As the third quarter closes we have a chance to breath a bit in this market. It’s still moving hot in the upward direction however the pace of midsummer has slowed giving folks a better chance to get in or sell in this market. I still believe because of the demand that sellers are still coming out of the woodwork and there will be more inventory coming on through the fourth quarter and winter. Seller’s saw what was occurring over the summer with their peers and became encouraged to catch the wave. As you may or may not know, when bringing on property to the market there are some details that are important to take care of prior to such as painting, finish work, mostly updating cosmetic stuff to make the listing more attractive. When this decision is made midsummer it’s hard to hire tradesman to do the work as they’ve likely been booked up for the summer. Thus, there is a number of properties still waiting to get themselves on the market and is why it’s still important to keep an eye on your property updates.
Some crazy trends occurring out there at the conclusion of the third quarter. Read on to become surprised or affirmed by what’s occurring out there…
Single Family
The single-family market right now is like fighting fire with gasoline. Since June and July, the story has been Ketchum homes flying off the shelf and has continued to do so. Here’s where it’s at right now: total volume is 132m and is up 91m over this time last year. Further, the average price has risen 97%! Now, price points have gone up in general from demand however I believe this speaks to more upper end inventory moving rather than assuming all prices have gone up by that much. This is a direct relationship between a lack of inventory and the high demand for homes in this area. For the valley as a whole, the total sold single-family volume has gone up nearly 50% at this time. Last year total volume after the third quarter was 342m whereas right now it’s 510m. That’s a 168m increase and largely comes from Ketchum single family home sales. Around the valley other notable trends include Hailey and Bellevue staying strong both in price point and available inventory, Mid Valley taking its biggest leap in sales and is very happening right now. In the other direction, inventory and average price point in Warm Springs is down. I’ve always said that’s the best value in the North Valley for locals wanting to live in town. Interestingly enough, Stanley Basin has gotten a lot of action in the upwards direction yet the average price point is down 38%.
Condos
The condo market is doing very well posting numbers above last years. The main story here is Warm Springs and Ketchum as it’s been able to replenished its inventory paired with high demand to help drive its sales volume and price points. The condo market continues to be a safe growing investment and allows for easy accessibility with the ability to create income on vacation rentals when out of town.
Vacant Land
The story of vacant land during this year’s third quarter is that of supply and demand. A more than obvious statement I know and basically where there is supply there is demand because for the most part numbers are up crazy across the valley accept for in Warm Springs and Ketchum where inventory is not replenishing itself. In Elkhorn, Hailey and Bellevue inventory has either increased or at least match the availability from a year ago and all are recording an increase in numbers. In Bellevue the average price point has gone down yet have roared back in sales due to affordability.
To speak specifically to the leap in Sun Valley’s numbers, Sun Valley Company listed 30 something lots in White Clouds in the spring of 2019 priced at 1.1m to 2.6m. If you recall these sales have pushed up the numbers in Sun Valley since. With only one lot remaining at the White Clouds land sales volumes almost exclusively accounted for SV’s total sales volume. So, take a number with high end builders in the valley because they’ll be busy in the year to come in SV. I do have some inside info that SV Company is getting ready to subdivide eight to fourteen more lots to come to market in the spring with price points around 1.5m. Perhaps the timing will be better to contract Lee Gilman and the boys.
