January’s done & things look good!
Feb 8th, 2008 by Gillian
Realizing that first month of 2008 has already flown by, I decided looking at market data comparing January 2008 to the previous January. The results show a market that is both stable & busy.
At the end of January 2007, there were 191 residential active listings in Park County. 12 homes sold during the month, and 33 houses went under contract - that means that 33 buyers came to an agreement with 33 sellers. For the same category at the end of January 2008, there was a small increase in active inventory to 202, the number of closed sales for the month was 12, and 15 homes went under contract.
Within the city limits, the residential inventory has remained stable with 70 single family homes currently on the market versus 71 at the end of January 2007. There has been movement among the price points with less inventory now available for sale under $250,000, and the most noticeable change occurring in the $250,000 - $300,000 range with 14 properties now in this price range versus only 5 a year ago.
The land data for Park County shows that at the end of January 2007, there were 252 building lots or vacant land parcels available, 8 properties sold during the month, and 34 listings were under contract. January 2008 shows an increased inventory to 309 active listings with 5 sales for the month and 45 pending transactions.
So, despite all the national gloom & doom about the housing market, Park County is in excellent shape, and I am anticipating that we will have a busy Spring, with a busier Summer. My phone is ringing, with enquiries coming from all over the country. People are asking me to look for different kinds of property in different price ranges, knowing that they will be out here shortly. Regardless of what is going on in the rest of the country, here in south west Montana, we have what most people want: space, safety & great beauty & natural resources.
At the 33rd Annual Montana Economic Outlook Seminar held recently in Bozeman, economist Paul Polzin assured the audience that Montana’s economy is likely to be resilient to a possible recession: he went on to say that Montana’s basic industries such as agriculture, energy & precious metals are seeing record-high prices in the world market
“That’s why we are so optimistic about Montana’s economy,” said Polzin.
Add to all of this good news the fact that interest rates for a 30 year fixed were at 5.625% at the beginning of this week, and that there are still many exciting financing options available to buyers in Park County, such as Rural Development and Montana Board of Housing loans.
Please call me with any financing questions, or to make a start on buying or selling….I’m here to help!
