Wanda's Blog From Billings, Montana

The jobless rate in North Dakota is the lowest in the country right now, 3.6% compared to Montana at 7.3%, Montana ranks 16th.  Yellowstone County, where I live, is doing a bit better than the rest of the state at 5.7%.  In fact most of the East side of the Rocky Mountain Divide has a lower unemployment rate than the Western side. 

That's why I'm headed to the West side of the Mountains for Vacation, to help their economy, and because they have Huckleberries.  I get some kind of sick enjoyment out of spending hours hunched over with bug spray all over myself, looking out for bears and mountain lions, picking a Montana delicacy.  I've been doing this for 40 years, and I hope I never have to stop!

When you're from Montana or North Dakota, there's a good chance some of your relatives came over on the same trail or train.  So when we trade jokes back and forth, it's all in family fun.  I'm sure other states have similar fun, but up here in the twilight zone, where our population is sparce in most of the country, we pull jokes on each other all the time.

Here's a work joke, thought it suited the unemployment situation pretty well:

2 North Dakotans were working for the city of Fargo works department.  One would dig a hole and the other would follow along behind him and fill the hole in.  They worked up one side of the street, then down the other, then move on to the next street, working fast and furious all day, without a break. 

A passerby watched them at their work for awhile, when finally he asked the workers "you guys are the hardest working fellers I've seen in a long time, but what I was wondering is why do you dig a hole, , only to have your partner follow behind and fill it up again?"

The hole digger gave the passerby a quizical look and answered "well, I suppose it probably looks odd because we're normally a three-man team, but today the guy who plants the trees called in sick."

Just keep on workin, that's the motto!  Guess the jokes on Montana right now!

5711 Scandia Road in Shepherd Montana is the location of a big log home for sale on 4.8 acres.  This home is offered for $250,000 which is a great deal for over 4,600 square feet including a double tuck under garage.

This horse property is located just a few miles north of Shepherd Montana, accessed by a paved road.  The school bus stops right in front of the driveway. The Shepherd School System, the Shepherd Elementary, Shepherd Junior High and the Shepherd High School are all located on the same campus in this rural community.  Just imagine having your school age children all in the same location for in-school and after school activities!  The graduating class size for the last few years from the Shepherd High School has been 60 to 80 students. 

This big log home has a total of 5 bedrooms featuring the master suite with a large walk-in closet.  3 bedrooms upstairs and 2 bedrooms on the lower walk-out level, one lower level bedroom non-egress.  2 Full baths up and 1 full bath down.

Please check out this link to the virtual tour, which has a good collection of pictures of both the home and the land-- virtual tour.

I have the talk about price reductions right up front when I take a listing.  I tell my seller's that a competitive price will bring the quickest and highest sale, I'm not always able to predict that exact price.  If we don't get some good action in the first 30 days, then we need to look at what's happening in their price range and find a range where we do get some action.

That's when my face gets all kooky, because I find this talk VERY STRESSFUL! 

It's probably a mistake to post a photo like this of myself, but really I think I look worse sometimes when I get in this situation! 

I know in my heart that it's my job to do the research and give the seller the best info and advice out there, but I always brace myself for their objections.  Some of the most common:

• I'm not gonna give my house away
• If I go down any lower I won't have the money to do what I want
• The neighbors house sold 2 years ago for way more than I'm asking, and my house is just as good as theirs
• You haven't showed my house

Let's face it (another pun with the pic here don't you think?) if the price we're listed at is not getting any action, either everyone has stopped buying, or the price is too high!  In Billings Montana we have a fairly balanced market in the under $250,000 range, even though we are down in total sale volume numbers from a couple of years ago by about 30%.

Price reductions are working in our market!  I used to think price reductions were just a lame effort to get some attention for a stale listing.  But right now, if you make a serious price reduction, you will sell your house!

Log home living always seems to tickle the fancy of most western bent people, some just dream, others live the dream!  

Log homes feel warm in the winter and cool in the summer, just the nature of the mass involved in the structures.  The Western flavor that fits best in these homes is a mixture between Cowboy/Cowgirl and Lodge/Cabin.  You'll find the Cabin decor popular in the mountain areas, and the Western decor out on the prairie.

I just sold a little log home in the residential area of Billings Montana to a lovely couple who had a history of living in a log home when they were children.  The comfort and pleasure in owning this home was evident on the faces of the new residents just yesterday when they got the keys!  Congratulations to the Baker's!

Finding a log home is not always easy, they just don't seem to come up for sale very often!

If you need some help finding a log home to live in or need a connection with a couple of good local log home builders, just let me know and I'll get you connected!

The Northwest residential real estate market in Billings Montana is one of the largest geographically with some of the most activity.  Just a look at the number of homes that are currently unsold in Area 7 compared to the number that have an accepted contract, the activity index is about 18.5%.

This area is part of The West End of Billings Montana and it's located North of Grand Avenue, sheltered by the striking rock formations of the Rimrocks.  25 years ago, a great deal of this area was underdeveloped, Shiloh road was a tiny 2 lane backroad.  Now Shiloh road is a major thoroughfare, (constantly under construction it seems) and has a huge traffic load.

Many new subdivisions have helped to grow this lush part of the historic farm land.  Jobs, shopping, and schools systems located on the West End have increased the popularity of this area, therefore, the residential activity is just busier in numbers.

Below you will find some numbers that may interest you, check the previous blogs for a comparison!

Area 7 Northwest Billings Montana

• The average listed price of active listings is $335,000
• The average listed price of pending listings (under contract) is $284,000
• The average listed price of contingent listings (under contract) is $252,000
• The average sold price of homes that have sold in the last 90 days is $258,000
• The number of homes that have sold on average per month in the last 90 days is 46.6 homes per month

Of interest, one of the homes that sold in the last 90 days had a days on market number of 599 days!  That's patience!

The number of homes under contract in the Downtown Billings Montana Area 6 compared to the total number of homes that are currently for sale is 22.5%, and that's a signal of a pretty healthy market, especially right now.

The Downtown market area seems to always be "ahead of the curve" as far as activity in Billings Montana.  The area is popular for the classic style and age of homes as well as the great location to downtown and the medical corridor.  I bet there are quite a few people who are not aware that we have a robust and high class medical community, it's tops in the Nation.  Our employment figures for this area remain pretty strong with constant construction and advancement of 2 Hospital systems.

Here is some interesting data for the downtown area 6, if you like to follow this sort of thing (I do)!

• The average price of homes currently active $169,000
• The average price of homes pending sale (accepted contract) is $180,000
• The average price of homes contingent sale (accepted contract) is $162,000
• The average price of homes that closed (sold) in the last 90 days is $180,000
• 9.3 homes have sold per month over the last 90 days

Today's Real Estate Market Activity in the Briarwood, Blue Creek and Duck Creek Area shows that 14% of the current listings are under contract. 

In the last 90 days, 10 homes have sold, that's 3.3 per month.  The total number of unsold home right now in this area is 76.  In order to close all of the homes on the market today, it would take about 23 months at the current rate.  That's a long time.  Some price ranges are better than others.

Now let's talk prices of homes on the market in Area 5:

$202,000  the average price of the homes that closed (sold) in the last 90 days

$175,000  the average price of the homes that have a contract pending right now

$260,000  the average price of the homes that have a contract that is contingent on some condition in order to close

$284,000   the average price of the homes that are currently on the market, for sale

Seems that the lower priced homes are getting more action right now, which is true all over the city!

Where were you?  At the Homesteader Days Celebration, that's where!

This annual event highlights the strong heritage of this farming community.  People out on the Project, and those who've had the misfortune of having to move away, seem to migrate back to the homestead for a weekend of family fun and get togethers.

My Mother In Law, Shirley Thomas, grew up on the Project.  She now supervises the Old Schoolhouse part of the Huntley Project Museum, very fitting since she is a retired School Teacher!   A board of volunteers organizes this event for the benefit of the local community, you can find out more about the Museum at this link.

For Friday's program, check out the map below for directions to the center of the activities at the Osborn Park on Hwy 312 between the little town of Huntley (with the big heart) and the little town of Worden (home of a really good football team).

Friday Evening, July 9, 2010

5:30  Gates open, vendors are ready to serve you, show tickets $30 at the gate

7       Johnny Lee and the Copper Mountain Band

8       Mark Chesnutt

10      Bucky Beaver Ground Grippers

Caution!!!  Dancing and general happiness breaks out at these shindigs.  Bring your chairs, blankets and cushions, but buy your refreshments from the vendors at good prices, served with a smile!

Saturday July 10, 2010

8 am   Gates Open

10       Parade!!!   Theme "Stake Your Claim On The Project"  Museum of Irrigated Agriculture open

11      Beer Gardens open (bring your designated driver if you plan to drink and leave, safety first).  Some people drive from other States just to participate in this event, and to eat the food!  I'm not kidding, the BBQ Beef and Chicken are famous around here!

All Day   Kids carnival, bingo, craft show and sale, Museum indoors and out!

3pm    Duck Race

6pm  Live music begins again with Johnny Lee and the Copper Mountain Band

10pm Fireworks begin at dark

Click the link to the map below for directions.  If you get off of Interstate 94 at the Huntley Exit just East of Billings Montana, you can't miss the fun!

Enjoy

View Homesteader Days on the Project in a larger map

27% of the homes for sale on the Billings South Side are under contract, and that's a pretty good number!

The Active listings without an accepted contract average listing price is $127,000

The Pending listings which have an accepted contract, have an average listed price of $172,000!!!

The Contingent listings which have an accepted contract, have an average listed price of $122,000

About 9.3 homes have been closing per month over the last 90 days in Area 4, South Billings Montana.  At that rate, it would take 6.6 months to sell the available inventory.  A balanced market is somewhere between 5 and 7 months of inventory.

Keep in mind that only about 50% of the homes that are actively listed will sell.  Inventory is added to the market, and inventory expires from the market each and every month.

The most interesting thing to me is the average price of the pending listing, of which there are 4, is much higher than the other listings that are still for sale!  This is always a look at averages and raw data, no 2 homes are the same, but I find this very interesting!

About 14% of the homes for sale in the Lockwood, Emerald Hills area of Billings Montana have an accepted contract at this time.  This amount of inventory seems a bit high right now, and most of the unsold inventory is much higher than what's under contract:

The average listed sales price for this area right now is $271,000

The average listed sales price for the 1 pending sale is $37,000

The average listed sales price for the 5 homes under contract with contingencies to meet is $159,000

If we look at the rate of sales for the last 90 days, which is 5 homes closed each month, there is about 7.2 months of inventory on the market in Lockwood and Emerald Hills Billings Montana right now.