A couple of weeks ago there was a front page article in the Jackson Hole Daily about a planned foreclosure auction. The article stated that there were 17 foreclosure auctions planned and that in all of 2008 the sheriffs office only scheduled 19. At first blush you might say "oh my gosh, we've got 17 in a month and a half that almost matches the previous years total"! Now let me be the first to say I'm not minimizing the seriousness and financial tragedy of losing a home to foreclosure, that would not be right. But having said that you really have to look at the data to get the full picture. First, most of the 17 announced are condos. Second, most are in areas where investors most likely leveraged themselves over the past few years (Aspens/Racquet Club, Teton Village, East Jackson). A closer look shows that of the 17 announced many were under the name of the same borrower thus giving credence to the leverage I mentioned. Even more important is the fact that a very high percentage of these are resolved before they even go to auction. Remember that these are "announced" planned foreclosure auctions that are part of the legal process. In addition the borrower gets 90 days to match the price of the accepted bid. So the reality of the matter is these types of news events need to be taken in context in order to understand what their real impact to our real estate might be. So far Jackson Hole has shown that the market here is still pretty stable despite the fact we have seen some price decreases. Many properties have held their price or the owners have taken them off the market or rented them instead of selling in a down market. Most who live or invest in Jackson Hole real estate understand how special this place is and conversely how valuable the property is. So while it appears that the velocity of foreclosure announcements have increased their impact across the broader market will be minimal. Sure we'll most likely see more if the economy worsens further but my guess is they'll be for similar reasons that the current 17 are for and, like those in the past, will get resolved prior to any sale.
Read more articles on the Jackson Hole Real Estate market at http://www.livinginjacksonhole.com/index.cfm?id=real_estate_articles
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