Buying Tips from Realtor, Devon Viehman
Devon Viehman is an associate broker, co-author of The Hole Report, president of the Wyoming Realtors, and a lobbyist for the National Association of Realtors.
2017 Jackson Hole Real Estate Roundup
Low supply and high demand keep market inflated with building costs high.
Jackson Hole Cuisine Reaches for New Heights
There’s something about the altitude; the invigoration that each new day brings: it inspires soaring ambitions and the desire to create—and nurture—excellence.
Looking Ahead to Jackson Hole Real Estate in 2017 with Founding Principal Phil Stevenson
With nearly 12 years of experience under his belt at this point, Phil Stevenson has a seasoned perspective on the ebbs and flows of the valley’s real estate market…
Closing Remarks with Phil Stevenson
Hi All,
Wanted everyone to know that this has been a banner year for TCCG Real Estate, especially over the past several months, when we have had fifteen closings, most recently three closings on three consecutive days. With the memory of these most recent closings fresh in our minds, we wanted to share a few reminders to prospective buyers as closing day approaches:
- Be sure all utilities (electricity, propane, water and sewer) and service providers (trash removal, snow removal, and so on) have been notified of your closing date and transferred to your name. As part of our caretaking services, The Clear Creek Group can pay all your bills and interface with the utilities and service providers.
- Check out the different options you have for TV, internet, and land lines, and make your selections a week or two in advance of closing. Many of these service providers have a fairly long lead time for service calls, and you will want them at your new home the day you close.
- Make sure your property and liability insurance are in place.
- Arrange for a security service. Depending on what service the seller has, and what service you would require, the security firm might need to do some work around your new home.
- Make arrangements to get keys and clickers at closing.
- If some furniture or other personal property items are included in the sale, check a day or two before closing to make sure everything is still in the property.
- Check to make sure nothing adverse has happened to the property since your initial inspection, including working appliances.
- Make arrangements to have the locks on the house changed the day of closing.
An imposing list, to be sure, but the good news is that at TCCG Real Estate, we handle all of the above and more, with an objective of making your closing and the transition to your new home ownership as pleasant and seamless as possible.
Whether you’re considering selling or buying in Jackson Hole, we’d love to talk with you about your real estate needs. Just call me at (307) 690-3503 or e-mail at phils@tccgjh.com, and one of our team members will get right back to you.
Phil Stevenson
Responsible Broker
The Refuge at Alpine Airpark Brings Community to Flying Aficionados
Imagine getting into the cockpit of a plane as naturally as you might decide to go out for a hike or swing by your favorite cafe for a latte.
A Creative Frame of Mind
There’s a simple truth to Rocky Vertone’s line of work: Everything looks better in a frame.
Service In Place
Somewhere in the annals of Jackson Hole Real Estate is a 17 year old Janet Helm’s travel journal. There between sanguine chronicles of family road trips and first hand accounts of adventures in a small Wyoming resort town, positioned adjacent pencil sketches of the Teton range are the words “I’m going to live here someday.”
For each of us there is a calling. Some find it in the resolve of vocation, others discover it in the trials of experience.
Janet Helm has found her own calling in place. To understand The Clear Creek Group is to understand its team. Small, deliberately individual, motivated by an unwavering passion for setting and the relationships forged in the ethos of small town Jackson Hole.
These relationships are personal.
A lifetime ago, Janet left the concrete skyscrapers of corporate America for the granite skyscrapers of Jackson Hole. Relentlessly altruistic, kids in tow, Janet set her bearings on working with people. Whether it be embodying the collaborative lifestyle afforded by Wyoming recreation, or volunteering in schools and local nonprofits, Janet has established a reputation as a purveyor of community.
In many respects it is this trait that makes Janet Helm an exceptional Associate Broker and an irreplaceable member of
The Clear Creek Group Real Estate team.
In her own words: “When the trails feel right under foot, and when the sun reflects the shadows just so on the water you cannot help but smile, you want to share the feeling, and share this special place.”
For Janet its never been about selling properties, its about a passion for community reflected in that travel journal all those years ago.
What is it that brought you to Jackson Hole?
My husband Bill and I left corporate jobs for mountain living. I like to say I left concrete skyscrapers for granite ones. We did not look far… I had vacationed here with my family, and when I was 17 wrote in my travel journal I would live here someday. Jackson Hole reminded my husband of the valley he lived in in Switzerland for 14 years and when he called me from the top of Togwotee Pass that August day in 1992, he said ‘I’m home”. I flew out from Milwaukee to meet him here that Labor Day weekend. He settled in, and I moved the following July after our wedding.
It is a competitive market, what influenced your career in Real Estate?
Bill got his real estate license before I came out, and I was undecided what new profession I wanted to pursue, so attended real estate classes as well. The day I received word I passed the licensing exam (those days, results were mailed a week or two after taking the exam), I also found out I was pregnant. I have a son and daughter born less than two years apart. A career in real estate gave us the flexibility to trade off being with clients or being with kids. It also gave me the flexibility to volunteer in schools and for local nonprofits. I was able to pair real estate sales with working at a local art gallery and later a large retail store on the Square. Admittedly, the chosen real estate profession also gave me the ability to hit the trails several times a week, in the early days with kids in tow. Downhill or nordic skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer continue to be my passions.
What inspires you about your role at TCCG?
What inspires me at TCCG is the team – everyone here works hard, and plays hard. Weekends will find any number of us in the office, yet morning conversation is always about adventures played on days off. There is great respect for employees’ professional and private lives here. Secondly, everyone’s focus is relationship building whether with guests, homeowners, and/or brokerage clients. The theme throughout our company is high touch, high quality. We review our customers experience weekly and assess ways to improve it or transfer what was successful into other divisions of the company. We are always looking for new systems, new ways to improvise, new ideas, and that sparks my motivation – it is a great spiral.
Jackson Hole is not a hard sell, and it is always refreshing and inspiring to share the visitors’ awe, and then to help them become guests or clients…and friendships develop.
TCCG’s unique business model is one main reason I chose to work here: guests become buyers who often become rental and caretaking clients, and then sometimes sellers. As the company grows, our referral business grows. My role also expanded as the business has grown. I came in as a Brokerage Assistant to help organize and grow the real estate division, and now I am also Broker’s Assistant helping with brokerage management, and I am a licensed Associate Broker which puts me in the seller/buyer’s agent role. I get to use my research, management, and sales skills daily. No day is alike and after over four years here, I still look forward to walking in the office, sharing a few laughs, and massaging my goals to perform where they are most needed that day.
You have been described as a constant, the glue, someone to rely on. How would you describe your role at TCCG?
Gosh…I owe someone lunch! I don’t know about being the glue, but I do have longevity in the valley that offers me perspective in the community, and in real estate specifically, that may translate into better understanding of our roles within. My Master’s degree in organizational communication pairs with my business background in sales and management which helps give me an objective view of how we operate internally and with the public. I am happy to be a resource internally, whether to brainstorm in a meeting, or make a suggestion as to who to contact or where to look for answers to questions. I think being a mother also gives me a sensitivity to my co-workers’ personal lives and balancing on the precious work/play life swing.
You have been and remain so active in the Jackson Hole community. How do you devote your free time?
I pride myself on maintaining relationships personally and professionally. My husband is a huge support – the evolving parenting roles as my children grow into young adults is amazing. We are empty nesters so ‘dating’ again – it’s a blast. My extended family is very close and even though we live all over the globe, I make it a goal to visit. And, there are my girlfriends who are my partners in motherhood, hiking, skiing, traveling, book club, professional pursuits, and so much more. I love to travel and am seldom home from one trip before planning another – sometimes just a weekend away. In between, it is all about being outside on the trails. I work hard to be able to do what I love. This matches well with the work hard/play hard/grow relationships theme at TCCG.
How do you think your role at TCCG extends to an active role in the community?
Our real estate team is unique because we are collaborative, not competitive, both within the office and with our peers. Our target market is selling residential properties east of the Tetons priced over $1 million although we have sold properties out of this area under $300,000, and a ranch for over $10 million. Our due diligence for high end buyers is extremely detailed oriented. For example, while most buyers will hire a single general inspector, we encourage our buyers to hire not only a general inspector, but other contractors such as an electrician, a plumber, a HVAC specialist, a roofer, for the most thorough inspections of the investment they are going to make. Our Operations Manager will typically meet the inspectors at the property and see first-hand any issues that may be noted. He can then answer any questions and communicate with our input, to the buyer. Most of our buyers will entrust their home with our caretaking team after purchase because our team already knows the ‘mechanics’ of the house, and because the buyer has established a relationship with our operations staff.
We also want our clients to become part of the community, even if, (perhaps especially if), they are part time residents.
To that end, we introduce them to others. We host cocktail parties periodically for our clients, homeowners, and guests. We suggest contacting the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole to discover nonprofits they may wish to become involved with, offer locals’ insight to favorite spots and events, make introductions to new neighbors…Here is our common theme again: ‘relationship building’.
How has the field of Real Estate evolved?
Technology has changed the field of real estate dramatically since I first got licensed. MLS books were printed monthly, so updates to listings were anything but current. Agents did not share the books with clients, let alone the general public, so we could be in control of listings presented. Now clients do their own searches and will ask about listings they uncovered online. Science has aided us in speed and many channels to communicate with customers. But in any product sale, once contact is made, it is all about ‘touch’ to establish the relationship. For residential sales, I like to believe real estate is more of an art form because the beauty of a property is in the eye of the beholder and it is up to the Realtor to help the seller present it, and the buyer ‘interpret’ it. Technology may help here, but while videos can show the wonders of properties, they cannot replace the feelings of walking onto a property that says ‘home’ through all five senses. Of course, Jackson Hole sells itself – when the trails feel right under foot/ski/board/bike tire, and when the sun reflects the shadows just so on the water/canyons/Aspens that you cannot help but smile, you want to share the feeling, and share this special place.
What is the single most important thing you want each of your clients to know, feel, or experience after working with you & The Clear Creek Group?
With gratitude we got to know you and help you find a piece of peace, and although the transaction is over, our relationship continues.
Forging Relationships
Many guests arrive in Jackson Hole with a known affinity for this place, but without knowing many people. Offering our connections as orientation, we strive to be our guests’ touchstone in the valley. The relationships we forge with guests often grow into lasting friendships.
Consider Foley Morrell: A mother of two twentysomething children, Foley arrived in Jackson from her native New Hampshire with warm associations of childhood vacations in the Tetons. The holiday she spent in one of our rental properties – a stunning residence on the Elk Refuge – proved so memorable, she returned the next fall. “She came back and fell in love with the place,” said Phil Stevenson, TCCG Founding Principal and Responsible Broker. All told, Foley has logged six rentals with TCCG in two years.
Foley’s affinity for Jackson and the TCCG experience evolved to the point that she inquired about purchasing the Elk Refuge residence. Phil relayed her interest to the owners, who while flattered, felt strongly about holding on to their Jackson Hole getaway. After several more stays, Foley revised her proposal: Would the owners consider selling if she offered them the opportunity to spend several months each year – gratis – in their former home? Despite the kindness, the owners again declined, as they love Jackson as much as Foley does.
When Phil learned (through the grapevine) that the last remaining Elk Refuge lot would soon be listed, he immediately called Foley. Interested, she asked him to contact the listing agent. “Within a week, we had the lot under contract,” Phil said. “She and her children were just ecstatic.”
Now, Phil is helping Foley plant roots in Jackson. Short of being her construction liaison, he has introduced her to local professionals with excellent credentials, including an attorney and a prospective construction lender. He drafted a Request for Proposal for both architectural and construction services, then arranged for the Morrell family to interview three architects and three contractors. Thus empowered, Foley made her selections, and with a preliminary design in hand, she is now interviewing interior designers – again introduced by Phil. “I’m the recommender and the facilitator,” Phil said. “I’m not telling her which route to take: I’m saying here are three great firms. I’m putting her in good hands.”
Beyond professional introductions, Phil also shares personal connections. After learning Foley’s daughter wants to build a career in environmental assessment, he contacted two Jackson organizations and lined up informational interviews for her.
The relationship Phil has forged with Foley has grown from rental guest into brokerage client and, once construction of her new home is complete, caretaking client. Going above and beyond, Phil has become Foley’s go-to advisor on valley affairs. Over the holidays, he is having Foley and her soon-to-be Elk Refuge neighbor over for cocktails. “So that they can get to know each other,” he said. As he has gotten to know Foley; in the course of building a professional rapport based on trust, they have become close friends. Such is the natural evolution of TCCG relationships.
TCCG RESPONSIBLE BROKER & FOUNDING PRINCIPAL: Phil Stevenson
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[/av_one_fifth]A native of Natick, Massachusetts, Phil founded The Clear Creek Group in 2005 with his wife Betsy and their partner Morgan Bruemmer. From the very beginning Phil has been driven by a desire to provide personalized services to TCCG’s real estate clients, with a guiding principal of high quality, high touch.
A Local’s Look at the Market
A 35-year resident of Jackson Hole, Reynolds Pomeroy knows the market inside and out, quite literally considering his diverse professional experience. A recent addition to TCCG Brokerage Team, his resume includes founder and co-owner of Westbank Anglers, general manager of Crescent H Ranch, general manager of Watchguard Security Systems, Teton County Planning Commissioner, Jackson Hole Land Trust board member and 10-year board member of the Snake River Fund, currently Emeritus. At TCCG, he channels his wide knowledge of the valley into thorough market analysis and superior customer service. Here, he shares his insight on Jackson Hole real estate for prospective buyers’ edification.
What are some criteria unique to Jackson that potential buyers should consider when approaching this market?
Amongst the many criteria that come to mind, there are several that recur and/or are the most common whenever I speak with new clients: first is the significant shortage of private land available either for development or for sale which ultimately impacts supply. Others are undoubtedly Wyoming’s meaningful tax benefits, first amongst those being no state income tax; Teton County’s unique and incomparable quality of life, including everything from the surrounding public lands, their abundant wildlife and preserved natural settings; their varied attributes (mountains, rivers/streams, forests, trails, open spaces) and amazing access availability; and Jackson Hole’s diverse and robust community (schools, arts, music, philanthropic culture, etc.). It’s no surprise the ‘paradise’ descriptor is often used.
What time of year is the best for buyers? Sellers?
An interesting question which, given the rapidly decreasing available inventory, causes me to think “now,” “right away,” even “before it’s too late” (especially on the buyer’s side). Seriously, though, the fall season (late August through end of October) may be best for buyers as some inventory which hasn’t sold can see price reductions (aka repositioning) as sellers come to terms with their exposure vis-à-vis expectations for offers and, well, selling their property. This is not to suggest there’s a wait-and-see strategy to be applied here as, again, shrinking inventory is happening rapidly. Buyers should realize they better make their decision to purchase with the knowledge that waiting usually means another buyer beats them to the punch. For sellers, the late spring through the summer season is demonstrably the peak season/time of year, with the holidays through spring break period being a somewhat distant second timeframe.
What segments of the market are hot right now?
Frankly, with the decreasing inventory, all segments have rising temperatures. One interesting note: activity on vacant residential lots has begun to pick up noticeably as existing improved properties no longer provide the range of style, construction finishes, location, etc. that has allowed discriminating buyers to review numerous properties before they find (maybe even settle for) a property they will purchase, remodel tolerance notwithstanding.
What are potential home buyers asking about in 2015?
Some buyers are still asking about deals which are, for the most part, now few and far between in Jackson Hole, in all segments of the market. Others ask for help justifying Jackson Hole prices when similar properties in other markets can be had for relatively less; in some markets, considerably less. However, any Realtor and most buyers will tell you that other markets are not Jackson Hole – they’re simply incomparable. Sticker shock is a constant here, and has been both before and after the recent recession’s adjustments. Most also ask about the rental performance of homes both within and outside the various lodging overlays, as this performance can and does make a difference with operating costs as well as the ultimate determination to purchase.
What should potential home buyers be asking about in 2015?
Advice on how to make a strong offer that will meet the seller’s increasingly high expectations: cash only, quick closes, few if any contingencies. Take this year’s “cabin-product” activity in the Teton Village area. Shooting Star Resort just south of Teton Village has had remarkable success with this type of product recently, pre-selling their full inventory of every cabin development. Similar products at Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis have had similar interest from buyers, such that inventory is literally non-existent in the first case, and increasingly scarce in the latter. This winter, similar products in the Granite Ridge development at Teton Village have all but disappeared since the first of the year as properties that have been available for up to 1,400 days have gone under contract within the last 60 days, without price reductions. There are almost weekly requests from the real estate community for leads on available, unlisted and potentially available cabin product. One Granite Ridge Lodge home sold for $3.9M after an unsolicited offer before the holidays; recent sales had peaked at the low-to-mid $3M range before the recession. Another Granite Ridge Lodge is reportedly available for a cool $4.9M, a price the seller is not likely to get soon, but interesting nonetheless.
What does the Jackson Hole real estate market look like moving into 2015, in terms of availability, land use restrictions and market trends?
As to availability: More of the same – shrinking inventory with a likely upward creep in pricing and expectations for both developed and undeveloped properties.
Land use restrictions: This is presently a potentially big unknown as both the Town of Jackson and Teton County struggle to move forward on designing, agreeing to, voting on and then implementing revised Land Development Regulations. The result of this uncertainty is increasingly identified as the reason few if any new developments of any size are being proposed, let alone approved. Speculative building has been at a relative standstill for many years. Bank funding, too, is hard to come by, even for long-standing developers with proven track records. There is light at the end of the tunnel, however, as elected leaders in both jurisdictions are committed to breaking recent inertia.
As to market trends, the decreasing inventory is driving all segments upward. As mentioned previously, undeveloped lots are beginning to sell as buyers determine they’d prefer to build-to-suit rather than redevelop or remodel.
How does the local real estate market compare to the national market in 2015?
It doesn’t in any more than the broadest sense. Many will say it’s hotter and for the reasons and trends discussed previously. In many ways, Jackson Hole is its own market subject to its own macro and micro influences and trending in ways that are not always comparable to the rest of the country, let alone other resort markets at this moment in time. With developers still uncertain about the regulatory regime, I do not foresee meaningful jumps in available property (inventory) increasing for several years, a steady-state contrasting with other regional and national markets.
Final thoughts?
This myriad of influences should motivate both buyers and sellers of Jackson Hole real estate to look or list now as the 2015 summer selling season is essentially upon us. The team at TCCG Real Estate is here with up-to-the-minute data and availabilities, and our broad knowledge of the market specifics means we are well positioned to find buyers the best property at the best price, and provide sellers the best advice and market analysis for positioning their properties to sell.
REYNOLDS POMEROY, Sales Associate
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Reynolds is committed to providing the superior customer service and detailed area knowledge that are the well-established hallmarks of The Clear Creek Group. His deeply rooted background in Jackson Hole have provided him with a robust knowledge of the area, its attractions, amenities and real estate.
