Teton Realty Blog

Teton Region Real Estate Market Stats, Articles & News

Archives for August 2018

Q3 2018 Market Update

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The Region’s real estate market remains healthy with srong sales, and seemingly sustainable construction levels. Unlike the last expansion period, we should be able to liquidate existing inventory, even if sales slow. This is a good thing with respect to keeping supply levels in check. Part of this is because of increased construction costs, I have talked about in previous articles.

Sales prices, and certain Market sectors seem to have plateaued, I expect a more historical growth pattern with respect to these markets as time goes on. Some areas, however, still have room to grow. My opinion is that we will continue to see higher-than-normal appreciation with vacant land and luxury homes above $700,000 to keep up with construction costs, and demand.

Commercial real estate remains slow, but I anticipate some of the highest levels of growth and appreciation with respect to this Market in the near future. Keep your eyes out for a relative Bargains today, this may be an opportunity for investors and business owners looking to own real estate.

What is a Listing “Contingency”?

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Somewhat recently, the Teton MLS changed their display rules so that listings which are under contract (now labeled “Pending”, “Pending Contingent”, or “Pending Continue to Show”) still show up in consumer searches such as our websites and realtor.com. In years past, when an offer was accepted on a listing and the agent marked it as “pending” (meaning pending sale) in the local MLS, the listing was removed from advertising platforms so it was no longer visible to the public. Now that consumers are still able to see this information, I get all sorts of questions as to what the contingency is, or what it means. Most often, it is a potential buyer hoping that they can make an offer because there is a contingency and still have an opportunity to purchase the property. Unless there is a form of kick out clause, this usually is not the case. Further, most buyers depending on the language they are used to hearing and their local areas, believe that a contingency is something such as a buyer who must sell a home in another location before proceeding with the sale, but this usually isn’t the case.

Before going further, what is a contingency? Google’s definition is “a future event or circumstance that is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.”

While I believe the above description is most accurate, I don’t believe it really fits with respect to the real estate definition of a contingency. Further, it is defined differently in different areas of the country, as mentioned above. Here in Teton Valley, it simply means any sort of event that must occur or must be satisfied by the buyer before the earnest money becomes non-refundable. For example, a buyer’s inspection is usually referred to as a contract contingency. Financing, a satisfactory appraisal – any number of things that must occur before the earnest money becomes non-refundable. Note that even if a contingency is not met, the buyer can still close a transaction if the buyer chooses to do so, effectively releasing the contingencies upon closing.

So, now that we have the local lingo down with respect to what a contingency is, it’s easier to remember not to get too excited about a listing because it is labeled as contingent. However, the way it is labeled can help indicate how solid the contract is. Currently, the Teton MLS has three forms of labeling a pending transaction. They are “Pending”, “Pending Contingent”, and “Pending Continue to Show”. In a perfect sense, simply stating “Pending” means there are no contingencies and it is very likely to close. “Pending Contingent” we covered above, and could simply mean the buyer has the right to do an inspection. “Pending Continue to Show”, on the other hand, might be something to ask your agent about. In order to label a listing as Pending Continue to Show, the buyer and seller are supposed to agree that the seller is authorized to do so. Also, there is usually a logical reason for displaying the listing like this, such as an unusual contingency like a buyer who much sell a property before closing on the subject property. In some cases these types of contracts are accompanied with a kick out clause in the event of seller receives a backup offer.

Now that you are armed with this new information, good luck on your search!

Teton County Zoning, what you need to know

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Oftentimes I receive questions from prospective buyers, (sometimes sellers) as to what they can do with their property, or perhaps how they can advertise their property. When it comes to the city municipalities, they have their own set of zoning regulations and Zoning Maps such as the cities of Driggs and Victor. Each Zone has its own set of code requirements, and you can navigate this information relatively easy on each city’s respective website. The cities, however, take up a very small portion of the usable land in Teton County. The vast majority of private land is in the county itself.

At first glance, the county has only a few zones when compared with Driggs or Victor. In a nutshell, these are agriculture, commercial, manufacturing, public lands and the city areas of impact. Of this acreage, only a very small amount of the county contains commercial or manufacturing zoning, the vast majority is agriculture, with 2.5 to 20 acre density requirements. As long as there isn’t anything abnormal going on, you can subdivide acreage through the formal subdivision process in these areas as long as the finished product meets the density requirement in that zone. Each parcel can then have a house and a guest house, as well as a well and septic system, assuming it meets Department of Health requirements. Each parcel can water up to 1/2 acre per Idaho’s water regulations.
So, the question is, and the point of this article, can you do anything on your agricultural zoned property other than a single family residence with guest house (or of course agriculture)?
The answer is yes, as long as you conform to the land use requirements in the county. In a sense, the name of the zoning is a bit deceiving. It leads most to believe that only agriculture is allowed, and some even question the ability to have a home. Since we talked about that above, let’s talk about some of the other allowed, or allowable uses.
The County’s existing land use regulations are split into three categories. They are:
  • Permitted by Right
  • Permitted with Conditions
  • Permitted with Conditional Use
In a nutshell, if you are trying to do something that is permitted by right, you don’t have to ask in most cases. If it is permitted with conditions, obviously you need to make sure that the conditions are met, and the same rules apply. If it is permitted with a conditional-use permit, there are special requirements that vary based on the nature of whatever it is you are trying to do. Some interesting ones; a home daycare is permitted for up to 6 children, and 7 to 10 children is permitted with conditions. An aviation field is permitted in agricultural zones with a conditional-use permit. A church, or place of worship can be permitted with a conditional-use permit. The list goes on.
Many sectors of retail, manufacturing, and even some residential types are still limited to commercially zoned areas such as convenience stores, bakeries, bars, beauty shops, golf courses, grocery stores, hotels, restaurants – you get the idea. In a way this makes sense, and most of these services would make more sense located within city limits anyway.
You can find the County’s land use Matrix table beginning on page 29 of title 8 of the Teton Valley code, zoning regulations. That link is below.
Teton Valley Code (see Chapter 8)

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