My last post eluded to the fact that buyers are having to become more realistic in there pricing.  It has now become am reality here in Teton County Wyoming.   We have seen 113 price reductions in the last 45 days and I consider this to be the start.  The best values (and the market segment most effected) are going to be found in our lower end range or below 1.5 million.    Or high end market has slowed some but continues to froge ahead with steady sales, though lower than the last few years.  We are constantly watching the market for value.  If you want to be added to our ubdates go to our website and log in. If you want more info give us a call. Have a great day, Rick Armstrong Owner/ Broker www.realestatejackson.com and www.rarejh.com and www.rarejacksonholerealestate.com 08/12/2008

Come to Jackson Hole this weekend (August 8-10) to enjoy the 21st Annual Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival.  There will be music, food, arts and crafts, games and festivities for the whole family.  Some of the headliners for this year include Tim O'Brien, Spring Creek, The Infamous Stringdusters, Tony Trischka and his Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular band, Darrell Scott, the Sam Bush Band, Blue Highway, Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet and Jeff Austin & Friends from the Yonder Mountain String Band.  Dancing among the aspens is, of course, encouraged.  Kids will love Grand Targhee's Kidzone, where puppet shows and craft classes are held.  And, on Saturday, the Banana Slug String Band will perform their unique blend of science, conservation techniques, music and humor for the kid... 08/06/2008

Finally, we are seeing an easing of prices here in Jackson Hole. After multiple years of double digit appreciation we are seeing a rise in inventory and multiple price reductions. What is happening? Short answer: Reality has set in. People have been asking prices based on speculative 20% increases from the prior year and also basing prices of sold properties in cases where the buyers paid to much. It is great to see us heading towards a buyers market again. This is not entirely bad news for sellers if they are asking a reasonable price for the property they own. If a seller has owned a property for more than two years they should be able to sell the property and make a good profit and offer a good opportunity for the buyer. Jackson Hole real estate should always be a good investment in ... 07/31/2008

A throwback to the gatherings of old, the Jackson Hole Hootenanny continues the tradition of muscial get-togethers at 7pm Monday evenings at Dornan's in Moose. Beginning in 1993, Dick Barker and Bill Briggs co-founded what would become "the Hoot" as a way to get together with friends and enjoy live acoustical music together. This year's festivities will include a wide variety of song stylings from such artists as Anne & Pete Sibley, John Cooke, Alan Morton, Adrienne and Peter Ward with John Sidle and many, many more. Even Mr. Barker and Mr. Briggs will make an acoustical appearance onstage. At only $5 a pop, this is the best ticket in town. For more information on the Hoot, tickets, who's playing and when, just contact the Center for the Arts at 734-8956. Kick up your heels, clear your ... 07/16/2008

Sold Price                          Type          Beds Bth Acres Asking Date Closed     Closed at          Days on Market $835,00050 ABSAROKA DRIVE Jackson, WY 83001Closed /  Residential Residential 3 3 0.19 860,000 06/27/2008 835,000 Cash 71 $1475 E BROADWAY B-3 Jackson, WY 83001Closed /  Residential 3 2 0 499,000 06/16/2008 1 Conv 160 $1,560,000597 Cache Creek Drive Jackson, WY 83001Closed /  Residential 4 4 0.17 1,595,000 06/30/2008 1,560,000 Cash 336 $935,0001895 W Collar Drive Jackson, WY 83001Closed / Residential 3 3 0.33 975,000 06/03/2008 935,000 Conv 242 $2,850,000360 E GILL AVE Jackson, WY 83001Closed /  Residential 4 3 0.42 3,150,000 06/05/2008 2,850,000 Cash 111 $355,000755 E HANSEN ST. 201 Jackson, WY 83001Closed /  Residential 1 1 0 366,000 05/22/2008 355,000 Conv 105 $196... 07/06/2008

The 4th of July festivities in the Jackson Hole area are second to none and last the entire 3-day weekend. Come and watch the balloons soar at the Teton Valley Balloon Festival Friday through Saturday starting at 6am at the Teton Valley Fairgrounds. For those who want to soar amongst the clouds, balloon rides are provided for a fee. Free balloon rides are available at Alpine Field at 6am on Friday, the 4th. The Jaycees are serving up breakfast from 7-11am at the Town Square. Tickets are only $8 for adults and $3 for children. Enjoy the parade downtown at 10:30am. St. John's Episcopal Church is providing plenty of fun games for kids 12 and under from 12-3pm. Enjoy Music in the Hole at Alpine Field from 3-7pm and fireworks are provided by the Jaycees at Snow King Resort at 10pm. After the... 07/03/2008

A private ceremony was held June 23rd to dedicate the last 1100 acres of the previous 3000 acre JY Ranch at the Grand Teton National Park for a nature preserve in honor of the late Laurance S. Rockefeller, a third generation member of the famous American oil family. This ceremony was the official debut of the preserve's nature center as well. Rockefeller's love of the gorgeous Grand Teton property began when his father, John D. Rockefeller, purchased the JY Ranch in the early 1930s. After inheriting the land from his father, Laurance donated 2000 acres of the ranch in the 1990s. By 2001, he promised to donate the remaining land on the JY Ranch after his death. The nature preserve helps continue the Rockefeller's dedication to preserving as much of the natural American landscape as possi... 06/25/2008

We have been working for almost one year to bring our clients the best video blog upadate on the web. This is meant to be an informative tour of Jackson Hole Properties. It will be updated weekly. cheeck it out at www.rarejh.com - I can show other brokers and agents how this is done in trade for qualified links. Cheers, Rick Armstrong 06/24/2008

Hello all, I've made the jump from Real Estate of Jackson Hole to open my own company, Contour Investment Properties. Real Estate of Jackson Hole is a great company, and I look forward to continuing to working with all those agents. The new company is an opportunity for us to create a brand and company focused on commercial and investment real estate in Jackson Hole, which has been my niche all along.   See you at the closing table,   Tim 06/12/2008

Planning your summer vacation?  With record-high gas prices across the nation, why not go where fuel prices are the lowest, and put a few extra dollars in your pocketbook to treat yourself to a nice dinner or spa treatment?   Wyoming has the Lowest Gas Prices According to Gas Buddy Wyoming has the lowest gas prices in the country.  Check out the gas temperature map.  Foreign Visitors Foreign visitors see an advantage to the dollar's historically low exchange rate.   Many Europeans are booking vacations in the U.S. this season and the Yelllowstone region is one of the top choices for their choice of ‘out of the way places to visit' according to Diane Shober, director of Wyoming Travel and Tourism. Stay in Jackson Hole While in the neighborhood, visit Grand Teton National Park and Jackson... 05/17/2008

Market conditions in Jackson continue to improve.  After the liquidity crisis in the Fall of 2007 the market took a decided breather.  The trend of under contract properties took a dip along with the rest of the country.  That dip continued somewhat into the first quarter of 2008.  We have not experienced the wave of foreclosures that have swept through other more speculative parts of the country.  The good news is that although transaction volume was down in the 30% range the dollar volumes were less affected.  This is proof that underlying supply and demand forces are still solid here in Jackson Hole.  The median price of closed single family homes continued to hover in the $900,000 range.  New contract activity has also shown an increase in April as Jackson moves out of its seasonall... 05/02/2008

A quick summary of the Jackson Hole real estate market with a simple year over year comparison.Between January 1st 2007 and March 21st 2007 there were 135 properties for sale in the Jackson Hole Valley.The lowest priced unit was $295,000 Ponderosa Condo, 712 square ft  not remodeled (sold for 281,000) The Highest priced property was 100 Acres at the base of Teton Village for $37,500,000 with 3 structures  (listing canceled)   Between January 1st 2008 and March 21st 2008 there were 142 properties for sale.The Lowest priced unit is 1 br, 624 sq ft for $331,000  The highest priced $32,000,000 Owl Creek on 106 Acres 7346 sq ft house 6br 7.5 bths  Currently there are 19 properties pended.  The most expensive being a 4.250,000 Willowbrook home (Under contract by one of my agents here at RARE ... 03/21/2008

The Jackson market has started to show signs of improved strength over the past few months.  Inventory has been at historically low levels in some key areas of the market for most of last year but have now started to increase to much improved levels, especially in Feb. 2008.  My market indicators are also pointing to an increase in deals as inventory starts to come on-line.  In addition we have seen several properties in highly sought after areas of town lasting only a week on the market before an offer is made, many times with several offers coming in.  This all points to a market that has not, to date, seen major impacts from the nationwide financial crisis.  The underlying factors of supply and demand are still intact here in the valley, namely only 3% of he land is available for pub... 03/19/2008

Of all of the places I've lived and visited this place has to be the most beautiful.  Jackson has managed to keep a lot of its charm in a world of mega-ski resorts. If you've been lucky enough to vist here you'll know what I mean.  Many people ask me if Jackson is expensive and I guess the quick reply is it depends on what you call expensive.  When compared to places like Vail, Aspen or Beaver Creek in Colorado, Jackson looks like a deal.  People then ask me if I think the prices will eventually match those of other resort areas.  To this I say I wish I had a crystal ball and could tell you that.  What Jackson and the greater Teton County area does have going for it that other Rocky Mountain resort towns don't is this: a limited supply of land.  Greater than 95% of the available land is... 02/23/2008

The correct term is "Mush". Here in Wyoming "mush" is not breakfast food but a way to enjoy and see the great outdoors.Most people will first think of breakfast food when they hear the word "mush" and a few think of the word as a dog-sledding term. We are definitely referring to Dog Sledding. Most people connect Dog-Sledding with the Canadian Rockies or Alaska but you can experience the fun and adventure of dog sledding right here in the Continental USA, at the Great Continental Divide in the awesome state of Wyoming at Jackson Hole. A unique way to see Wyoming at its best is by dog sledding.  Here in the Jackson Hole area you can schedule tours or lessons with one of our matchless Dog Sledding Tour companies. You can experience the Jackson Hole countryside in half-day and full-day trip... 02/13/2008

Jackson Hole just returned another record sales year with a tally of over $1.5 billion in gross sales. Prices are up over 25% in a year that the entire market across the nation saw a majority of declines with a few bright spots. Jackson seems to be almost binding bright. Why?It seems to me that Jackson Hole has been found. People realize that when you drive into Jackson you see a majority of the land is undeveloped. In fact 98% of our land is permanently protected and cannot be developed. We are a vitual island surrounded by vistas, wildlife, and cultural experiences arguably unmatched in the U.S. We have seen a major renovation within the developed areas. Our median home price has continued to sky rocket. The next question is will this continue? Though the markets might indicate otherw... 02/04/2008

On the other side of the price spectrum here is a newly built western contemporary home located in East Jackson. There is just something unique about this section of town; quiet, offers big Teton views and walking distance to the National Elk Refuge and town square.Details: 3310 square feet, 3BR/3B, huge living area on the second floor, attached 2 car oversized garage, .17 acre with an outstanding Teton view and nice view of Cache Creek/Snow King area. Just over $500 square foot, this is by far the best deal in town for single family homes if you have the cash. Brand new, move in condition.link: http://www.flexmls.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?20080128162106475652000000&s=10&id=1Andrew 01/28/2008

Jackson Hole -  Isn't that the little cowboy town in Wyoming?   Well -  Yeah , I guess it is.  We are still that little mountain town in the north west corner of Wyoming .  But Jackson has become a lot more than that,   I have been here for almost twenty years and I have been witness to a major change from the rubber hatchet and curio stop into what I like to call a "countrypolitan" ( I think I coined that term: ) oasis.  What does that mean?   Well Jackson still has retained that small town feel where everybody tends to know everybody and you don't really have to lock things to keep them safe.   What makes it so different is Jackson Holes cultural experiences.  We have the new 30+ million dollar Center for the Arts, the Nation Museum of Wildlife art,  the Grand Teton Music festival, an... 01/18/2008

If you where thinking about turning an old apartment into a new condo complex in the Town of Jackson.  You might have missed your boat.    The Town Council impossed a moratorium in the conversion of apartment complexes into condos.    They did this so that they can figure out what there regulations actually mean - might take a while.  This could have a large effect on the supply of new inventory in our market .    01/16/2008

Well, Jackson is buried in snow and the skiing is fantastic. The week of Christmas brought a few feet and we received two more helpings of the white stuff in the last 48 hours. The skiing has been incredible and sales activity continues into the New Year. Until we have our year end statistics to post, here is a unique listing located south on Fall Creek Road just minutes from the town of Wilson and Teton Village. Basics: 8,397 square feet, 4 bedrooms, guest cabin, situated on 7.5 acres perched above the Snake River basin, best views in the valley, private location, exquisite craftsmanship; list price $12,995,000.link to photos and listing info: http://www.flexmls.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?20071231210244336660000000&s=10&id=1Happy New Year!  12/31/2007