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The New York Stock Exchange continues to crash and tumble.
Communities around the nation - and the globe - are in dire financial straits.
Yet Montana's local economies are weathering the storm better than
anywhere else in the United States.
Things are so rosy here, at least when compared with elsewhere in the
country, that the real estate forecasting service Housing Predictor reported,
“They've dodged the bullet in the nation's housing depression in
North Dakota and Montana.”
Communities around the nation - and the globe - are in dire financial straits.
Yet Montana's local economies are weathering the storm better than
anywhere else in the United States.
Things are so rosy here, at least when compared with elsewhere in the
country, that the real estate forecasting service Housing Predictor reported,
“They've dodged the bullet in the nation's housing depression in
North Dakota and Montana.”
The online service, www.housing predictor.com, has much to say about
Montana in particular. Consider the opening salvo on its Montana page:
“The Big Blue Sky Country of Montana is an exception these days. Montana's
housing markets aren't making it big in the news, and are not only holding their
own in the fallout of the nation's financial mess, some are still forecast to
appreciate in 2009.”
Statistics compiled in the 2009 Missoula Housing Report support the
upbeat newsand optimistic forecast.
Although the volume of home sales decreased by 28 percent in 2008,
home values have only dropped slightly - about 2 percent - compared
to most other parts of the country, such as Arizona and California,
where homes have depreciated by double-digit percentages.
Home sales slowed dramatically last fall, but since January, Missoula Realtors
and property agents have experienced a dramatic uptick in business,
particularly for properties listed for $300,000 and below.
There are several reasons for the vigorous start of 2009, said Mindy Palmer,
a longtime Missoula Realtor.
New federal legislation is encouraging first-time home buyers to step into the
market by offering an $8,000 tax credit for homes purchased in 2009. Home
mortgage rateshave fallen. Missoula and the surrounding area have a lot of
inventory. And there are many motivated sellers.
Yet, while those incentives are profound, Palmer said she thinks there's another
big factor at play.
“The national media has been hammering the point home about a national real
estate and financial crisis, that the sky is falling and we should all run like hell to
the nearest exit,” Palmer said. “But that's not exactly happening here in Montana,
and people are starting to have confidence in that.”
“Every market is local, and we are no different,” she said. “People are finally c
oming to that realization, and that this might be a good time to consider buying.
People get that buying real estate in Montana is a smart, tangible investment.”
The real estate community is reporting more attendance at open houses,
more sales agreements being written, and more phone calls from prospective
clients,said Bryan Flaherty, president of the Missoula Organization of Realtors.
“For me personally, I'm an appraiser and I have seen more sales activity in
the last month than in the previous two months,” Flaherty said. “Things are
not back to normal by any sense, but there is a positive swing we are seeing,
and I'm seeing more appraisal orders come across as purchases and
not refinancing.”
For certain, business has picked up, said Brint Wahlberg of Re/Max
Realty in Missoula.
“In the last couple of weeks, I've had more showings on the duplexes
we have listed than we probably had all of last year,” Wahlberg said.
“Not a lot of buyers yet, but we are seeing more people looking,
and I think that's a really good sign that people are starting to get
off the fence.”
Homes that are priced in the $150,000 to $250,000 range are
getting a lotof attention these days, said Missoula developer
Collin Bangs.
“Our sales had slowed way down in November and December, but
things have picked up substantially in January and February,” Bangs
said. “We sold three homes in January and four in February. That is
as good as we could expect to do in February and January in any
year, and it was a surprise to do that well.”
Bangs is keenly aware of real estate markets in other regions of
the country. Each time the gloom and doom is reported, Bangs
said a lot of things tumble through his mind.
“I think about how most of the country is pretty bad off,” he said.
“But my biggest thought is, ‘Thank God I'm in Missoula instead
of somewhere else.' ”
Read the report
To read a PDF version of the 2009 Missoula Housing
Report, go to
http://www.missoularealestate.com/userfiles/file/2009%20Missoula%20Housing%20Report%20Final-PDF.pdf.
Housing facts
Median home prices in the United States at the end of December 2008 were
down by about 25 percent from their peak in mid-2006, and in 2008 fell by 7
percent, the largest one-year decline in the past 38 years.
For Missoula, median home prices for 2008 were down 2 percent from their
highest ever level in 2007, representing the only year-to-year decline this decade.
Foreclosures nationally surged by 81 percent from 2007 to 2008. For Missoula,
foreclosures in 2008 increased by 18 percent over 2007, which represents only
1/2 of 1 percent of owner-occupied housing stock.
In the United States, building permits issued for new construction fell by
63 percentfrom 2005 to 2008. The equivalent decline for the city of
Missoula was 49 percent.
Source: 2009 Missoula Housing Report
Montana in particular. Consider the opening salvo on its Montana page:
“The Big Blue Sky Country of Montana is an exception these days. Montana's
housing markets aren't making it big in the news, and are not only holding their
own in the fallout of the nation's financial mess, some are still forecast to
appreciate in 2009.”
Statistics compiled in the 2009 Missoula Housing Report support the
upbeat newsand optimistic forecast.
Although the volume of home sales decreased by 28 percent in 2008,
home values have only dropped slightly - about 2 percent - compared
to most other parts of the country, such as Arizona and California,
where homes have depreciated by double-digit percentages.
Home sales slowed dramatically last fall, but since January, Missoula Realtors
and property agents have experienced a dramatic uptick in business,
particularly for properties listed for $300,000 and below.
There are several reasons for the vigorous start of 2009, said Mindy Palmer,
a longtime Missoula Realtor.
New federal legislation is encouraging first-time home buyers to step into the
market by offering an $8,000 tax credit for homes purchased in 2009. Home
mortgage rateshave fallen. Missoula and the surrounding area have a lot of
inventory. And there are many motivated sellers.
Yet, while those incentives are profound, Palmer said she thinks there's another
big factor at play.
“The national media has been hammering the point home about a national real
estate and financial crisis, that the sky is falling and we should all run like hell to
the nearest exit,” Palmer said. “But that's not exactly happening here in Montana,
and people are starting to have confidence in that.”
“Every market is local, and we are no different,” she said. “People are finally c
oming to that realization, and that this might be a good time to consider buying.
People get that buying real estate in Montana is a smart, tangible investment.”
The real estate community is reporting more attendance at open houses,
more sales agreements being written, and more phone calls from prospective
clients,said Bryan Flaherty, president of the Missoula Organization of Realtors.
“For me personally, I'm an appraiser and I have seen more sales activity in
the last month than in the previous two months,” Flaherty said. “Things are
not back to normal by any sense, but there is a positive swing we are seeing,
and I'm seeing more appraisal orders come across as purchases and
not refinancing.”
For certain, business has picked up, said Brint Wahlberg of Re/Max
Realty in Missoula.
“In the last couple of weeks, I've had more showings on the duplexes
we have listed than we probably had all of last year,” Wahlberg said.
“Not a lot of buyers yet, but we are seeing more people looking,
and I think that's a really good sign that people are starting to get
off the fence.”
Homes that are priced in the $150,000 to $250,000 range are
getting a lotof attention these days, said Missoula developer
Collin Bangs.
“Our sales had slowed way down in November and December, but
things have picked up substantially in January and February,” Bangs
said. “We sold three homes in January and four in February. That is
as good as we could expect to do in February and January in any
year, and it was a surprise to do that well.”
Bangs is keenly aware of real estate markets in other regions of
the country. Each time the gloom and doom is reported, Bangs
said a lot of things tumble through his mind.
“I think about how most of the country is pretty bad off,” he said.
“But my biggest thought is, ‘Thank God I'm in Missoula instead
of somewhere else.' ”
Read the report
To read a PDF version of the 2009 Missoula Housing
Report, go to
http://www.missoularealestate.com/userfiles/file/2009%20Missoula%20Housing%20Report%20Final-PDF.pdf.
Housing facts
Median home prices in the United States at the end of December 2008 were
down by about 25 percent from their peak in mid-2006, and in 2008 fell by 7
percent, the largest one-year decline in the past 38 years.
For Missoula, median home prices for 2008 were down 2 percent from their
highest ever level in 2007, representing the only year-to-year decline this decade.
Foreclosures nationally surged by 81 percent from 2007 to 2008. For Missoula,
foreclosures in 2008 increased by 18 percent over 2007, which represents only
1/2 of 1 percent of owner-occupied housing stock.
In the United States, building permits issued for new construction fell by
63 percentfrom 2005 to 2008. The equivalent decline for the city of
Missoula was 49 percent.
Source: 2009 Missoula Housing Report
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