Taunya Fagan Bozeman Homes & Land

My Service To You

I represent clients in Bozeman, Belgrade, Big Sky, Gallatin County, Livingston, Park County, and throughout Montana and the United States and have extensive experience finding distinctive real estate properties. Whether it's a luxury estate - 7 Ranges, The Village Downtown, Black Bull, The Yellowstone Club, or Ameya Preserve - ranches; log homes; commercial, recreational, water, investment, or income property, I will help you choose the right piece of property for your needs and will guide you towards making the best real estate decision in the Montana Real Estate market. I find my clients what they want by listening, researching, and performing. I have many contacts and often learn of properties for sale before they're marketed, giving you the advantage....®

I offer the highest caliber marketing for your Montana property, offering a sophisticated marketing system, blending television, internet, and print. I will do the necessary research to price your property appropriately, list it on MLS for top dollar, and aggressively market it...working for a speedy sale. You will benefit from my strong network of industry contacts and my affiliation with Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. and Prudential Montana Real Estate, the largest real estate firm in Montana, with more than 175 agents. Prudential has offices throughout western Montana and a tremendous network of sellers and buyers, all of which makes Prudential Montana the number one real estate company in Montana.

Taunya is one of a select group of Prudential agents classified as a

Prudential Real Estate Fine Homes Specialist

If you would like to know more about the southwest Montana real estate market, the Bozeman Real Estate Report is an ever-expanding compendium of Montana real estate information, offering in-depth data on and facts about building lots and homes for sale in Bozeman and beyond; land sales statistics for Gallatin County and Park County; Gallatin Valley regional demographics; Belgrade land use issues; future growth; affordable Bozeman homes, and a wealth of detailed information you won't find at any other real estate site in the southwest Montana region. Call me today, 406.579.9683, to prepare you specific real estate data, send property statistics, or research anything real estate-related.

^{_______________} About Taunya ^{_____________}

I graduated with a BA in Liberal Arts from Chapman University in Orange, California. For the past 20 years I have enjoyed successful careers in customer service and sales. I have held various top retail sales management positions, owned a prosperous coffee and catering business, and worked for America West Airlines.

I am passionate about community involvement, founding Ride For a Child, Share the Bread, and Operation Warmth, and participating in the Door of Faith Orphanage, Match 2 Prison Outreach, Pinehaven Ranch and Children's School, Family Promise of Gallatin Valley, and Habitat for Humanity of Gallatin Valley.

I bring sincere enthusiasm and optimism to everything I attempt and serve my clients with honesty, integrity, and respect. Real Estate has been a natural fit because of my passion to serve. Whether clients buy or sell, they can count on my hard work ethic, knowledge of the Montana market, and professionalism.

My Clients' Trust Earned Me

Prudential's Chairman's Circle Gold Award for 2006 - top 3% of Prudential agents

Prudential's Leading Edge Award for 2007 - top 14% of Prudential agents

406-579-9683 taunya.fagan@prumt.com

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giving you the advantage...

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Montana Property Search
Use the Property Search feature of this website to search all home and property listings for sale in western Montana. My Bozeman Montana Real Estate regional Property Search program interfaces directly with the southwest Montana MLS and is updated DAILY. Every home or property for sale in western Montana can be found on my website at: Search for Bozeman Homes For Sale or Property Listings in Montana.

Featured Listings
View my featured property listings for sale: Taunya Fagan Montana Real Estate Featured Listings in Gallatin Gateway, Bozeman, Belgrade, Dillon, Butte, and Helena, Montana.

Realty Watcher
Get email notification when I find your Montana property. Sign up today, and I will email you daily or weekly all listings that may interest you as soon as they become available. This is a free, NO obligation service provided by Taunya Fagan Bozeman Montana Homes and Real Estate - Prudential Montana Real Estate. Taunya's Realty Watcher - I will Search the MLS for You.

Why Prudential Montana Real Estate (PMRE) is the # 1 Real Estate Firm in Bozeman and Southwest Montana

Chart represents the # of closed transactions each office participated in as reported through the Southwest Montana Multiple Listing Service for the period of 1/1/2007 through 12/31/2007.

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TESTIMONIALS

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"Thank you for being such a great realtor. For someone who was reluctant to work with a realtor, you have exceeded all my expectations and hesitations. You do good work and, again, I appreciate all your help." Pat, Bozeman, MT

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"We recently had a major move out of the Bozeman area to north western Washington State. My husband took a position with a company there and had to leave immediately. I was a bit concerned about being left with a 2yr old and trying to get my house sold quickly so that we could all be together. I interviewed several agents that seemed relatively competent but they all had to get back with me, check on prices and think about how best to market the house. There also seemed to be the gloomy warning of slowing house sales at this time of the year (late September).

When Taunya showed up I knew immediately that she would be the agent for us. She came with comparable market value comps in hand, she had her camera ready to take pictures and list that day, she had a marketing plan that included internet, newspaper, and television ads, at no additional charge to her standard commission. I was so impressed I agreed to sign with her on the spot. She was very helpful in coming up with a fair price that would have our house sold quickly but still assure us a great profit.

Taunya began work immediately and kept her word and all her promises for her advertising package. She then wasted no time in setting up an open house only days after the listing was posted and did not one, but two full days in a row, on the first weekend of the listing. Both days went very well, but at the end of the second day as she was packing up to leave a single man drove up on his motorcycle and asked if she would show him around. Even though she was ready to go, Taunya cheerfully agreed. He seemed like an unlikely buyer for such a large family home, and she had been told by many a nay sayer that "no one every sells houses to buyers at open houses." He bought it!

"Taunya spent her time making sure that we were set up with an agent in our new home and even followed up with finding a fantastic lender who worked extremely hard to make our experience buying our new home here as easy as possible. We cannot say enough about the integrity and professionalism that Taunya displayed in a world where you don't often see that kind of work ethic anymore. We truly felt blessed! We would urge anyone in the Bozeman area to use Taunya as their agent if they truly want the best. And we wish her continued success and prosperity in the future." Sincerely, Jeff & Terri

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Dear Taunya,

"Wanting to enter the Bozeman Real Estate market, we purchased our first condo through you in 2003. You found us a new condo in a lovely development with beautiful views, and we were tremendously pleased with the quick, smooth closing of the purchasing transaction.

Two years later, you found us our dream home, and once again we had the opportunity of working with you in the listing of our condo. Your

listing services went "above and beyond" that which is normal.

You artfully and professionally staged the condo, designed beautiful flyers, held well advertised weekly open houses with detailed follow-up with potential buyers. You marketed our property on the internet, television, and in local and national newspapers. You kept us informed of the activity you were having on the condo. It all worked to procure a "top dollar" sale shortly after listing the property which allowed us to purchase our dream home which you found for us. You helped us find a lender and worked with us on a day to day basis to insure quick, smooth closings on both the selling and purchasing transactions.

Your tireless effort and positive attitude, your responsible approach and skillful negotiation, backed by your exceptional real estate knowledge, helped us achieve our dream.

We want to tell you how impressed we were with your work ethic and devotion to us as your clients and thank you. You truly are in an elite category of real estate agents." Sincerely, George and Joyce, Bozeman, MT

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Hot properties in Montana

Large tracts of premium land driving state real estate market

While the speculative market for subdivided rural land is "dead as a doornail," premium property is rapidly selling to those who can afford it, said Clark Wheeler, a real-estate appraiser with Norman C. Wheeler and Associates in Bozeman and author of an annual Montana land valuation study released this week.

Large tracts of rural land in Montana sold for about 47 percent more in 2007 than the previous year, but the increase is because of rising demand for land filled with amenities like forests and water access rather than a function of land appreciation, according to the study. "The main thing we're seeing this year, is what's selling are the better properties," Wheeler said Wednesday. "The reality is wealthy people continue to buy property and there's a lot of wealthy people that want to move to Montana."

The average value of large ranch transactions in Montana has increased from about $4.2 million in 2006 to $8 million in 2007, according to Wheeler's study. That's much higher than the previous peak year in 2005 when ranch transactions ran as high as $5.5 million.

Randy Carpenter, a land use planner for the nonprofit Sonoran Institute's Bozeman office, said Wheeler's study shows that the rural land market in Gallatin County is driven by buyers who are looking for large properties in an open landscape. Buyers will only pay top dollar for properties when there's predictability that the surrounding landscape will not be carpeted by subdivisions, Carpenter said.

The report offers more evidence that Gallatin County's proposal for countywide zoning would enhance rural land values, Carpenter said. The zoning would guide growth to existing towns and limit the paving over of the countryside. The county's proposal would create zoning in all un-zoned and unincorporated areas. Opponents of the plan say it's not government's job to tell people what they can or cannot do with their land, and any zoning in a community should come from the people who live there, not government.

According to Wheeler's study, the amount of acres sold in 2007 - in land transactions larger than 300 deeded acres - remained generally consistent with 2006. But 2007's amount was still about half of the amount sold in 2005, when sales peaked, the study said. Some owners of lots in speculative rural markets figure it will be three years before falling values turn around, Wheeler said. In Broadwater County and fringe areas of Gallatin County, values have fallen 30 percent to 45 percent over the past two to three years, the study found.

A typical example of a speculative market that has faltered is the Wheat Montana area in southern Broadwater County, where divided land lacks water or trees, Wheeler said. Properties that often have extensive buildings are part of what's selling, he said. For example, trophy ranches rather than operational ranches. Agricultural land values between 1998 and 2007 have appreciated about 14 percent, Wheeler said.

One reflection of the type of properties selling is the percent of building contribution to sales. In 2006, buildings added about $68 per acre to the average land value, according to Wheeler's study. In 2007, buildings added an additional $207 per acre, an increase of more than 200 percent. The market continues to bless those with rare and high quality properties, Wheeler said. But as in the housing market, the owners of average properties will be sitting on the sidelines as the market re-corrects. Wheeler's full study will be available the first week of February online at www.ncwheeler.com.

By AMANDA RICKER Chronicle Staff Writer January 17, 2008

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Undeveloped Plots Draw Buyers As the Housing Market Softens

By Jeff D. Opdyke
From The Wall Street Journal Online

The real-estate market has a new cry: Land ho!

As the nation's housing market cools, there's a rush to snap up undeveloped property as buyers stake their claim on everything from New England creek-front parcels, to mountainous woodlands in Tennessee, to big-sky vistas in Montana.

Some people are buying dream lots now, while the land is available and prices affordable, with plans to one day build a vacation or retirement home.

Others are investing in recreational property they want to use today: In rural west Texas, for example, scrubland that wouldn't even sell a few years ago has become so popular with deer hunters and the offroad-vehicle set that it now fetches premium prices from buyers flying in from Florida, Illinois and California.

Keith and Mary Payden of Minneapolis a few years ago bought 35 acres of land in a wooded canyon in southwestern Colorado. They've put in a well and set up temporary living quarters above a barn to use when they visit. "This is where we want to spend our retirement," says the 59-year-old Mr. Payden, an information-technology consultant. The land "fits our hobbies, since there is horseback riding, skiing and golf nearby." Their eventual plan: Put up a small house they can use there.

In the face of demand like this, prices for undeveloped land in many parts of the country are shooting up. Around the country last year, farmland values rose at their highest year-over-year rate -- 11% -- since 1981, according to the Agriculture Department. Rural land in Texas hit a historic high of nearly $1,500 an acre on average last year, up about 75% since 2000, according to Texas A&M University Real Estate Center.

Robert R. Johns, a 68-year-old retired gas-pipeline worker, recently bought 400 acres of corn and soybean fields in central Illinois. The land, which the Johnses lease to farmers, serves mainly as an investment, generating what he expects will be rental returns of as much as 5% a year plus any long-term price appreciation.

But the couple, who live near Chicago, also enjoy visiting friends and shopping for antiques in the area, and plan to park a camper there to visit, "almost like a weekend vacation."

In some ways, buying land and buying a second home are similar. Both are capable of generating income -- a house through rental income; land through leases for farming, hunting, fishing, ranching or mineral rights. And in both cases, the first three rules of a successful purchase are location, location and location.

Some buyers are heading farther afield to find affordable acreage. Charlie Chernak, owner of Bear Island Land Co., in Ely, Minn., near the Canadian border, says "remote backlands are now becoming popular because people are getting priced out of lakeshore properties."

Land also comes with its own set of snafus that can quickly turn a picture-perfect parcel into just that -- something that's pretty to look at, but not much else. Among the important questions: If you plan to build a vacation home there or eventually live there, can you get electric power onto the property? And can the land support a water well and septic system?

What's more, land might make a good investment, but it can be a lot harder to sell in a pinch than a house, since fewer people are looking for land.

The U.S. has roughly 1.5 billion acres of rural land, excluding public lands, representing about 65% of the country. Prices vary widely: Rural land can fetch $250 an acre in the brush country of far southwest Texas, to $3,000 an acre for timber and pasture land in Iowa, to a scenic, 37-acre property in southwest Colorado straddling both sides of a river for nearly $27,000 an acre.

Of course, not all plots are in the depths of the wilderness. Wagner Brothers Land Co., in Dunlap, Tenn., charges $20,000 to $30,000 an acre for parcels in the mountains north of Chattanooga that come equipped with utilities, but no house. In Colorado, ranch-size properties overlooking the snowcapped La Plata Mountains are attracting buyers from Hawaii, Florida, California and Arizona, says developer Durango Alpine Realty. These tracts, which are a minimum 35 acres, generally go for $10,000 an acre.

In some circumstances, it can make a lot of sense to buy land well in advance of your intention to build on it, especially if you find a scenic plot you're particularly fond of. Over the course of years or decades, the price of the land is likely to escalate faster than the cost of one day building a house on it. On undeveloped land, real-estate taxes are typically lower, and you have no expenses for electricity, water and insurance.

There are many pitfalls. First, even before you buy, consider having a survey done of the land you're interested in, or at least work through a local land agent who knows the area and terrain. Property lines aren't always well defined, and soils may be too wet to support a building in the spot you really want to build.

Also, pay attention to how you access the land. In some places, makeshift roads that cross a variety of property lines have become semipermanent through the years -- although nothing about them is legal. As a result, you may not have legal access to your property, resulting in lawsuits.

In urban developments, lots are often zoned to prevent certain types of construction or businesses. But that's not always true with rural land, meaning you could find one day that your dream property is bordered by a new mobile-home park. A local real-estate agent with land expertise will know the zoning and covenants in place.

Land prices often don't move in the same way home prices do. Despite the run-up in recent years in some housing markets, home prices are typically expected to rise alongside the rate of inflation. But with land, price appreciation is traditionally more closely tied to how much money it can generate from activities such as farming or grazing. And in general, land prices, when they cool, don't tend to fall as much as an overpriced residential market might, largely because while a housing market can be overbuilt, land can't.

Increasingly, however, recreational demand is defining land prices. Land has become such a popular investment "that if prices keep going up at the same pace, we could see a bigger correction than we'd want to," says Clint Bumguardner, president of West Texas Appraisal Associates, an Abilene, Texas, firm that appraises land from Texas to Montana.

One final consideration: Mineral rights. In some instances -- particularly in energy-rich Texas and the Rocky Mountain states -- sellers retain the rights to oil or minerals buried beneath the land you own. This can have ramifications years or decades later. Not only does it deny you your own Jed Clampett moment of discovering bubbling crude oil and striking it rich, but more importantly it means that the owner of those mineral rights can drill or mine on your property, and you must allow it.

John Bailey, an officer at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s Specialty Asset Group, recently bought grazing land for himself 100 miles west of Fort Worth. Part of the property came with mineral rights, but the other portion didn't, which means the owner of those mineral rights must be allowed to come onto the land and drill for oil and gas.

Mr. Bailey points out that "they must pay you surface damages" for the loss of land use. "At your Shangri-la, you must be cognizant of this issue," he says. -- July 25, 2006

giving you the advantage...®

www.taunyafagan.com 406.579.9683 taunya.fagan@prumt.com

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All information contained herein is derived from sources deemed reliable, however, is not guaranteed by Prudential Montana Real Estate, Managing Broker, Agents or Sellers. Offering is subject to error, omissions, prior sales, price change or withdrawal without notice and approval of purchase by Seller. We urge independent verification of each and every item submitted, to the satisfaction of any prospective purchaser. 2008 - 2010 © Copyright Prudential Montana Real Estate. All rights reserved. An independently owned and operated member of the Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. The RockPrudential is a registered service mark of The Prudential Insurance Company of America. Equal Housing Opportunity.

All data, information, and musings on this blog are provided for informational purposes only. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, thoroughness, opportuneness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site. The author is not liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided as is.