Gillians’s Blog & REsources Portal: A Source for Buyers and Sellers of Montana Real Estate

Where do people who buy real estate in Park County come from? This is a question I am often asked, especially by my clients who are selling property. At ERA Western Land, because it help us know how to target our advertising, we track the demographic information given to us by the buyers of ourlistings as carefully as possible.
In 2007, 52% of all buyers were considered local (which means Livingston, Clyde Park, Wilsall, and Emigrant). 11% were from Bozeman/ Belgrade and 10% were from other locations within Montana.
Outside of Montana’s borders, we saw 9% from the Pacific time zone, 2% from the Mountain zone, 7% from the Central zone, 8% from the Eastern zone, and 1% from out of the country.

2007-buyer-demographics.pdf

We also ask how a purchaser plans to use the property they are buying. 91% of our company’s sales in 2007 were owner occupied. Investment properties comprised 7% of the closed sales, and only 2% were purchased as a second home. Just looking at the buyers I have been working with since the beginning of the year — people from Colorado, Oregon, New York & New England — I think it’s likely this number is going to increase.

2007-property-use.pdf

Similar data from our Bozeman office shows that 63% of the buyers in 2007 were Local, 9.3% were from within Montana’s borders, 10.5% were from the Pacific time zone, 6.7% from the Mountain time zone, 6% from the Eastern time zone, 4.1% from the Cental time zone, and .5% were foreign buyers.

The Gallatin County market breaks down quite differently in terms of how the purchased property is to be used: 78% of the residential purchases in 2007 were owner occupied, with 11.6% used as investment property and 10.4% being purchased as second homes — I anticipate that Park County’s numbers in the second home market will begin to trend in this way.

It’s Friday in Livingston, and for those of you don’t live here, you may be surprised at what we get up to for fun in this quiet little town … I’m heading off now to the annual Chocolate Lover’s Party at the Depot, an event that gives all of us good reason to gorge on all kinds of chocolate desserts with a clear conscience as it’s a Rotary fund raiser.

Last night was an “adults only” Valentine’s Day bash at the Danforth Gallery on Main Street — another fundraiser — this time for Park County Friends of the Arts. The Gallery was slightly more packed than usual, perhaps because along with the fine art on the walls, there were three naked ladies being painted by three local artists. Check out one of my favourite sites artsmontana.com for a detailed description of the evening’s festivities. If these two events alone don’t make you want to move to Montana, I don’t know what will!

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!

In my last post I mentioned that I would soon have a couple of new listings in Paradise Valley — they are now on the market & ready to be sold! 86 Dexter Peak is a thirty minute drive down East River Road, set in the Elbow Creek Estates subdivision, and is a newer, custom home set up on it’s own private knoll in the middle of 20 acres. There are vistas from every window that absolutely define Big Sky views — snow covered mountains in every direction! With an open floorplan, & a great indoor/outdoor flow ideal for family living or entertaining, this home is perfect for full time living or a vacation getaway. Priced at $449,000, & located midway between Livingston & Yellowstone National Park, the new owners of this premier property will have easy access to all of Montana’s grand beauty.

The other new listing is a very rare find: a five acre parcel in the highly sought after Deep Creek area. It is hard to get land like this in one of Paradise Valley’s most sought after drainages: there’s a beautiful build site with plenty of elbow room and unparalleled mountain & valley views. It’s also a great value at $575,000 (1 acre parcels in a nearby subdivision are sellling for $290,000).

Please let me know if you or anyone you know is in the market for these types of properties.

Even although I had a pretty good idea that the Feds were going to cut interest rates, I was shocked this morning when I turned on my computer and saw the news that they had made an emergency 0.75% rate cut, the largest move in a quarter century.

My first thought was that this may panic people, and actually make things worse. Those who have been doing their best to ride out the doom and gloom predictions about a recession — whether it be a home buyer in Livingston Montana or a stockbroker in New York– might perhaps think that things are actually as bad as people are saying.

But the following is a statement by Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors®, on today’s action by the Federal Reserve Board:

“Today’s 75-basis-point cut in the Fed funds rate to 3.50 percent is a very good step in the right direction to boost the economy and send a clear message to both the market and to consumers. This strong rate cut will help lower mortgage interest rates and lessen the burden of adjustable-rate loans that are resetting in the current environment. It also could help stimulate business investment in the wake of market uncertainties. We commend the Federal Reserve Board on its bold action, but at the same time we urge it to keep a close watch to see if additional action is needed.”

So, while no one can truly say whether or not we’re on the brink of a recession, the facts remain that for the average buyer, the huge selection of homes currently on the market coupled with interest rates lower than we have experienced for quite some time make it an absolutely incredible time to buy a home.
Speaking of homes, there’s a great new listing coming on the market in a week or so down in Paradise Valley, in the Elbow Creek Estates. It’s a beautiful two bedroom one bath home on twenty beautiful acres, and will be listed lfor $449,000. With some of Montana’s most spectacular views from the wrap around deck, this property is going to attract a lot of attention. Call me, of course, if you’d like more information.