Express
www.mtexpress.com
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
7
ECONOMIC ALMANAC ä REAL ESTATE
What powers a community? At Idaho Power, we believe it’s doing what’s right for our customers, the planet we share and the place we call home. That’s why we’ve committed to providing:
100% clean energy by 2045. We’re well on our way. Today, nearly 50% of our affordable energy comes from clean hydropower. We’re investing in wind, solar and other clean technologies, all while keeping your prices low and reliability high.
We’re Idaho Power.
Clean today. Cleaner tomorrow.™ Learn how we’re moving forward: cleantoday.com
O
UN
TAI
N E
M
3 percent, though he acknowledged that it’s hard to predict. According to Burns, 2012 was an oddball year in terms of bounce-back in the market, due to the “second ‘short sale’ wave,” of homeowners who couldn’t afford to pay their mortgage due to a jump in adjustable-rate mortgages that they could no longer afford. Burns said some homeowners fell out of the market immediately in 2008, but others held on, gritting their teeth and intending to remain homeowners. However, because of the way adjustable-rate mortgages work—low rates up front and higher rates when the adjustable rate kicks in—some homeowners who entered into adjustable-rate mortgages in 2007 and 2008 managed to hang on longer than most because they were still at a low rate. Because of that, homes sold about five years after the Great Recession tended to be concentrated at the lower end of the market. In Blaine County, median home prices dropped between 2007 and 2009, followed by a very slow rise in 2010 and 2011, and then another significant drop in 2012, when the median home price in Ketchum dropped from just below $600,000 a year earlier to $290,000, according to the Sun Valley Board of Realtors. Since then, the market has once again leveled out, with general increases across the county. Even so, only Carey, Bellevue and Hailey are back around where they were in 2007. In 2007, Hailey’s median home price (which includes single-family homes and condominiums) was $402,000; last year it was $345,000. Bellevue’s median home price was $345,000 in 2007 and last year was $303,000. Carey had a median home price of $224,000 in 2007 and was just below that at $215,000 last year. Ketchum’s median home price in 2007 was $1,542,000 and last year was still less than half that at $650,000. Sun Valley’s median home price was $1.9 million in 2007 and last year was far below that at $499,000. According to Summers, Sun Valley’s median home price is pulled down by lower price points in condominium sales in Elkhorn versus
condominium sales in Ketchum. In the Elkhorn area of Sun Valley, the median condo price was just under $300,000, with 67 condos sold in 2018. Ketchum’s median condo sale price was $452,000 and 74 condos were sold last year. In addition, Ketchum sees more single-family home sales, Summers said. For those buying homes, Wood River Valley homes still cost less than those in other ski communities such as Vail and Aspen, Burns said. “It’s still a tremendous value compared to other resort communities,” he said. But for people who are renters and make below the area median income of $54,900, according to a 2018 data number from the Blaine County Housing Authority, housing options are limited. According to the Housing Authority—whose goal is to promote various methods for providing housing at affordable sales prices and rental rates to people comprising the “local population,” according to its website—a person making 60 percent of the area median income, $32,950 in 2018, can afford a monthly housing cost of $824, 30 percent of their income. However, in 2018, the average advertised rent for a studio apartment in Ketchum was $1,104, more than a studio listed in Sun Valley ($965 in 2018), according to the Housing Authority, based on data from rentals advertised in the classified section of the Idaho Mountain Express. Based on its analysis, in order for someone to live in a studio apartment in Ketchum, they would need to have an annual income of at least $44,168. In Hailey, things are slightly better, with an average studio rental in 2018 of $812, meaning someone would need a salary of $32,492 to spend a maximum of 30 percent of their income on rent. Even so, the inventory is limited, with only 12 studio apartments in Hailey advertised in the Idaho Mountain Express in 2018. Looking ahead, Summers said many people will continue to move to the valley due to its “geographic prestige,” while many working people will continue to be priced out of the housing market with a diminishing inventory of affordable homes for first-time buyers.
XP
best hotel
I
H OF T
A LL HE V OF T
best kid-friendly restaurant
best après-ski
RES S
ALL BLAINE COUNTY RESIDENTIAL INVESTMENT ($M)
EY
book your holiday party and save! BOOK A HOLIDAY PARTY BY NOVEMBER 15TH AND EARN THESE GREAT BENEFITS:
Source: Sun Valley Board of Realtors
RESIDENTIAL UNIT SALES BY CITY 46
7
222
43
8
32
4
194
12
33
3 4
160 158
133
57
23
185
117
124 140
111 82
98
92 72
52 61
Source: Sun Valley Board of Realtors
P L E A S E
This special offer is valid for parties and company events that take place until Jan. 31, 2020. (Space-available basis. Excludes Dec. 22, 2019 to Jan. 4, 2020) Contact BJ Sullivan. p 208.726.0864 • c 208.720.6614 • bsullivan@limelighthotels.com
151 s. main street, ketchum 208.726.0888 limelighthotels.com @limelighthotels facebook.com/thelimelighthotels
83
232
20% off Food during the holiday party Discounted Room Rental & Set Up Fees based on the event size Special Discounted Lodging Rate for attendees the night of the event
R E C Y C L E
1 0 6 4, 0 0 mtexpress.com
GENERATES LOTS OF TRAFFIC.* *Online unique visits per month