montana real estate: FHA Lowering Mortgage Insurance Rates
- 01/07/15 07:37 AM
The Federal Housing Administration announced that it will lower the cost of its mortgage insurance for potential borrowers. The White House released a statement that they will lower the mortgage insurance rates from 1.35% of the loan’s value, down to 0.85 percent. Mortgage insurance is designed to keep lenders safe whenever a borrower defaults on their loan. The change to the mortgage insurance rates could save a first-time homebuyer $900 a year on their payments. For a lot of buyers sitting on the fence, this may be the starting gun for which they were waiting. The White House believes that … (0 comments)
Recent numbers compiled by the National Association of Realtors have shown a rise in previously owned home sales for the month of October. Sales of these homes rose 1.5% to an annual rate of 5.26 million dollars. October was the second straight month where the annual rate trended up and its upward pace has not been this fast since September 2013.
The combination of improving inventory, stable price growth and low interest rates continue to make buying pre-owned homes easier. The average October interest rate fell to 4.03%, the lowest it has been since June … (2 comments)
montana real estate: Shoppers Buying Hardwood Floors and Appliances Online
- 11/21/14 07:47 AM
Homeowners have moved online when it comes to major home improvement purchases. Retailers throughout the US have noticed a definitive jump in sales for online sales of appliances, flooring, and other home improvement items. The Home Depot saw a 40% jump in the 3rd quarter online sales, with a high amount of those sales including major purchases. The Home Depot had already seen its online sales grow 50% in the year before. Customers have ordered everthing from washer/dryers to complete flooring jobs for their homes. Appliance and home improvement products have outpaced the industry average in all four quarters. In … (2 comments)
montana real estate: HOA’s in Big Sky Upgrading to Bear-Resistant Trash Cans
- 11/19/14 08:10 AM
Three homeowner associations in Big Sky, the Big Sky Owner’s Association, Spanish Peaks Homeowners’ Association and Town Center Homeowners’ Association, will be making the switch to bear resistant trash cans to help improve the number of bears accidentally straying into Big Sky. Trash tends to be the number one attractor of bears, so Republic Services have tried to fix the issue by releasing their new Kodiac Bear Resistant Trash Cans. (Don’t worry! The trash can is just named Kodiac. It is not specific only to Kodiac bears!) Republic services will go through Big Sky and replace the standard blue bins … (1 comments)
montana real estate: MSU and Bozeman Deaconess May Team Up to Produce Top Montana Doctors
- 11/17/14 06:02 AM
Bozeman Deaconess Hospital has started a 15 million dollar addition that will better address the needs of Bozeman residents while also preparing the next generation of doctors for the area. The hospital broke ground two weeks ago and it plans on the building being 5 stories high and 88,508 square feet. The basic shell of the building should be ready by December of 2015 and then its interior should finish within the following six months. The hospital may not have to fit the entire bill assuming MSU can approve the leasing of a portion of the building for its growing … (0 comments)
The Bozeman School District has set a new enrollment record of 6,294 students showing the continued growth of Bozeman and its attraction to parents. The record actually fell 51 students short of projected numbers but still had 108 more students than any other year.
Increasing enrollment numbers in both Bozeman elementary and middle schools have driven the overall enrollment numbers to their heights. This year, 2,946 children enrolled in Kindergarten through 5th grade. 1,375 students enrolled in grades six through 8. Both records are all time highs.
Bozeman now has more than 500 kindergarteners enrolled in the … (0 comments)
montana real estate: Investing Options: Tapping into Your Home’s Equity
- 08/30/13 01:50 AM
When the housing market is in a full swing recovery like it is today with interest rates still historically low and inventory changing daily, it is a good time to see how you, the ‘happy in your current home and not looking to move,’ can tap into the market through investing. Usual Methods of Real Estate Investment: These include: financing a new purchase with a mortgage or selling some stocks and bonds, taking money out of your IRA or from your 401(k). These are hit and miss and sometimes turn out to be not-so-smart moves but they seem to be the … (0 comments)
montana real estate: Real Estate Milestone Achieved
- 05/21/13 03:47 AM
Housing starts are at 1.04 million, up 7% from this February and up 47% from this time last year. This number is achieved highly due to the recent surge in building apartments and condominiums. These multi-family units alone jumped 82% as compared to last year. Each unit within these types of complexes is counted in the statistics so they can be extremely volatile. When looking at a more stable number, single family units, the percentages have actually fallen by 6% since February. But, there is a strong demand for the multi-family and rental type living environments that does not seem to … (2 comments)
montana real estate: Montana Ranch Sales: Land Value in Montana
- 04/02/13 07:45 AM
Companies from Bozeman to Billings have seen an uptick in investing in working ranches. Cattle prices are good and the prospect of the global world developing a stronger middle class only speaks of the demand for cattle to increase in the future. Grey Fay, a Bozeman-based real estate businessman, “sees the interest in ranch purchases as a play by American billionaires to add a tangible, low-return investment to their portfolios with the idea that land values have bottomed out and could appreciate considerably in the future.” (http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/ranch-sales-rise-as-wealthy-investors-put-cash-in-land/article_c0b70ee3-2e86-5a23-83f3-81e1eb281b5a.html Seeing the investment: In 1972, a ranch could sell for $36/acre. In 2011, that same land … (0 comments)
Household wealth in the U.S. has climbed in the fourth quarter to the highest level in five years. Good news is abounding. Household wealth is approaching pre-recession levels and that, in conjunction with the Federal Reserve pushing to keep lending rates low, consumer confidence is surging. “Growing wealth puts households in a better position,” said Paul Edelstein, director of financial economics at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “They’ve acquired a lot of financial assets, and that’s a positive for spending.” The housing market is surely making its way to recovery. Single family home prices … (5 comments)
montana real estate: Real Estate Outlook for the Gallatin Valley
- 10/18/12 11:10 PM
Activity in Bozeman continues to trend very positively. Big Sky continues to improve in median price and also days on market. Belgrade is up and Manhattan and Three Forks continue to improve. Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley are moving nicely! The realtors and their suppliers are still very busy, prices are rising, days on market stats are shrinking. It is a great place to live and the stats continue to prove this out. Stats for Improved Properties:
* Data is for period Jan 1 – Sept 30th – includes all improved categories except for mobile/manufactured. Summary of Data for Improved … (0 comments)
montana real estate: Outlook for the Gallatin Valley (Bozeman, Belgrade, Big Sky, and more)
- 07/20/12 12:07 AM
Overview Even through the tough times the last couple of years, we still saw very healthy buyer activity in the lower end of the market (up to about $220,000.00). This healthy activity is now steadily moving the middle market up to $500,000.00. It appears we hit the price bottom a while back. But prices stagnated until buyer demand came to meet it. Rates have been and continue to be at near historic lows. Check this link for the latest http://finance.yahoo.com/. Thirty year rates are in the mid 3’s and fifteen year rates are below 3%. Prices are creeping up in … (0 comments)
montana real estate: Market Overview – Bozeman, Big Sky
- 05/29/12 07:34 AM
This story overviews recent trends in real estate for Bozeman (and surrounding communities) & the Big Sky market. Bozeman has been interesting to follow for the Spring/early summer market. If you have a home priced right under $300,000.00, it has not taken long to find a buyer. The number of distressed properties (bank owned and short sale properties) has also decreased with most going under contract quickly. Here are a few positive trends in Bozeman: Median sales price has increased to 283,400 in 2012 from $251,000 in 2011 Total units & total volume also increased For condos & townhomes, … (0 comments)
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