While finding “just the right home” is paramount for homebuyers, financing “just the right home” is certainly as important. There are still many options available even in the aftermath of the sub prime mortgage crisis of last year.

For instance, Bank of the Rockies has some stellar packages for first time buyers at the moment: there is a down payment assistance program up to $20,000, a loan guarantee from the local USDA Rural Development office, and $5000.00 in grant money to assist homebuyers with closing costs. All three of these programs can be combined to assist you with your first time home purchase. These programs, coupled with the current low interest rates, make it a great time to shop for that first home. Contact Brad Hanson or Loren Zahn at Bank of the Rockies 406-222-4628 for details of these programs.

Working with a skilled, reputable mortgage professional can make all the difference in the home buying process, and we are fortunate in Livingston to have numerous choices of top quality banks & mortgage companies. I would be happy to provide additional names and phone numbers when you are ready to meet with a lender…
I love to work with first time buyers! If you are thinking of purchasing a home or condo and have questions, email me at gillian@eralivingston.com

I forgot to post photos of the Del Mar project when I last wrote, so here’s The Spruce, a fourplex of business condos.

Here’s the main reception area of The Spruce:

.. and here’s one of the back of the building, showing that things at The Point at Del Mar are still very much a work in progress, which means…things are still very easy to customize!

Last week, the Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours monthly event was hosted at the old Del Mar Motel which has been undergoing extensive renovations. Home to many a fly fisherman & hunter over the years, the Del Mar was bought last year by a local company, Montana Land Investments, which has until recently specialized in remodelling older homes. When the Del Mar became available, the company, owned by the Curry family, decided this was the next challenge they were looking for.

The plan is to turn the property into a high end professional business complex, with an assortment of real estate offerings, ranging from spacious, turn key business condos to highway frontage lots & is yet another example of the revitalization of local commercial space. The newly refurbished Guest House on the corner of Park and Main Street and the former Ricci’s Thriftway are two other examples of top notch area remodels.

The commercial real estate market in Livingston often takes a back seat to the residential real estate market in terms of water cooler talk. However, there is a direct correlation between commercial development & a community’s overall strength. A commitment to bring new businesses to the area or to upgrade existing businesses keeps Livingston a vital and desirable place to live, and interest in commercail real estate is definitely up: last week, two parcels of vacant land in the Boulder Business Park located just east of town were sold, and there has been activity with the warehouse condos in the same area.

With it’s proximity to I90, and the ever increasing popularity of Livingston as a place to live & work, The Point at Del Mar is likely to become one of Park County’s most sought after business addresses. I will continue to update on the pulse of the commercial market as well as the residential market. Your comments and feedback are always welcomed.

2008, and the real estate market in Park County is humming. My desk looks more like early July than January, and the gloomy national predictions for real estate sales this year don’t look as though they are going to hold true for our market.

While there are plenty of buyers around, we do have a lot of inventory, especially in terms of buildable land. A recent inquiry from a client led me to research available subdivision lots in Livingston’s city limits. According to the Multiple Listing Service, there are currently 108 subdivision lots or building lots less than 1 acre listed for sale with a price range of $49,000 to $88,919. The bulk of the properties are located in the new Discovery Vista, Ridgeview Trails, and Northern Lights subdivisions. Time on the market for these lots ranges from 27 to 439 days. This is quite a change from a couple of years ago when an in-town lot was rare to come by. Contractors of spec homes and those wanting to build custom homes now have ample selection to meet their needs.

Please do call me if you’re thinking of selling or buying — now’s the time to begin to educate yourself about the market, regardless of which one you want to do. Here’s to a great ‘08!

When I was working to build this web site, I loved the idea of a real estate blog, thinking it would be a terrific way to voice my thoughts and opinions on all matters real estate, spread the news about great buys, and generally provide a place where people knew they could find information and insight about Park County’s market.

I forgot, however, that I am a perfectionist. I forgot, entirely, that I am a writer as well as a RE Broker, and that words are important to me — how they sound and how they look, as well as what they say.

I also forgot that sometimes my work life is so busy that I am surprised and alarmed by the contents of the refrigerator at home, and only see my family when they’re asleep. Like so many of us, I have little spare time, and yet I really want to make this work.

It seems to me that writing a blog is like going out on a date when you have five minutes to get ready instead of a couple of hours — I never liked that much, either. So, my committment is to make more blog entries, more often.

OK. Onto the really good news. While working to educate an out of state buyer last week, I pulled up some statistics for her about sales activity in Park County, and was delighted with what I saw. While the rest of the nation’s real estate woes continue, we here in south west Montana have prices that have not dropped.. Take a look at these numbers, pulled from our local MLS:

PERIOD OF TIME AVERAGE SALES PRICE MEDIAN SALES PRICE NUMBER OF SALES

10/03 – 10/04 $173,701 $130,000 261
10/04 – 10/05 $225,835 $154,000 321
10/05 – 10/06 $236,905 $187,000 293
10/06 – 10/07 $241,229 $190,000 226

People think that prices have dropped in the area, but this is mainly true for list prices, not sales prices. Many homes have been on the market for a long time, with original list prices that were chosen to match the overheated market of 05/06, and just missed the curve, and were too high to begin with; these are the prices that have dropped.

Of course these statistics are broad strokes — more and less expensive homes sold, and certainly market activity is not as busy as it has been. Many sellers have sold for less than they had originally expected. Nonetheless, these numbers show without question, that our market is holding its own at a time when other areas are struggling with tremendous loss in value.

Check back tomorrow for a superb new Livingston listing, with some of the areas most remarkable views..