Bozeman, MT

The market in Bozeman has seen prices at a gradual decline of about a percent a month. This com paired to other cities and states is much less of a slip in value. Montana, especially Bozeman is not losing its appeal and beauty. Bozeman will always be a very desireable place to live no matter what the economy determines for us. with a real estate investment in Bozeman, you can enjoy the pure beauty of what we have to offer in Bozeman while you live in a great priced investment in the Gallatin Valley while the economy does what it will, with assurance that all markets recover and though we are in a down economy it is all part of the business cycle. For any further information please call me or check out our website! www.patrickresop.com!

Ryan Resop, Licensed Assistant

406.579.4348

ryan@bozemanbrokers.com

ERA Landmark is pleased to announce that photography by Stormy Apgar will be on display at ERA's Downtown office during the Art Walk on Friday, August 14th from 6 to 8 pm. Apgar's work includes wildlife and landscape photography. "The natural world is an endless source of fascination for me," said Apgar, "and sharing that with others through my photographs has been a joy."

Apgar's photography will be on display at the ERA Landmark Real Estate Gallery, 8 East Main Street, starting August 14th. For additional information about the Art Walk, call 406-556-5001. For information about Stormy Apgar, visit www.thundercloudimages.com.

Washington, July 01, 2009

Pending home sales show a sustained uptrend, rising for four consecutive months with very favorable housing affordability and a first-time buyer tax credit boosting activity, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,¹ a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in May, increased 0.1 percent to 90.7 from an upwardly revised reading of 90.6 in April, and is 6.7 percent higher than May 2008 when it was 85.0. The last time there were four consecutive monthly gains was in October 2004.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, cautions that there could be delays in the number of contracts that go to closing. “Closed existing-home sales have improved but are coming in lower than expected because some contracts are delayed or falling through from the application of new appraisal rules for many transactions,” he said. “Rises in contract activity show buyers are becoming more active even as they face much more stringent loan underwriting standards. Speedy clarification of the appraisal rules could smooth a housing market recovery and support the overall economy.”

The Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast rose 3.1 percent to 80.9 in May and is 6.8 percent above a year ago. In the Midwest the index slipped 1.3 percent to 89.2 but is 11.4 percent above May 2008. The index in the South declined 1.7 percent to 92.6 in May but is 7.9 percent higher than a year ago. In the West the index rose 2.2 percent to 96.9 and is 0.7 percent above May 2008.

NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said the appraisal issue is complicated. “We see that distressed homes often are selling for 20 percent less than normal homes in the same area, but some appraisals don’t distinguish between traditional homes and distressed property,” he said. “In many cases appraisers from outside the area are being used, but as everyone knows real estate is local and appraisals should be done by an expert with local expertise.”

McMillan said sellers shouldn’t hesitate to speak with an appraiser about their home. “Sellers should feel free to tell an appraiser about improvements and renovations to their home, and how it compares with other homes in the neighborhood,” he said.

Read more: http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/07/record_fourth

Thanks to NAR for the article.

Well, Bozeman's done it again. No suprise! We've made the list of Top 25 Places to Raise an Outdoor Kid by Backpacker Magazine!

Photo by Justin Bailie

Click here to read the rest of the top winners!!! ~ Top 25 Places to Raise an Outdoor Kid ~

I recently had the opportunity to be a part of a conference call with other real estate brokers throughout the country to listen to the unveiling of Business Roundtable's new recommendations on how to re-energize the housing market in the United States. Richard A. Smith, the CEO of Realogy (the organization of which ERA Landmark is a franchisee), has been in Washington, D.C. serving in the capacity of chair of the Business Roundtable's Housing Working Group. The Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of many leading companies in the U.S. The group's objective was to develop ideas on how to improve the current housing market, which in turn should stimulate economic growth as a whole. These solutions were then passed along to Congress and the White House for consideration. There are five main proposals, rewritten verbatim, listed below along with some explanation of the thought processes behind them.

1. Keep mortgage interest rates at historically low levels (below 5 percent) for at least one year;

The hope is for policy makers to keep up the efforts to hold rates at or below 5 percent. It is believed that many qualified buyers are holding off on purchasing a home anticipating that rates will fall even further. If the rates were guaranteed to remain below 5 percent, but for only a finite period of time, home buyers would then have the peace of mind and incentive to make their purchase decision and act before that set expiration date.

Read more about Business Roundtable Recommendation to Reinvigorate Housing here.

Robyn Erlenbush
CRS, GRI, CRB, Broker Owner
Phone: (406) 586-1321
Send me an email