Star Valley Real Estate Market Report | Year End 2022

Star Valley, Wyoming & Idaho—Year End 2022

Coming off its best year ever in 2021, the Star Valley real estate market saw a downturn in 2022, much like the rest of the regional real estate markets. Transactions slipped 45.5% in the last 12 months compared to the previous year (502 sales in 2022, compared to 921 transactions in 2021), while the overall dollar volume for the region fell 27.9% (or $273.8M last year compared to $379.9M in 2021).

It should be noted, however, the 2022 overall dollar volume was the second highest annual total on record, coming in slightly higher than 2020’s year-end tally of $255.4M and still up substantially over the pre-Covid total in 2019 of $128.1M.

And while 2022 felt like a return to some semblance of normalcy after the frenetic climate of the global pandemic, both average home sale prices and vacant land price increased last year (up 10.9% to $795,579 for a home and up 70.9% to $332,491 for a vacant parcel of land).

For the 502 transactions last year, the central portion of Star Valley (in and around Thayne) saw the most activity with 43.8% of all sales (220) and $102.1 in sales dollar volume. The northern part of Star Valley (in and around Alpine), only accounted for 29.1% of all transactions (146) but managed to generate the most dollar volume of the four MLS regions in Star Valley with $104.2M (bolstered by 24 sales of $1M or more, including 7 sales in the Alpine Airpark).

LAND & RANCHES

In 2022, more than half of all sales in Star Valley involved a vacant parcel of land. But the 261 land sales last year that accounted for 52% of all transactions were down considerably from the 558 transactions in 2021, which represented 60.6% of all sales during the record-breaking year. For perspective, the total of vacant sales in 2021 were 10% greater than all Star Valley real estate transactions in 2022.

The region in and around Thayne was the hot spot for vacant land activity, posting 118 of the 261 total sales in 2022 (or 45.2%). The regions of Alpine and Afton generated 72 and 64 transactions, respectively.

While the average vacant land sale in Lincoln County increased a staggering 70.9% in the last 12 months (jumping from $194,598 in 2021 to $332,491 last year), the median sale price for vacant land added better perspective to the post-Covid market. In 2021, the mid-point land sale was a .56-acre parcel in Alpine Retreat that sold for $95,000. One year later, the median sale grew 77.9% to $169,000 (for a 1.37-acre parcel in Etna). Some of the disparity in the stats for 2022 was fueled by twenty land sales with a listing price of $1M or more.

CONDOMINIUMS / TOWNHOMES

Given the nature of the housing stock in Lincoln County, the condo and townhome market is the smallest segment for both transactions and dollar volume.

The 16 sales recorded in 2022 matched the 16 transactions from the previous year. The complementing stats for dollar volume, however, fell 44.4% from $15.4M in 2021 to $8.6M last year. At the same time, the average sale price plummeted 44.4% to $535,375 (or down from $963,525 in 2021),

The variance in the stats is mostly explained by the release in 2022 of a new townhome development in Alpine (the Buffalo Sage Townhomes). Ten of the 16 sales in 2022 occurred in Buffalo Sage, and the 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,145-sq.ft. units sold with prices ranging from $437,500 to $485,000.

In 2021, this segment of the market posted nine of its 16 sales in the Alpine Airpark fly-in/fly-out community, with prices ranging $750,000 to $2.45M (which helped to skew the average sale price year over year).

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES

In 2022, a “home” in Lincoln County ranged from a $55,000 for a 713 sq.ft. house on two lots in Cokeville to a 3,000 sq.ft. residence on 41 acres bordering the Salt River just south of Thayne that was listed for nearly $6M.

Like the overall market, this market segment fell year over year on transactions (down 35.1% from 316 sales in 2021 to 205 transactions last year) and on dollar volume (down 28.1% from $226.7M in 2021 to $163.1M in 2022).

Despite a challenging year for the regional market as the buying frenzy of the global pandemic tapered off, the average home sale price increased 10.9% to $795,579 (up from $717,372 in 2021).

In 2022, the median home sale for Lincoln County was a 2,200 sq.ft. home on 5 acres in Thayne that sold for $535,000. That number grew 7% from 2021 when the midpoint sale price was $500,000 (for a 2,800 sq.ft. home on 10 acres south of Afton).

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