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The numbers may still be small, but they’re better than last year.

Real estate transactions and the total dollar volume sold in the first two months of 2010 outpace the first two months of last year, an uptick real estate professionals welcome as they perceive a market that is climbing out of a bottom hit in 2009.

January and February were marked by a handful of transactions in the $5 million to $10 million range as buyers sought and completed deals. The market for condominiums costing less than $500,000 and homes less than $1.5 million, however, remains slow because banks continue with stringent lending and the number of jobs in the valley remains constricted compared to previous years.

With the number of transaction having increased every quarter in 2009 and a decent start to 2010, there are the makings of a new attitude among some of those working in valley real estate.

“I think there is definitely a sense of improved comfort and confidence within the market,” said Clayton Andrews, executive vice president at Sotheby’s International Realty. “We’ve seen what most people believe is the worst of the worst.”

Real estate insiders point to a more than $8 million transaction in January, two recent sales in the $4 million range near Wilson and a multimillion dollar west bank property that drew interest from several parties and went for $100,000 more than the asking price as indicators of buyers starting to pull triggers on purchases.

“The savvy [buyers] with some capital are postured and positioned,” said Realtor Tom Evans, who handled the $8 million January deal along with his fellow Sotheby’s worker Scott Singleton.

There were 20 transactions with a total dollar volume of $46 million in the first two months of 2010, said Scott Yandell , Bank of Jackson Hole chairman and CEO. That compares to nine transactions and $15 million in dollar volume for the same months in 2009, the market’s low point after the global financial downturn hit the valley.

“The dollar volumes are big because they’re in the over $2 million range,” Yandell said. “They’re the second-home buyer.”

The under $1.5 million segment of the market remains slow because buyers have to have excellent credit scores and show the ability to generate income to get loans, Yandell said. This is a shift from the past when people could take out loans based primarily on the value of a property.

Those who can get financing that can be sold on the secondary market, roughly $700,000 or less, can get a 30-year loan with a fixed rate of 4.75 percent, Yandell said. Those who can’t qualify for such loans are going to have to pay 6 percent or better on a variable rate loan that features a balloon payment after three or five years, he said.

The market is also facing downward pressure because valley job opportunities have constricted.

Unemployment hit 11.7 percent in November and 9 percent in December. In December 2008, unemployment sat at 3.8 percent.

Job losses have hit the professional ranks as businesses such as banks and architectural firms have reduced staffing. Those who played the real estate market in recent years as a means of generating income find that revenue diminished.

“The people who bought homes to live in in 2007 and 2008 or bought them to flip don’t have as much staying power as the people who own homes in the higher end,” Yandell said.

In coming months, foreclosures on homes and condominiums will continue, he predicted.

“I think the velocity of the foreclosures is slowing down,” Yandell said. “Unfortunately, I don’t think it is over.”

The foreclosures eventually turn into bargains for those who can buy property from financial institutions.

The demand in the high end is also being driven by the lack of taxes assessed on Wyoming residents. The state has no state income tax, a draw to high-income earners who can relocate.

“The people coming to Teton County are being driven to domicile in Wyoming, to get out of states with high taxes,” said Jeff Fuechsel, president of Bank of Jackson Hole.

While the high-end segment of the real estate market has not been as robust as in the past, transactions continued through the past year. Fuechsel points to subdivisions such as Indian Springs, which had six properties listed in the last 18 months and four sold. The sales prices ranged between $5 million and $10 million.

The bank president said there are roughly 600 listings in the valley, when Alta and time-share offerings are removed from the mix. He predicted 330 properties will sell in the valley in 2010, up from his count of roughly 240 sales last year.

With relatively little new inventory set to come on the market in coming years, the valley is in a decent position compared with other resorts, he said.

“That’s going to allow us to work through that inventory better than any other market we compete against,” Fueschsel said.

Price remains a key component. David Viehman, of Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates, said between 35 and 40 percent of properties remain overpriced. Many new listings coming on the market are “priced correctly,” he said.

Buyers are looking for the right price.

“There certainly have been a lot of buyers out looking for the last six months,” Viehman said. “We’re finding that quite a few of them are ready to pull the trigger.”