The Median Sale Price; Why this is a more accurate number to focus on:
While we use both the average and median sale price when reporting the real estate news, the Star Valley market is better understood and tracked when using the median sale and list price. In some larger real estate markets, where the range of sale prices can be tightly compressed, the average sale price (the total sales dollar volume divided by the number of sales) is a fairly good indicator. But, in a market like Star Valley where the least expensive home for sale in July 2006 is $69,500 and the most expensive home for sale is $2.35 million, the average sale price becomes skewed very fast. With the average sale price as an indicator, if the market has a few really high-end sales ($1 to $2 million) in a given six month period it can appear that the market has heated up. On the flipside if the market has more low-end sales ($80 to $150k), it can appear the market is cooling down, which isn't always the case.

By looking at the median sale price (the cost of a property that has an equal number of sales above and below it on the price scale), the Star Valley market can be more accurately understood. It takes many more sales in a given price range to make the median sale price move and therefore isn't so sensitive to the time of year or the amount of money being spent on a property in any given six month period.

When considering a time to sell your home our market is unique in that we get an influx of buyers in the summer and fall. We see a huge jump in listings in the start of summer. This makes mid to late summer a great time to list. You will generally find less competition and an increase in serious buyers. If you are considering selling during this time frame you may want to start preparing your home to sell in the spring. First impressions are extremely important and can be a “deal maker or breaker”. Simple things you can do to help stage your home include a fresh coat of paint or stain on your front door. A thorough cleaning with special attention to detail on windows, the kitchen and bathrooms all helps out tremendously. Candles can make a home feel more inviting and aromas such as cinnamon have been said to appeal to more people. Make sure to get rid of any unnecessary clutter, boxes, and free up as much counter space as possible. All of these simple tips can get you moving in the right direction and help get your home sold! For a more specific analysis of your home set up a free consultation with one of our Alpine agents.


How to pick a Realtor®:
Not all real estate agents are Realtors®. Realtors are part of the self-regulated National Association of Realtors (NAR), who are held to a higher standard of practice. Not all Realtors are full-time. Some work part-time, some are semi-retired, to some it is a hobby, and a select few make it their life’s work. Choose a Realtor who really knows the market inside and out and has the dedication and level of expertise required to help you with what could be the biggest financial transaction of your life.

There are many tools to help you in the most effective and profitable sale or purchase of your home. A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) will evaluate past sales and current listings to ensure you are not over- or under-pricing your property when you list it for sale. Once your property is listed, your agent should put up a real estate sign and brochure box (for point-of-sale contact), make a full color brochure, advertise it weekly in the local papers, post it on the world-wide web, have it in a locally distributed real estate magazine, and hold an open house for other Realtors. Most importantly, however, your Realtor needs to be a member of the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). If your Realtor is part of the Teton County MLS, your property is exposed to over 450 Realtors who will be working to find a buyer for your property.

If you really want to get your commission dollars worth out of your Realtor, interview them and find out if they plan to or are able to do all the above.  If they cannot or are not willing to, find someone who can.  You will not only get your monies worth but you will find the experience much more pleasant and accomplish the goal of selling your property quickly.

Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates LLC
David E. Viehman
Editor, The Hole Report

Our Star Valley database is one of the major high-tech additions to our Alpine office. As in Jackson, we have every single property owner in the Star Valley area in a central database. This includes all owner’s names and addresses, property legal descriptions and their physical addresses, state and county ID numbers, zoning and tax codes and much more.

Our daily email search engine - Following the success of our Jackson Hole daily search engine, we offer our on-line clients a way to watch the Star Valley real estate market on a daily basis.  The search engine lets us help you keep an eye on the real estate market so you don't have to work so hard searching through all the different newspapers and web sites out there.  With our daily real estate search, we offer a no-pressure way for you to find the piece of property you've been looking for.  Just fill out the on-line form at http://www.jhre.net/Daily_Emails.htm once, and then you can choose to receive emails for the entire market or we'll send you emails whenever a property that fits your criteria comes on the market.  You can select all the features that are critical to you, such as price, size of home, acreage, beds and baths etc., or. The search results will give you lots of pertinent information, such as maps showing you how to get to the property, photos, and plenty of information about each listing.

1031 Tax Exchanges - Any real estate investor wishing to sell their property and reinvest the money in other property or to "trade up" to a better property, should consider a 1031 (like-kind, Starker, etc.) tax-deferred exchange. Otherwise they might find themselves faced with a whopping tax bill the next year, and the needed money to pay taxes locked up in the investment in the new property. This can happen despite your best intentions and split second timing of the closing, unless you strictly follow the requirements of the IRS rules and use a "qualified" exchange intermediary to take advantage of this tax shelter technique.

The idea is to keep all your money working for you in ever bigger, or at least better, investments in real estate. The ultimate goal is to keep trading up until congress reduces the capital gains tax or, better yet, until you die owning the property and avoid the capital gains taxes altogether.

Paul Vaughn, P.C.
Attorney at Law
The Real Estate Exchange

Property Profiles - Whenever real property goes under contract a Commitment for Title Insurance is ordered.  This commitment gives the legal description, title vesting of the record title-holders, any liens, easements or encumbrances affecting title to the property.  Occasionally, this commitment discloses unknown encumbrances or defects that could delay or even prevent the closing. Such defects or problems could include:

*Breaks in the *chain of title* which show ownership passing from one person or entity to the next.

*Incorrect or incomplete legal descriptions in deeds, wills or trusts that contain improper vesting or incorrect names.

*Defective notary acknowledgements.

*Easement rights held by third parties.

*Lack of easements for ingress and egress. In order to avoid a last minute scramble to cure such defects, ask your realtor to order a Property Profile or Listing Report which will reveal any problems well in advance of closing and help educate potential purchasers.

Joaquin K. Hanson President,
Jackson Hole Title and Escrow Company
307-733-3153

Home Inspections - In any residential real estate transaction buyers frequently request an inspection.  For the unsuspecting seller an inspection can sometimes jeopardize a potential sale.  Every home, condo or commercial building has a few quirks, but knowing of problems in advance that might cause a buyer alarm can be to a sellers advantage, especially if they take the time to address the repairs.  Before listing your property, have your home, condo or commercial building inspected to avoid unwanted surprises later on. Of course as a buyer, you should always take advantage of inspecting a property you intend to purchase.  A qualified inspector will examine a property thoroughly, looking carefully at the workings of a structure most people take for granted, or just overlook.

Copyright 2004 - 2009 by Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without explicit written permission from Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates LLC.

*All statistics are supplied by sources that have been deemed reliable but are not guaranteed.

*All statistics quoted in this newsletter are based on sales in 2007 compared to 2008.

*This report is published and updated twice a year. Because of our fast moving market most of the statistics in this report are obsolete within two weeks. Therefore, you should not rely on this report to determine the value of a property, instead call us for a free market analysis.