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Real estate boom ends in Jackson Hole

Allen BestSpecial to the Vail DailyVail, CO Colorado

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. The state of the real estate market in Jackson Hole has been in dispute in recent weeks. A study by a California-based firm found that the median home price in Teton County had dropped 9 percent in the last year. But David Viehman, a local appraiser and real estate agent who has studied the market for number of years, says the Californians crunched the numbers in ways that dont necessarily make sense.As Viehman crunches the numbers, prices for single-family homes have actually increased in the last year by 2 percent. However, he discounts condos, townhouses and fractional ownerships which may have been included in the tabulation of a 9 percent decline.What clearly is happening, he says, is that locals continue to escalate their prices as if a boom were still occurring. As a consequence, lots of properties are on the market.Locals cant get over the fact that their property is not worth more than it was last year, Viehman told the Jackson Hole News&Guide. They wont come off their price. What has happened, several sources tell the newspaper, is that the real estate market is correcting itself after several years of extreme heating. As well, while there are still mortgages available for strong borrowers, no national companies are loaning for more than $700,000. Also, while vacationers to Jackson Hole might have been inclined to buy vacation real estate at other times, the national economic uncertainty at this time is keeping them in a less committed state.

WHISTLER, B.C. – A hydroelectric project big enough to deliver the electricity used annually at the Whistler and Blackcomb ski areas, will be built in time to show off at the 2010 Winter Olympics.The turbine will be installed in Fitzsimmons Creek, which is located between the two ski areas. It will be capable of generating 7.5 megawatts of electricity, or 33.5 gigawatt hours of electricity per year.Intrawest, the owner of the ski areas, is not the developer, although it was integral in planning. Arthur DeJong, who is the environmental planner at Whistler-Blackcomb, tells Pique Newsmagazine that this is the most significant step the resort has made in terms of reducing climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions.The turbine will be installed above the pond used for snowmaking at the two ski areas. There are some impacts, but they are relatively minor compared to other projects.DeJong said Whistler-Blackcomb is also looking into using existing snowmaking systems to produce electricity, such as is done at Snowmass. It is also looking into whether it can tap wind power.


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