Brandon Whitesell made his living in real estate in the Atlanta area, often developing affordable or luxury apartments. When he was 31, he visited Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the first time. Seeing the Tetons and the wilderness that surrounds them hooked him almost immediately.
鈥淚t's been preserved,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he people that have been living here for a long time are really passionate about the wildlife, and that's what kind of overtook me.鈥�
Several years down the road, Whitesell was financially stable enough to retire young. In 2018, he moved to Jackson Hole full-time. Now he snowboards, mountain bikes and explores Wyoming with his wife and son.
鈥淚t really is this beautiful utopia. It's a bubble,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think this is a great place to raise a child. It's safe.鈥�
But that bubble doesn鈥檛 feel like a utopia to everyone. Last year, for the first time ever 鈥� almost in 2019.
Other locals like Ariel Kazunas, who works for a nonprofit, are being priced out by that rapid change. She said there鈥檚 new construction all over her neighborhood.
鈥淎 lot of homes are just getting straight-up demolished to make room for bigger homes that are selling for a lot more than anyone I know can afford,鈥� Kazunas said.
Last year, out of nearly 200 single-family homes that sold in Jackson Hole, only two closed at less than $1 million. Right now, Kazunas is paying $1,200 dollars a month to rent a room in a condo.
鈥淚鈥檓 almost 38 years old and would at some point love to not have to have roommates, and I don't see that happening in Jackson if things stay the way that they are,鈥� she said.
Kazunas said many of her friends, even doctors and lawyers, are moving away. She鈥檚 thought about it, too. Jackson Hole has shortages of staff in almost every field, from snowplow drivers to to .
鈥淚t sits wrong that just because I don't have millions of dollars, I shouldn't get to live where I want to live,鈥� she said.
Jackson鈥檚 housing trends aren鈥檛 unique in the West. and parts of also saw prices reach records last year. In Colorado mountain towns, showed that 31% of long-term renters say they have 鈥渟evere鈥� difficulties finding a place to live.
Dan Dockray is a realtor in Telluride, Colorado, and observed that the pandemic prompted more ultra-wealthy people to go hunting for homes in the mountains.
鈥淧eople were locked down, and they kind of said, 鈥榳hat am I doing with my life?鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淎nd they said, 鈥榩art of that is I want to prioritize lifestyle.鈥欌��
Adding to the housing crunch is a lack of supply. Dockray said the rising cost of building materials, transportation and labor is holding back new construction. So, there are a limited number of people competing for a small number of available properties.
Still, Dockray was expecting fewer buyers last year because of macroeconomic pressures like rising interest rates. He said last year鈥檚 demand caught him by surprise, and now he expects prices to keep going up.
鈥淚 think we're gonna see demand become stronger by summer as people realize we're either in a recession or we're not,鈥� he said.
In the meantime, towns are looking for new ways to keep their local workforce. That includes programs and .
For his part, Whitesell doesn鈥檛 want to see people priced out of the area. He also knows that he, like every other person with money coming into Jackson Hole, is part of the problem. He said he is fully invested in his community, though.
鈥淚'm not going to be ashamed of what I've done for myself anymore and hide it,鈥� Whitesell said. 鈥淚 worked hard and I'm proud.鈥�
As a former developer, he says local governments need to incentivize people to build cheaper lodging, especially in areas where land is so hard to come by. Other local residents are advocating for for part of the year.
The problem for local workers like Kazunas, though, is that solutions are expensive and often take too much time.
鈥淲hen you get a really one dimensional community, it just feels like it's going to be really easy to tip that community over,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t's not going to be able to handle what's coming.鈥�
For mountain towns across the West, it鈥檚 hard to keep things upright when there are so many wealthy people looking for their personal paradise 鈥� no matter the cost.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau is provided in part by the .
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