Here you are, at what I hope becomes your fresh resource for down to earth info about Jackson Hole. This is a place where you can find upfront info on the goings on in this beautiful valley.
A little info on me. My name is Rick Armstrong - I am probably best known as a skier. Over the years I have been featured in more than 50 movies, tv shows and have even had my face plastered on Times Square. I have worked with Warren Miller, TGR and Paramount Pictures. I have been on The North Faces Athlete team since 1989. Powder magazine rated me as one of the “Top 50 skiers in North America” I moved to Jackson in 1988 and I have been very involved in the community ever since. In 2004 I was nominated and chosen as “Jackson Holes business person of the year”. That same year I was nominated for a prime-time emmy for work I did on the TV series “Survivor”. Now my life revolves around my family. Hollee, my wife, and I stay very busy running our business RARE Properties - Real Estate of Jackson Hole and The Rare Gallery of Jackson Hole in combination with raising our two girls Ellie Snow (5yrs old) and Marebelle Ocean (1.5 yrs old ) . We stay busy but we love what we do and we love living here.
So why would you want to read a blog from me? The answer is simple. I know Jackson Hole. I am a very successful businessman, and recreational enthusiast as well as an involved father. I keep my finger on the pulse as to what is happening in Jackson Hole. I attend many Town and County council meetings. I am often seen at cultural and family events. I also know how to enjoy life in Jackson Hole. But please let the info you find here be the judge and I appreciate any comments.
Now to my first article:
Bank Robbery in Jackson Hole!!!
Well - not really- but it feels that way. Just last Tuesday the Jackson State Bank (owned by United Bancorporation of Wyoming) announced that it was being sold to Wells Fargo Bank out of Minnesota. The bank, started by Dick Scarlett in 1973, was what many of us considered the epitome of a community minded locally owned bank and business in general. What concerns me is not the sale itself but who they are being sold to. Wells Fargo is a very well established institution but they are exactly that- an institution. can they and will they offer the local knowledge that is necessity for getting financial deals done, especially in Jackson Hole, where our real estate market has to date been bucking the national trend. I think I can say after much evaluation of our 2007 numbers that we saw a 12% increase in values and an overall decreasing inventory of available properties. In a market like this, the banks must have a great understanding of what is going on and why. Hopefully the key employees will stay on with the change over and things will remain the same - only time will tell.
On another note the Town of Jackson has imposed a temporary moratorium on converting apartment complexes into condominiums. They decided to put a halt to them until they could figure out what their own regulations said about it. ( It might take a while) My take - I have always felt like home ownership (especially in Jackson Hole) is better than renting and the units in question have in the past given us a much needed increase in lower priced inventory. I see the benefits to the community as being more of the first time homeowners living in the units verses a more transient renter occupied property. It does seem like yet another way that geopolitical forces can further constrain a heavily constrained market- Maybe it will aid in continueing the upward push on pricing that we have been seeing on a year over year basis.
Please post with your comments. I would love to hear your thoughts.
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