The real estate market was churning along nicely pre-covid – almost at a rate that some of us expected a small adjustment. We all panicked in March of 2020, but the powers at be assured us that this would be a “V” shaped recession with a quick and strong recovery. In terms of the housing market (economy devastation aside) they were absolutely right. Let’s take a look at the numbers:
Single Family Average Sale Price (Teton Valle and Swan Valley, Idaho)
February 2020: $547,700
April 2020: $525,806
February 2021: $863,535
May 2021: $1,166,266
Median home sale prices might be a little more indicative of the market as some of the higher priced ranch style properties began to shake loose late 2020, but the data remains similar, a nearly 100% increase over 12 months. As usual, increasing prices has been mostly attributed towards lack of supply, but a mix of historic lumber prices, housing and labor shortages, material shortages and more has increased construction costs – also creating a housing supply problem. Construction costs (as usual) seem to be staying slightly ahead of home sales, so rist for spec home builders is always a concern. Inventory for existing homes remains low today with only 48 residential properties for sale in the County.
LAND
Land seems to have run its course for now – and it sure was interesting. For years land inventory hovered around 500 active MLS listings dipping to double digits as the craze of Buyers came through looking to own a piece of rural America, the Tetons, etc.
Vacant Land Average Sale Price (Teton Valle and Swan Valley, Idaho)
February 2020: $65,309
April 2020: $148,666
February 2021: $158,317
May 2021: $209,285
Inventory was particularly low 4th Quarter 2020, I distinctly remember personally having only one listing of which none were land listings for the first time in my career. The “Teton View Corridor” parcels were completely wiped out, and every new listing was 10% or more over the last. Impressive gains aside, I do believe land prices in Teton Valley were too cheap for too long, not really ever recovering since the last recession. Interesting enough, however, that market appears to be stabilizing. That “View Corridor” now has nearly 100 land listings, and prices seem to be coming down about 10% across the board. As usual, these recreation markets tend to react very quickly to supply, and demand always seems to be present. With lumber prices seeing some relief and investors/spec home builders gaining confidence as the market builds some history – we may see a few spec homes out there to get things back to normal – whatever that means.
Source: Teton Board of Realtors
Leave a Reply