Teton Realty Blog

Welcome to the Teton Realty Blog by Tayson Rockefeller. Since 2015, I have been authoring articles about real estate in the Teton Region.

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2025 Year End Market Report

February 3, 2026 By Tayson Rockefeller Leave a Comment

Now that we have a 30,000-foot look at the Teton County, Idaho and Alta, Wyoming numbers, what do they mean?

For those that read our reports, you know I like to break things down in a way that can actually be digested… at least that’s the intent. We all know I tend to get a little bogged down in the weeds.

2024 vs 2025: Total Market

At first glance, 2024 and 2025 are as close as it gets.

Total sales: 2024 had 559 sales. 2025 recorded 570.
Average days on market: 146 in 2024 vs 151 in 2025.
Sold-to-original list ratio: 93.98% in 2024 vs 93.89% in 2025. (I did a double take too.)
Median sales price: $425,000 in 2024 vs $559,000 in 2025.

That last number is the one that makes you lean in, so let’s split the market into land vs homes to see what’s really driving the difference.

Land

When I pulled land stats side by side, it immediately looked like land wasn’t the source of any major discrepancy. Most metrics are within about 10% and a few are almost identical.

For reference, in 2025:

Average sales price: $388,530
Median sales price: $245,000

Days on market and sold-to-list ratios are also very close year-over-year, which supports the idea that the “story” of the median jump isn’t really coming from land.

Homes

The residential is where you start to see movement:

Average residential sales price:
- 2024: $1,040,952
- 2025: $1,220,715
Median residential sales price:
- 2024: $776,000
- 2025: $890,000

At that level, it also puts the median price per square foot around $474, which sounds crazy to people who aren’t used to Rocky Mountain build costs. But remember, that price includes the land.

So the obvious question becomes: is this a true “across the board” increase, or is it being skewed by a heavier luxury year?

Luxury Sales ’25 vs ’24

This is where 2025 starts to separate itself:

2024:
- 6 undisclosed sales
- 18 sales over $3,000,000
- High watermark: $5,100,000 on the Idaho side
- Wyoming high: $2,850,000
2025:
- 17 undisclosed sales
- 18 sales over $3,000,000
- Peak: $7,750,000 (highest recorded in Alta)
- Followed by $6,100,000 on the Idaho side

Here’s the interesting part: those $3M+ sales still closed at nearly 97% sold-to-list in 2025. That’s a pretty strong nod toward how much the luxury segment influenced the overall 2025 averages.

The “Greater Market” Band (A Better Read on Normal Conditions)

To get a clearer picture of the everyday market and avoid the distortion from:

condos under ~$500K (often selling near ask), and
the established luxury tier (also often selling near ask as established above),

I looked at a band from $750,000 to $2,250,000. This tends to be the sweet spot where negotiation, pricing strategy, and buyer sensitivity starts to show up.

In this range:

Sold-to-list ratio: under 96%
Sold-to-original list ratio: closer to 92% (more telling)

And when you track the median in this band over time:

2023: $750K–$2.25M median: $1,090,000
2024: $750K–$2.25M median: $1,099,000
2025: $750K–$2.25M median: $1,095,000

That’s basically flat.

So… are prices down?

A lot of my customers are asking if prices are down. If I’m being honest, it feels like they are. But when I look at the numbers, I have a hard time finding the smoking gun.

I think the answer is this:

We’ve all gotten used to prices rising. Build costs have most certainly increased (even though they aren’t directly represented here). And with median prices in that “core” band staying relatively flat, it’s more evident that listing prices are still inching up, but negotiations are pulling sales prices back down into the same range we’ve been living in for a few years now.

In other words: it’s not a dramatic price drop, it’s a market where pricing optimism meets reality at the negotiating table.

The Short List: Teton Valley Gear That’s Earned My Trust

January 6, 2026 By Tayson Rockefeller Leave a Comment

I’ve thought for years about writing short, honest recommendations for products that work well in the mountains, specifically Teton Valley. I’ve waited long enough to write this that a couple things I used to endorse are now basically obsolete (I’m dating myself here, but I’m still in my 30s), and I’ve also changed my mind on a few others. Some of these recommendations I might regret later, but a few have really stood the test of time.

Before I begin, two quick notes from the past:

Outdated: Utility monitoring gadgets: I once endorsed an electric meter sensing device that monitored usage, but many utility providers now do this natively, so it’s become dated.
Flip Flop: Mini-splits: Great for retrofits, but on new builds, I definitely prefer forced air or in-floor heat paired with air conditioning.

Okay, here it goes:

1) YoLink

YoLink (I believe the parent company is YoSmart) offers smart devices to monitor things like humidity, temperature, and moisture. For second homeowners, this type of monitoring is a must. It doesn’t replace boots on the ground (more on that later), but it does give you a 24/7 guard with notifications.

I used to recommend the Moen Flo home alert devices (not the plumbing shutoff stuff), but I found the batteries were expensive, didn’t last long, and the range was limited to Wi-Fi. YoLink devices sync to a hub that sends a long-range signal to each device, which is a big deal.

They’ve got leak sensors, temperature and humidity sensors, power-out notifications, and even a freezer sensor that could save a deep freeze. I won’t say they’re perfect (the hubs still use micro-USB… we need to get into the 21st century there) but overall they’ve been solid.

2) Bridgestone Blizzak tires

I get asked all the time: “Do you really need Winter tires?” My answer is yes. Yes, you do.

“What about all-season tires? They’re rated for snow!” No, not like you think. Getting to my garage during Winter conditions can be a rodeo, and there are days it’s simply not possible without true Winter tires. But it’s not just about whether you can go, it’s stopping power, acceleration when you need it, even pulling out from a stop sign. The difference is incredible.

Most Winter tires are pretty good, and in my opinion you usually don’t need studs. I’ve owned a lot of sets, and if you can find them, Blizzaks are the best.

3) Honda snowblowers

I don’t want to get carried away about Winter here, but it is something we deal with. If you’re insistent on removing your own snow (again, more on that below), you should consider a snowblower. And if you’re considering a snowblower, you should really only consider a Honda.

Yes, they cost more. However, the reliability is incredible. I remember my first experience with a Honda snowblower back in my property management days. An old model was left out on a hillside (why anyone would leave a Honda snowblower out on a hillside is beyond me, but I digress). While scratching my head trying to figure out how I’d drag it off the hill and load it in my truck, it occurred to me I could try to start it…

First pull. The rest is history.

4) Boots-on-the-ground support (Home Watch / inspections / management)

This isn’t a pitch for our management division (ahem… Teton Valley Property Management). It’s just the reality of mountain ownership: the biggest issues tend to get expensive when nobody catches them early. I’m not challenging what someone can do themselves, I’m challenging what can realistically be done remotely.

If you’re an absentee owner, I strongly encourage regular property inspections, a home watch service, or some form of boots-on-the-ground support, even if it’s just periodic check-ins. If you want a starting point for what that can look like, TetonValleyHomeWatch.com is a local resource (and not my company) that outlines the general idea and scope of home watch services.

Wildlife Analyses in Teton County’s Overlay Zones

July 27, 2025 By Tayson Rockefeller Leave a Comment

Let’s talk about the Teton County, Idaho (unincorporated areas of the county) National Resource Overlay, and specifically, drill down on the required Wildlife Analyses.

Before we do, I’ll point out that the Natural Resource Overlay has been amended multiple times, most recently in 2025. This is a highly controversial topic, probably more so than any other issue with Teton County’s 2022 Land Development code second only to zoning changes themselves in my opinion. That being said, feel free to use this article to understand these overlays and policies as I do, but at the same token, take this as a grain of salt. I have made clear assumptions with respect to these policies based on the available data to find out that I was not aligned with the County Planning department. Always verify information with local authorities.

So, briefly, what is the Natural Resource Overlay? This is a mapped overlay adopted by Teton County to identify areas that are sensitive to wildlife and habitat. As I understand it, this data was gathered in conjunction with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in 2022 as well as local experts and authorities. There are several overlays throughout the county identified below, I also created a map legend to help identify each.

A quick note on Wetland areas:

I won’t go into too much detail relative to Wetland habitat areas including the main overlay, the South Leigh forested areas or the Wood Creek Fen areas. These areas not only trigger Wildlife considerations, but also Wetland specific review. My understanding is that the South Lee forested wetlands in the Woodcreek Bend are locally defined priority Wetlands not always visible in the federal data sets like the NWI, but they are treated similarly and may still require Wetland delineations or other studies. I have other articles where I dive into Wetland, so for now, we’ll focus on the remaining Wildlife overlays.

What is a WHA vs an A-AWA?

Wildlife Habitat Analysis (WHA)

I would consider a WHA as intended to be a more specific, detailed analysis of a given property for specific reasons, primarily Subdivision / Land division and Special Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit situations. These are extensive studies to look at the viability of a subdivision of land that meets all other requirements and eligibility for subdivision in the county. They might look at placement of building envelopes or parcel sizes as they pertain to proximity to sensitive areas or how they might impact sensitive areas. Similarly, special or conditional permits may require these more calculated, advanced studies. They typically include detailed field work, mapping, species analysis and an overall conservation plan. They must be prepared by a pre-qualified consultant according to the County’s data set (applicants that are not pre-qualified can apply) and are reviewed by planning staff before moving to concept plan stages. They take into account cumulative landscape impacts, Wildlife corridors, and conservation ratios.

Abbreviated Wildlife Habitat Analysis (A-WHA)

Abbreviated analyzes are required for building permits within the nro, are short form by comparison, and are approved by the Planning and Building Department before building permit approval. They focus on site level planning and proximity to known habitat or sensitive features and are intended to be streamlined for homeowners and small-scale projects, however, they are still currently required to be performed by Consultants that are approved by the county. Here again, applicants that are not pre-qualified, can apply.

What Triggers the Requirement for an Analysis?

Essentially, any parcel with identified indicator habitat species, mapped Wetland or riparian zones, and most easily identified, Parcels that are located inside one of the Natural Resource Overlays. HOWEVER, there are situations when properties can be exempt from these requirements:

The parcel containing the proposed project is exempt from the need for a
WHA or A-WHA if one or more of the following conditions applies:
– The parcel is located completely outside the boundaries of the NRO.
– The parcel is partially within the NRO but the proposed project site on
the parcel is at least 100 feet outside of the boundaries of the NRO
(this condition applies for building permit requests only).
– The parcel has previously undergone a county-approved natural
resource analysis (WHA or other).
– The parcel is under a conservation easement from an organization
accredited by the Land Trust Alliance and the building envelope has
already been identified in the recorded documents.
– The parcel is in a pre-existing platted neighborhood/subdivision and
is < 3 acre in size.
– The project is in an existing building envelope on the parcel.
– The project is for additional development fully contained within 50 feet
of existing development on the parcel.

In addition, The parcel is exempt from the need for a WHA or A-WHA if all three of the

following conditions apply:
– The parcel is in a pre-existing platted neighborhood/subdivision and
is > 3 acres and < 5 acres in size.
– The parcel is covered only by the “Big Game Migration Corridor &
Seasonal Range” layer of the NRO.
– The parcel has no USGS-designated perennial, seasonal or
intermittent stream courses present.

Breaking that down, the most likely scenario are properties that are in existing platted subdivisions and are less than 3 acres in size. Additionally, if the project is inside an existing building envelope, that could easily mitigate the requirement for one of these analyzes. Remodels should also be protected if the additional development is fully contained within 50 ft of existing development on the parcel. We do our best to provide resources that include approved contractors for these types of analysis on our brokerage website, make sure to make an account with one of our agents, and again, always confirm this information.

Are Public Lands Guaranteed?

July 1, 2025 By Tayson Rockefeller Leave a Comment

I have always been an advocate for providing clear information, but never guarantees. I always lead opinions with a pretty clear statement that “my opinion is”… That being said, one of the assurances none of us ever expected to change was public lands and how they can create open space for properties that are adjacent.

While adjacent public land or public land access is generally viewed as a major selling point or benefit (even in the absence of what I’m about to dig into), it can also have its downsides. For example, living near an access or trailhead could create an increase in motorized or non-motorized traffic which could lead to privacy or sound concerns. Notwithstanding, I generally feel that these types of annoyances are limited compared with the broader scope of being fortunate enough to live next to these recreation access points.

Though we have always assumed these lands would remain public in perpetuity, we recently witnessed a quiet, but far reaching proposal on the Federal level come into the spotlight that might change how we think about public lands moving forward. Tucked into a sweeping budget reconciliation bill AKA the “One Big Beautiful Bill” or (OBBBA) was language that may have required the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to offer millions of acres of federal land for sale, much of which was adjacent to private property, particularly in the Teton Valley.

Fortunately, this section of the bill was met with massive opposition from conservation groups, outdoor Advocates, and private citizens. As a result, the land sale Provisions have since been removed from the Senate bill. At the time of this writing, there is no mandate to sell public land, at least as I interpret it. However, there are still some concerning aspects in the broader bill. They include Provisions that could affect land use and access including logging, oil and gas leases and reduced environmental oversight. In addition, just because this aspect of the bill was modified and removed, does not mean that it could resurface in the future.

All of this is a good reflection point for those of us in the real estate industry, or those that are interested in real estate or own real estate near public lands. Buyers will continue to be drawn to properties that border national forest or BLM because of the perceived open space permanence. We view it as an unbuildable buffer, unlimited open space and boundless Recreation opportunities. It’s important, however, to know that federal land boundaries can shift. BLM parcels, in particular, can be swapped, sold or least. While I view National Forest as much more immune to change, nothing is a guarantee, in my eyes as mentioned above. While unlikely, I think it’s something to reflect on. For those interested in real estate, we always recommend:

– Review designations such as Wilderness, National Forest, BLM, etc.

– Verify access, types of access, permitted juices and any known planning actions by contacting County officials and public land agencies

– Understand that public land status is subject to policy and political change

Public land is one of our Region’s greatest assets. For now, fortunately, the effort to sell it off has been stopped. Whether you are a buyer, landowner or simply a neighbor to these great assets, it’s worth remembering, things can change. Stewardship starts with staying informed, and advocating for our region’s great assets.

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