For the week of November 5 - 11, 2003

Valley real estate market surging

Hailey, Bellevue see substantial
growth in sales, prices

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

The real estate market in the Wood River Valley grew approximately 10 percent during the first nine months of 2003, despite mediocre activity in the commercial sector and a relatively stagnant national economy.

The Copper Ridge building, a new commercial and condominium building at 251 Washington Ave. in Ketchum, is one of several new developments in the city that will soon add to a growing inventory of luxury condominiums. Express photo by Willy Cook

In a report issued late last month, brokers for Hailey-based Windermere Real Estate indicated that sales of most property types in the first three-quarters of 2003 exceeded those in 2002, with the most significant growth registered in Hailey and Bellevue.

From January through September of this year, Wood River Valley real estate brokers closed 746 transactions, compared to 678 during the same period in 2002.

Dan Gorham, broker for Windermere Real Estate, said the numbers are encouraging, given that the national economy showed sluggish growth throughout the nine-month period. "Even in a struggling national economy, our real estate market is doing quite well," he said. "Clearly the hot spot has been in Hailey and Bellevue."

John Sofro, a Realtor for Associated Brokers of Sun Valley, said he has seen indications that the real estate market is very strong, despite a noticeably high inventory of top-end properties in Sun Valley and Ketchum. "I think we’ve had a pretty good year, overall," he said. "Associated Brokers of Sun Valley is having the biggest year it has ever had."

Hailey, Bellevue sales surge

Sales of single-family homes in Hailey and Bellevue showed the largest growth of all categories in the market.

In Hailey, 141 houses were sold through September, at an average price of approximately $306,000. The figures represent a 23 percent increase over last year, when the average sales price was $272,000. In Northridge subdivision, north of downtown Hailey, 12 houses sold for more than $450,000 each, helping to significantly escalate the citywide average.

In Bellevue, 67 single-family houses sold, more than twice the 32 homes sold in the first nine months of 2002. A total of 130 real estate transactions were recorded during the period in Bellevue, compared to a mere 94 the previous year.

Gorham said unusually low interest rates for real-estate loans helped to drive the surge of sales activity in the South Valley. Many renters, he noted, took advantage of interest rates at or below 6 percent to buy their first home.

"We always have people moving up through the market, as well as people from outside of the area moving in," he said. "One emerging trend is people moving in and picking Hailey as a place to retire."

Sofro, who is acting as a Realtor and project coordinator for the pending Copper Ranch residential development in North Woodside, said that he has sold 85 percent of the 25 units slated to be developed in the project’s first phase. With a planned total of 135 units, Copper Ranch is the largest residential project ever undertaken in Hailey.

Condos king in North Valley

Sun Valley and Ketchum, the region’s most prolific market for vacation and retirement homes, so far this year has recorded sales activity that that was essentially on par with 2002. During the first nine months of 2003, 102 single-family homes sold in and around the two cities.

The number of sales that exceeded $1 million climbed slightly over those recorded in 2002, from 76 to 81. However, both Gorham and Sofro noted that the North Valley market is still saturated with a high number of top-end, luxury properties.

Yet, many high-end properties are selling, Gorham said. Of 154 properties currently under contract in the Wood River Valley, 19 are under contract for more than $1 million.

In the condominium and townhouse market, 233 units have sold, an 18 percent increase from the 188 units sold from January to September 2002. (The figures can be skewed by sales of fractional-ownership units, however, which can effectively record numerous sales for a single residence.)

Daren Pennell, sales manager of the Les Saisons condominium development in central Ketchum, said sales of the fractional-ownership units this year have exceeded those in 2002. "We’ve had a real nice turnaround," he said.

An abundance of luxury condominiums—those valued at more than $1 million—remained on the market at the close of September, with nearly 50 of such properties being offered.

Shortage of vacant land

Sales of vacant land parcels declined slightly in the first nine months of 2003, making that category the only one to drop compared to 2002. The real estate industry’s Multiple Listing Service recorded 167 sales of vacant land during the period, compared to 176 in 2002.

According to numerous brokers, the drop is indicative of a lack of available land parcels zoned for development, not a lack of interested buyers in the marketplace.

Lots in Griffin Ranch, a new subdivision south of Bellevue, have sold at a blistering pace, Gorham noted, with many parcels acquired last year nearly doubling in value in 2003.

Commercial rebound?

Amid all the favorable news about the residential and land markets, the commercial real estate market in the Wood River Valley appears to be growing at a somewhat slower pace.

Paul Kenny, Ketchum-based broker for Colliers International, said the sales prices of commercial real estate properties are rising in Hailey and Bellevue, while remaining "steady" in Ketchum. Lease prices, Kenny said, are "starting to climb" throughout the region.

Kenny said sales prices for commercial real estate in central Hailey have climbed from approximately $30 per square foot to more than $40 per square foot, while Ketchum commercial properties are selling for approximately $125 per square foot.

"Now, commercial buyers can justify buying in Hailey because the population, and the market, has grown significantly," Kenny said.

Realtor Sofro, who is a partner in the new Bullion Square commercial development in downtown Hailey, said all but one of the eight units in the project have been leased.

Lease prices for commercial real estate roughly mirror the sales prices, Sofro said, with Ketchum properties commanding about twice the $1.25-per-square-foot cost in Hailey.

Kenny expressed optimism that an apparent glut of commercial space for lease in Ketchum will be utilized in the near future. Attributing many of the commercial vacancies in the city to the lagging economy, Kenny said he is currently negotiating leases for commercial spaces in the Les Saisons building and the new Copper Ridge building on Washington Avenue.

"I’m confident these places are going to fill up," Kenny said.

 

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