Wanda's Blog From Billings, Montana

Full page ad in our local newspaper this week for a "training" to educate the stay at home Mom's how to scoop up properties and turn them into cash cows, once you learn the secret formula!

Over the last 5 years these "educational" seminars that use the whole pyramid scheme for recruiting attendees have come to our town.  Mind you, our market is not as great as it was, but so far we haven't had many short sales and foreclosures selling for "pennies on the dollar".

What's really sad is the percieved intelligence level of the people who attend these things, and really how delusional they are about how "easy it is to do this".

As I hang out in coffee shops, I overhear conversations from the recruiters for a good 6 weeks prior to the "seminar".  The conversation goes something like this "for $xxxx investment, you can take the class, get the handout directions and start your own Real Estate Investment Business, can you borrow money from your home equity line of credit to pay for this?"

I have been taken on a few little joy rides with these prospective "buyers" who tell me an unbelievable tale of how they are gonna get rich on Real Estate.  I have asked them, "do you know anyone in our market who has been successful in doing what you're trying to do?  I know a few contractor flippers who've been in the business for years, maybe you should talk to one or two of them first."

Part of the conversation involves "looking for desperate people who will sign over their interest in their home, just to get away".  And I believe that some people are desperate, and might be swayed into signing things they really shouldn't due to a difficult curve they've been thrown.

I do not participate in preying on the scared and desperate, in order to take advantage of their situation.  Don't get me wrong, I'm willing to bust my butt to help people who need it, if they participate in what needs to be done to get out of a sticky situation.  Education and due diligence are better for our home owner community.

Does anyone get the fact that the reason these guys come to town and recruit for these "seminars" is because the seminars are the cash cow?

Sellers are remembering what prices used to be, last year, 3 years ago, 5 years ago.

Buyers are thinking about what prices are going to be, next year, 3 years from now and 5 years from now.

Think about it, the emotional attachment to price, depends on which direction you're looking, and from which position you stand!

Let's take this same thought and just flip it!

In 2003 to about 2008, sellers were thinking about what prices were going to be next year, 3 years from then and 5 years from then.

In 2003 to about 2008, buyers were thinking about what prices used to be, the year before last, 3 years before and 5 years before.

Right now I'm dealing with the current situation on vision and emotional attachment to price from both buyers and sellers in my market.  I have to admit, I was somewhat star struck by the brief 5 year period mentioned above. 

I was amazed that people could make a purchase and then sell and buy up every 2 years, at least 3 times during that period.  Some homes were increasing in sales price 20% in just one year, in Billings Montana.  I know there were areas of the country where this increase was much higher, but we never had anything like a 50% increase in our market.  We also haven't had any price decreases like many areas of the country either, when you go up too fast, you fall pretty hard!

I think we'll be a stronger country and a healthier economy if we work to "own a home" verses "gamble on a home".  I never would have thought of selling a home in just 2 years, and I only did that once back in the 80's when I moved to a different town in Montana.  Ever since then, we've always managed to purchase, live and improve and pay down the mortgage, about every 4 years.  (I should mention that home prices were going up on average between 4% to 8% a year for most of my home ownership) 

This pace was halted when we built our last and final resting place, the place where we live now, we've been here for 10 years!  There's a good chance we could pay this place off, completely, before we retire!  Something just feels good about that!  Feels like security, safety, good economic sense!  I won't have to worry about how well my investments do if I don't need to spend so much when I retire.  Just a little less stress I think.

Now, what to do about the kids?

1656 Roadrunner Place, Billings Montana 59102--Condo For Sale--Priced at only $108,000.

West end location with views of the Rimrocks and the water in the irrigation ditch.  Click here for virtual tour!

When you live in a condo community, having the advantage of a little privacy is a luxury!  Call me for a personal showing if this is something that would work for you!

The main level includes a living room graced by a gas fireplace as well as the eat in kitchen with warm wood cabinetry.  A large pantry is handy next to the kitchen!  A half bath is located on this main level.  Follow the stairs to the upper level hallway.  A main bath including a tiled shower/tub area is handy for the two upper level bedrooms.

The master bedroom enjoys a large patio door that opens out onto a balcony.  The balcony is shaded by Quaking Aspens just to the west.  A large closet expands across an entire wall for all of those clothes and shoes.

A second bedroom just down the hall enjoys the same views as the master bedroom.

From the main floor, follow the stairs down to the basement level which opens up into a large utility room where the washer and dryer are located.  Plenty of room for storage, maybe a peice of exercise equipment or a sewing area.

A third bedroom, non-egress in this basement is very large and has a very long closet for even more clothes.

This condo also enjoys a single detached garage just down the walkway.

Condo fees are $120 per month which includes the outside maintenance and insurance, water, lawn-care and snow removal.  A separate paint fund for the entire complex is growing by the contributions of $75 extra per month until September of 2011. 

For a complete review of the condo documents and the minutes of the last meeting, please email me @  wanda@mymontanahomestead.com for details.

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!

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.