Steep Sun Valley Area Prices Driving Away Middle Class Employers Say Prospective Workers Can’t Afford To Buy Homes

Dan Olmstead of Idaho Power Co. cannot find a lineman to fill a $46,000-a-year position in the Wood River Valley.

“The first thing they ask is what the price of a home is,” he said. All in-company applicants declined the offer which includes overtime and benefits. The catch is the lineman must live within a 10-mile radius of Hailey.

Olmstead’s problem could become a common complaint for employers around the resort community of Sun Valley. In an economy driven by tourism, businesses are hard-pressed to pay employees a livable wage while staying competitive.

Hailey, once considered the bedroom community in the valley, is in transition. The cost of housing is climbing faster than wages. The cheapest single-family home in Hailey has 1,100 square feet, three bedrooms and costs $135,000.

A First Interstate Bank official in Boise’s real estate department said a person would need about $20,000 down, good credit and proof of adequate employment to qualify. Payments would be about $1,100 a month.

Hailey Mayor Steve Kearns agreed the town’s population is growing, but insists it still is a diversified community. As a builder of high-end homes, Kearns sees both sides of the issue.

In Wyoming’s Teton County at Jackson, officials passed a housing plan for single- and multi-family residences. The new law requires 15 percent must be full-time residents. And all developers are required to make a portion of their projects “affordable,” a term the county has not defined yet.

Idaho Power estimates that within 10 years, 18,300 people will live in the Wood River Valley. The question is if they will be second-home owners, or high-paid professionals who can do work with a phone and a fax machine while living in the mountains.

Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber of Commerce Director Wendy Jaquet said the number of relocation information packet requests have fallen from 600 two years ago to about 200 last year. She believes people are learning it is an expensive place to live.

But according to Olmstead’s data, Blaine County still is experiencing the highest growth rate in the state based on population percentages.

Blaine County Commissioner Len Harlig thinks the vibrant real estate market is largely based on people with homes in Ketchum, for example, selling out and buying a larger, more affordable house in Hailey.

With the federal government owning more than 80 percent of the land in the county, the remaining open parcels are expensive and out of reach for most locals, Harlig said.

What if the middle class is sent packing, and with it the diverse population?

“Well,” he said. “We’ll be the worse for it.”