Wyoming

Over the short course of my blog, which I started in January - the heart of winter - much ado was being made over the harsh weather all over the U.S. My intentions back then were to make up for this during our perfect summer since, in my humble opinion, Laramie has the best summers on earth . . . once they finally get here!

Well, summer was busy and now here we are on the cusp of fall (we had our first hard freeze last night) and I barely made mention of the unique beauty of our little town on the high Wyoming plains! So without further ado... here is the first of a few pictures from our glorious days of summer....

I love how blue the skies are and all the shades of green....

As a mountain resort town, Jackson Hole has a high cost of living. It's expensive to live here, primarily because housing is (or was) so expensive, and because you can't actually grow food here. We do brew really good beer though. But I digress.

My last blog rambled a bit about hitting cats with a dead Realtor® and about how easy that was here, because there are so many of us. But why are there so many? Is it something in the water?

Word on the street is that it's an easy living. And with a median home price north of $1,200,000 in 2010 (less for condos and vacant lots), it's true that the average sale is going to make good money for that hard working Realtor.

But how many sales are there in a year? And how many agents are there? Hmmmm. Let's look.

The number of licensed agents in Jackson Hole more than tripled from January 1996 to January 2008. The number of sales doubled over that time frame, which means that each agent was making fewer sales. Then....well, we know what happened then. The banking system collapsed, and real estate transactions stopped dead in the water.

Since 2008, there have been fewer sales each year in this market than there are agents! Ouch.

And when you consider that the 20/80 rule is at work here (20% of the agents making 80% of the deals), I expect we've still got quite a few agents who will exit the business in the next couple of years. That's tough.

How's your market look?

• A $2,450,000 price reduction on one of the valley’s truly special properties located in Granite Ridge with ski-in access
• This stunning 13,000 sq. ft., 9 BR, 14 Bath luxury home is now listed for $16,500,000.
• Offered with beautiful custom furnishings, art and fixtures designed specially for the home.

To see additional photos of this stunning property, contact Graham4 at 888.301.2402 – info@graham4jh.com

“The Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival is widely recognized as one of the premier cultural events in the Rocky Mountain West. Thousands of art enthusiasts are drawn each year to experience the diverse artwork and breathtaking natural surroundings that make Jackson Hole a leading cultural center. The 2011 Festival will take place September 8-18,2011. Experience the world-class installments of contemporary, culinary, landscape, Native American, wildlife, and Western, arts. Visitors will appreciate the works of nationally and internationally acclaimed artists along with an exceptional array of music, cowboy poetry and cuisine. More than fifty events round out our eleven-day festival.” -Chamber of Commerce

Download your copy of the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival 2011 Program Presented by Mountain Living Magazine.

Call Graham4 for questions and/or for additional information on the Fall Arts Festival. Such a wonderful time to be in Jackson Hole.

Graham4: 307.690.0812 – www.graham4jh.com

I am the Broker for West Group Real Estate and we are Cerified through Equator to handle Short Sale transactions. We are also Cerified through The Realtor(c) Association as a Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource.

Around 90% of our transactions in the last few years have been with REO, Short Sale or distressed properties (if you can imagine that).

Unsure about what to do? Need someone to discuss options with? Call me, Harley Wilcox 208-787-4554.