Paul & Vince would like to welcome Andrew Ellett, managing broker and Private Office Advisor for Engel & Völkers Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Licensed in both Wyoming and Idaho, Andrew handles all types of real estate transactions, from residential to commercial to resort rental property. In his free time, he enjoys pursuing adventures in the great outdoors with his family, and as a licensed pilot, he delights in the beauty of flying in the Rocky Mountains.

1.

Paul & Vince: What are the best things about living and working in your market?

Andrew:  I think the more the world gets crazier, I just love Jackson because it really is a beautiful balance. We have a small-town feel, but because we get three million visitors a year, there are many cosmopolitan things you wouldn’t expect to find in such a remote place. Whether it’s the culture, the arts, the shopping, or the fine dining, we have a lot that I don’t think you can find, even in a medium-sized city.

Paul & Vince: Is there a difference between Jackson and Jackson Hole?

Andrew: No, if you live here, you just call it Jackson. But the rest of the world knows it as Jackson Hole. And then our team is also very active within about a two-hour radius of Jackson, including Teton Valley, Idaho.

Paul & Vince: And most people think your area is busier in the winter there than in the summer. Is that true?

Andrew: We definitely have a spectacular winter season ski season here at Jackson Hole. But summer is even bigger here, with our close vicinity to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone. We attract a lot of families in the summer when there is a myriad of things to do, from cycling and hiking to just enjoying the fresh air, shopping, arts, and culture. And we have a lot of clients from Texas and Florida who are escaping their summer heat for our weather. We have almost a desert climate since the elevation is 6200 feet here. We can be in the low 80s during the day and high 40s at night, so it’s very comfortable.

I have a listing that actually backs up to Grand Teton National Park. You can step from your five acres into Grand Teton National Park on foot or by horse and explore the entire park. Jackson Hole’s airport is the only commercial airport located in a national park.

Paul & Vince: So you get a lot of wildlife as well? Bears on your property?

Andrew: Of course! In fact, just this week, my wife and I had two moose camping out in our backyard! Moose, elk, and deer are all common. You also see wolves, coyotes, and the occasional bear and bison. It’s amazing.

2.

Paul & Vince: Now, what did you do before you worked in real estate?

Andrew:I originally came out here twenty-four years ago, after I graduated college. And so often, people here come for the winter, but they stay for the summer, and so that’s what I decided to do. I’ve never really left since then. My wife and I got into real estate and property management, and so that has certainly tied me here as we’ve grown our business.

Paul & Vince:But you had been working for a bank, and you were a pilot, and then got into sales?

Andrew: You know, a friend told me once, “Be just as thankful for the jobs you hate as the ones you love because it tells you what not to do.” After college, I was planning on going to grad school in Washington, DC., and working for the State Department. in the meantime, I worked for a very small bank that had a very large bureaucracy, and every day was miserable. And I said to myself, “If I hate this kind of day-to-day, then I will absolutely hate working in government!”

And so, once I came out here, I decided I wanted to fly professionally for a living and be an airline pilot. But it was right after 9/11, and it was one of the most difficult times to get a job in the airlines. I ended up working for a startup company doing sales, even though I had no sales experience, and I didn’t think I was good at it.

I ended up joining them, and in one year, we went from three people to nearly two dozen, and we grew and grew. And I realized that I actually had a knack for business. I liked sales. So, my wife and I got into real estate and property management, and eight years later, we decided to start our own real estate company called Ellett and Company. Within eighteen months of that, we were approached by Engel & Völkers and purchased the franchise. And, the rest is history, as they say.

Paul & Vince: What interested you about real estate if you didn’t like sales?

Andrew: I’ve learned that sales is difficult if the thing you’re selling is not something you’re really interested in. Whereas I feel like Jackson Hole sells itself. The challenge for me is not convincing somebody that they should get a condo or a second home or move to Jackson. It’s how can we do that? How can you afford it? How can we get your foot in the door? How can we make this work? And so, I feel like Jackson sells itself, and it’s a fun product to sell – It’s an easy thing to be passionate about. And the more passionate you are about something, the more successful you are in selling it. It helped that my wife’s family had had a small real estate company, a property management company, a motel, and different investment properties. My wife and I looked around and saw a lot of opportunity to grow all these different companies within the family. And then after eight years of that, we decided to start our own operation.

Paul & Vince: Do you think it’s easier to be an agent where you’ve grown up, or does it help that you were from somewhere else and became a convert to the area?

Andrew: I’ve been here 24 years, so I’m almost a local. I think you have to spend a quarter of a century here before you say that! [Laughs] But seriously, I do think it helps to have lived somewhere else. I lived in South Carolina, and I lived in Atlanta, with 12 lanes of traffic going everywhere, 24 hours a day. Everybody locks their car, locks their house. Here, it’s common for me to take a listing and ask for a spare key, and the owner doesn’t even know where a house key is. They haven’t locked their house in years, even when they go on vacation. And so, I think Jackson is just a refreshing blast of fresh air for them, when they don’t have to worry about some of the things that they’ve worried about for so long in the big city.

Paul & Vince: Right, and I bet the nature surrounding you really put things into perspective.

Andrew: Exactly. It also really unites people, because a lot of people move out here and build new friendships just based around activities. With so many things to do, it’s easier to build friendships and relationships and find things to do rather than just going out for a cup of coffee or lunch. You say, let’s go hike. Let’s take our dogs and go cross-country skiing tomorrow. It’s great.

3.

Paul & Vince: So tell us, what’s happening in your real estate market now?

Andrew: It’s interesting to look at the market in Jackson Hole and Teton County and then compare that to the four other neighboring valleys that we operate in because they’re very unique as well. A lot of those neighboring valleys attract people who first came to Jackson but either found it hard to afford what they wanted, or they wanted a more rural way of life away from town.

One of the things that we saw a need for about five years ago is more and more people were coming in and buying large tracts of land and ranches. Sometimes, they were cattle ranches, or often, they were sporting properties for fly fishing or hunting. But the ranch broker and the residential real estate broker are two different knowledge bases. So we started Teton Ranch & Recreational Group, where we have ranch brokers that specialize in this area: driving from ranch to ranch and selling these properties.

We have a huge network over about four or five western states and many of these ranch brokers have licenses in multiple states. So, if a client comes to Jackson, but they can’t find what they’re looking for, then I can send them to different brokers in Montana or Utah or Idaho or Colorado. Engel & Völkers also saw that trend, and they started Land & Ranch last year, and so we’ve been a big part of that growth, and helping them grow the website and tap into that market.

Paul & Vince: That’s interesting. And do any of your ranch brokers specialize even more, with particular expertise?

Andrew: Absolutely. Everyone in our group specializes in a different aspect of ranching. For example, one specializes mainly in equestrian properties. One specializes mainly in hunting and fishing properties. One has over ten years of experience managing guest ranches, which is a whole different thing.

Paul & Vince: And there are a lot of clients who might not have that experience, but want to do something different, or fulfill a dream?

Andrew: Exactly, it’s to fulfill a dream. They finally have enough money or enough time to have something like this, but they’re limited in their experience in how to run it and how to operate it. So that’s also where we come in – we can recommend competent people that can help them, especially if they aren’t here year-round.

Paul & Vince: And I bet that during the pandemic, you had a surge in that, right?

Andrew: Yes, it was huge, and I thought that was so wonderful that so many people showed a renewed interest in raising their own food, having land…I love even though people didn’t know much about it, they had a desire to, like, get in touch with the earth again, get their hands dirty, like their food comes.

4.

Paul & Vince: What you like most about working in real estate and with E&V?

Andrew: I love to coach and, teach, and share what I’ve learned. I would say that’s what I’m most passionate about, which was why I was inspired to start my first company. Though for many years, I had to choose between either selling real estate full-time or doing the management and coaching side. Finally, after several years, I realized I was going to do both. I will run fast in both lanes and hire great people to help me do that. And I have done that, and every day is exciting. And a year after we launched Engel and Völkers, I started a full-fledged executive sales coaching program for all our advisors. We’re the only real estate company in our area that does anything like that. So that’s what I’m passionate about. I still love winning. I still love taking listings and winning deals and selling property, but I love helping the team, too, and I take a lot of delight in that.

5.

Paul & Vince: Now it’s time for our Just For Fun question. What was your favorite outdoor game to play as a child? How would you recreate it today on a bigger scale?

Andrew: I loved baseball as a kid. I can’t tell you how many hundreds of hours I spent in my backyard as a kid, dreaming of pitching a no-hitter or hitting the game-winning home run in the World Series. My two daughters are 10 and 13, and they both play softball now. it’s been so much fun to play catch with them in the backyard and teach them things. All of my enthusiasm for the game as a kid comes right back out.

Paul & Vince: That’s great…And are you ever able to get on the field along with them?

Andrew: Well, on the last day of the season, they had a parent-kid game where you could play alongside your kid. Of course, I just showed up and brought my glove. And then, you know, someone hits a line drive down the third base line. And suddenly, I found myself throwing eighty miles an hour to throw a kid out at first base!

Paul & Vince: Really? Wow! You’re a serious player [Laughs]

Andrew: Ha, ha…yeah, it’s funny how the fun of it all comes right back to you when you’re playing a sport that you love, but also the competitive streak can come out, too. Most of all, it was great to see all the parents and kids just having fun together. I wish we could do that all the time.

Original artwork by Jolisa Robinson, Gavriani-Falcone Team Marketing