September ’16 Market Stats
August ’16 Market Stats
Looking towards Winter 2017, Looking back on this time last year:
Teton Valley saw continued growth and increasing prices for residential and residential land throughout the spring and summer 2016 season. The 2016 season brought 107 sales with the average price coming in around $350,000 (including Alta, WY). While the 2015 Spring and Summer season brought 114 sales, the average sales price was about 9% lower with an average around $320,000. The increased average and the lower number of sales indicate lower supply, which we anticipate will continue through the upcoming Winter 2017 season.
With regards to land sales, the 2016 Summer season brought 102 sales with an average price of $88,000 whereas the 2015 season brought only 92 sales with an average price of $73,000, showing increasing prices at about 7% compared to last season, and a 10% increase in the number of sales. The supply is not limited such as with residential, though buyers and investors are looking to building to solve the housing supply and rental market crunch. Therefore we anticipate prices continue to rise, and the number of sales continue to grow each year, eating into current inventory.
August 2016:
August 2016 reached new heights when compared to recent history. For the first time since 2007, the single family residential average sales price for the month was well over 400,000. Even the median price was in excess of 300,000, at 335,000.
The single family residential isn’t the only sector in the spotlight, building sites breached the 100,000 mark with an average sales price of 111,855, this is nearly twice the average sales price we saw in August of 2015.
Rental Market
Though the inventory is low and the real estate market is feeling the effects (both good and bad), nothing’s feeling the crunch quite like the rental market. The transition season has been all but nonexistent for the past several years, and the end of the 2016 Summer season is no exception. Vacancies are few and far between, and demand is as high as ever. With very little new construction for dedicated housing, we do not anticipate much relief for the transitional Workforce. As the residential Market continues to improve due to lack of inventory and home ownership costs increasing, this will only compound the issue for those residing in the area.
July ’16 Market Stats
We are seeing continued growth in the Teton Valley and surrounding areas. The average sales price for a single-family residence in Teton County Idaho during the month of July was over $365,000. This is a stark contrast to the average sale price throughout the recession.
Another surprising statistic is the number of building sites under contract and sold throughout the month of July 2016 in Teton County Idaho alone. With 21 building site sales last month, and 21 pending sale, that’s nearly what we saw sold throughout the entire year in 2011 at only 52 sales. 2010 produced exactly the same number of sales as 2011, just 52 land sales. Past 12 months sales are currently at 204 sales.
Why do listing agents always seem to attend showings here?
Notice how I worded the question above, and not “Should listing agents attend showings”. The reason is that I often hear this question from prospective buyer customers, or, customers working with another broker while I am attending a showing for one of my listings. If you only have had experience with real estate in the Jackson & Teton region (including Alpine & Star Valley) you are probably used to the fact that there will very likely be 2 agents at a home showing. The listing agent, and the agent working with the buyer. It’s a way of life out here, whether it’s a 100,000 dollar home or a 1 million dollar home.
If you are not from the area, you may have had a different experience. In the Snake River area (Idaho Falls etc.) all of the agents pay a monthly or annual fee to have “infrared key access” in the form of a card, or even a smart phone application. There might even be instructions on the listing that provides contact information to the occupant in which case the agent can call the occupant directly, whether it’s a tenant or the home owner. In areas like Malibu, it is expected that listing brokers attend showings only for higher dollar listings, but not all showings.
This can go both ways I suppose, what about buyer’s agents not attending showings, for instance – ahem – buyer’s working with an agent in another state (maybe a state just East of Idaho?) that can’t attend a showing for a home their customer wants to see on the Idaho side? Would it be acceptable to just send them over and let the list agent take care of it?
OK, so maybe the last example is clearly not the right thing to do, but there are very different ways of doing business throughout the united states, and Canada for that matter. Here, some feel that we are held to a higher standard as we are members of the same MLS as the high end Jackson listings. So… to attend, or not to attend, the pros and cons weighed below;
To attend! (pros):
From a seller representative standpoint, there are some definite pros here IF the agent is timely, knowledgeable, and helpful with important facts about the house without being overwhelming. Also,it may be that the Seller hired the list agent specifically from a trust standpoint – someone to look after the home, lock all doors, keep an eye on personal belongings, and so on. After all, a buyer’s agent on a home tour of 8 homes might have a hard time keeping track of everything.
To not attend… (cons):
Some buyers (specifically from areas where they are not used to 2 creepy real estate agents following them around) feel that it’s strange to have the listing agent present at every showing. Admittedly, it can get a bit overwhelming. “OK all, our next home we will be meeting John with ABC realty” (long introductions etc.). John goes about explaining everything I explained in the car – or here’s a good one; My customers walk in HATE the place, would prefer to walk back out but John sucks us into a long description of the home, the sellers, the neighbors, the area, where he was raised, his favorite local restaurant, 15 reasons to move to Teton Valley… you get the idea.
Summary
In the opinion of most her locally, the pros outweigh the cons, attend all showings. At the end of the day, however, it is up to the listing agent, and the seller. This is a discussion that needs to be had with the seller and the list agent. My advise? First, ask the seller what they prefer. Maybe the seller remembers the time when they were once buyers and John from ABC Realty gave them nightmares for the next 6 months. Or, maybe during their last home sale they discovered personal belongings went missing after a showing. The suggestion I make to my clients? If you would like me to attend showings, that is what I shall do. In the event I cannot (there is only one of me) allow me to put a combination lock box on the door. This has allowed for last minute showings that have produced contracts.
