Looking forward to springtime of 2016, we anticipate continued growth in the market with an increase in construction. Demands for housing have driven the pricing for rentals and purchases higher than past years. Both spec building and owner building will once again command our market, but in the meantime, we continue to see steady, incremental price increases throughout the Valley.

Spring and summer in Teton Valley has always been attractive for the local and the tourist alike. The snow begins to recede and Grand Targhee closes winter operations in preparation for an expansive mountain biking, hiking, and recreational summer. The rivers and creeks begin to fill, and the birds chirping seems to breathe life back into the entire ecosystem.

As summer progresses the warm temperatures and green luscious vegetation invite the locals and visitors outdoors. Whether it be fishing or floating the Teton River, mountain biking in the Tetons or Big Holes, bird watching over the wetland areas, or hiking around our numerous trails and pathways, there’s no limit to the activities that drive you.

True to form, July is always a busy month in the Valley. Kicking off the Independence Day Celebrations with Hot Air Balloon rides, parades, fireworks and a plethora of activities, the community is buzzing from the beginning to the end of the month. The Teton Valley Tin Cup Challenge has grown in popularity every year. The 9^th annual Tin Cup Challenge occurs on July 16, 2016. With a fun run and matched giving period non-profit organizations raise awareness and funds to support vital services for locals in Teton Valley. The Music on Main free weekly concerts are well underway, and a great time to socialize with friends in the lawn of the Victor City Park. Speaking of Music, the Targhee Fest in July (and Bluegrass Festival in August) at Grand Targhee are always a blast.

Capping Summer off in grand style, is not difficult in Teton Valley. There are mountain bike races, an ultra marathon in September. Yellowstone is always popular and only a short drive away. As always, plan ahead and make the most of your time in the mountains!

In a way, I manufactured this question. It’s been a huge topic lately. I have interviewed for some local magazine articles, as well as visited with developers, regional planners, etc. I also have quite a few customers with a small house in mind. Various reasons range from lifestyle to budget, not to mention small houses seem to be trendy at the moment. There are tons of plans available online, and a few of the local architects have similar interests, and can design these small homes for a very reasonable price. Also, there are some local companies who are doing some extraordinarily luxurious modular type small houses.

So, what are your options? It depends on a couple of factors, how small is “small”? There are a number of subdivisions and developments within Teton County that have a minimum size requirement of 900 to 1000 square feet. If this is your idea of small, then all it will take is a real estate agent that is well versed in knowing all of the developments or quick to review the CC&R’s for each development. You might be surprised how many lots are available, some even with community water hookups.

How about 400 or 500 square feet? This gets a little more tricky. A few of the older developments used to have very small size requirements such as this, but the restrictions have been amended over the years to require a larger home. Just 10 years ago, small homes weren’t really a thing. We were all building gigantic custom homes, and we didn’t really want to have a 900 square foot home next to our custom 5000 square foot home. I might be exaggerating slightly, but you get the idea.

One obvious workaround is to purchase a lot without any CC&R’s, or that is not in a subdivision. This can get tricky for a variety of reasons. First, these types of lots with “free rein” so to speak are gaining in popularity for those who want to have chickens, don’t like the idea of rules, or a variety of other reasons such as building a smaller home. Because they are gaining in popularity, demand is higher (supply is low to begin with) which is causing inflated prices. For those looking to build a small home because of the budget factor, this is essentially pricing them out. Other things to consider when buying a lot that is not in the subdivision is confirming that you can obtain a building permit for that parcel and checking costs for bringing in power, phone, the ability to hook up to water or sewer, or drill a well, and more. When you buy a lot within a development, it almost always has power and phone to the property, and the ability to hook up to or drill for water. This isn’t always the case with many of these parcels not in a development, which again adds to the cost to bring these utilities to the building site.

Another possible work around, and possibly a way to tick off your neighbors, is to find a development that allows a small guest house, but does not require that you construct the main house first. Obviously, this can cause some friction with the Homeowner’s Associations. Just because the CC&R’s read one way doesn’t mean it was the intent of the developer another way. It can be a sticky situation.

In a nutshell, I would first recommend that you spend some time in a small house, and consider the price difference between building something that conforms with a subdivision’s requirements, versus going all-out miniature. Pulling out your murphy bed everyday for the rest of your life may get old, even though it seems like a good idea today. Closet space, storage, pantry space and laundry areas are all things that are usually reduced in size or forfeited altogether – combine this with ski boots, your new bike, and a Golden Retriever, it gets pretty tight.

On another note, not that we need any new development, but how about amending restrictions on some of these vacant subdivisions to allow for  these “small houses”? Food for thought!