors placing cash pulled from the stock market and people looking for trophy second homes. Since late October, five listings over $1million have gone under contract and another twelve have closed.

"Overall, we feel that it still is a Buyers' market. The continued low interest rates and high numbers of listings are allowing educated buyers to find great values for primary residences, second homes, and investments."

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Published: December 2, 2002

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