Wanda Thomas, Billings Montana Real Estate

I have some clients who are interested in the Billings Heights Real Estate Market Activity, so while doing my search I thought it would be some helpful information to share.

The market areas I searched in Billings Montana for this report include area 1, West of Main Street and area 2, East of Main Street.

• 196 unsold homes on the market
• 22 of these homes have accepted contracts that are pending to close
• 25 of these homes have accepted contracts that are contingent on the successful outcome of contract details such as home inspections and other investigations

The Activity Index for today in the Billings Heights is about 23%. Which is a pretty healthy number. Of the homes that are currently under contract, the average number of days these homes were listed before they secured an accepted buy/sell was 93 days. That's a longer time period than we usually have, which is more like 65 to 75 days.

Keep in mind that only about 43% of all homes that are listed successfully close (which means ownership is transferred). Heading into winter, we often see a bit of hesitation in the number of sales, depending on our weather.

Our prices for this group of unsold homes looks like this for average:

• $193,758 the average price of all unsold listings
• $186,532 the average price of these homes that are pending
• $171,112 the average price of these homes that are contingent

The selection of homes at this time of the year and in this market is diminished. This is evidenced by the Activity Index being greater than 20% (favors sellers due to decrease in unsold inventory).

Those homes that have closed in the same Billings Heights areas 1 and 2 over the past 90 days showed the following:

• $181,609 was the average sold price
• 97% was the average list price/sold price
• 89 was the average number of days on the market before a successful offer was agreed to
• 2.22 was the average number of bathrooms
• 4 was the average number of bedrooms
• 2,232 was the average square feet of the properties sold

On a more personal note, this dang wind is driving me crazy, I can't get warm! For a couple of days now I've tried not to go outside, and the sun is shining! My plastic trash cans were flying around the neighborhood, along with those of my neighbors, thank goodness they were emptied this morning.

PS We could use some snow.

This past summer during my gym exercise, I overheard many local teachers discussing their plans to pull up roots and move to Uruguay in South America. Sounded like an interesting migration; cheaper cost of living, practically free health care (touted to be better than USA) and just a relief from the "nightmare in School District 2".

Like many school systems around the country, the largest one in Montana, School District 2 in Billings, is facing budget troubles. The leader of any school district, legislative district, State or Country can have a hard time keeping their job in a tough economy.

The local school board for District 2 experienced a huge increase in public comment and input during the last few months leading up to the forced departure of the superintendent. People were gathered together, carrying signs and chanting their cause.

The school board members, an all volunteer force, were discussing how upset people were and what they could do about it. It would be fair to say that there was not overall agreement in the school board group about what the cause of the dissent was among the teachers, administration and the public. In fact, many feathers were being ruffled from several sides. SD2 Trustees voted to terminate the Superintendent's contract and buy him out.

This whole time, during the public school board meetings, we never heard from the superintendent. He was there, sitting, with his lips zipped. He did bring an attorney, which is perfectly reasonable, but still, why so quiet? Could this be part of the problem? Communication skills, zip?

I hope the job search for the next superintendent includes the criteria of "great communicator". Maybe you need a couple of people to serve in this job, or at least a "press secretary" who can communicate to the public.

A skilled administrator cannot lead without being a good communicator. People are much more willing to forgive shortfalls if they "feel" like their leader is driving them down the right road. Sometimes you have to take a couple of turns, but if the pack doesn't know why you're going down that different road, they'll think you're on the wrong one!

Uruguay is a long way from Billings Montana. We need seasoned teachers in our district, after all, we have some of the highest testing students in the country right here. They didn't get that way without good teachers, administrators, board and public.

This is just my humble opinion :)

I follow Nina's blog and she asked a very good question about agency disclosure upon meeting with people to talk about real estate listing and sales.

She was bringing to light that the agency disclosure, from some agents, is not as forthcoming to people as it should be, either delayed or not mentioned at all.

I think that many agents struggle with the best way to bring this subject up to their clients, and may be hesitant to scare people away by asking them to sign a disclosure paper, our form is 2 pages long!

In our state of Montana, must be made in writing at or before the listing or buyer's agent agreements are signed, and a statutory broker must disclose their relationship at the same time the broker first endeavors to locate property for the buyer.

In simple terms, it's required to let the customer/client know how you work in relation to their needs.

I find that when I disclose this agency practice, many people that I am newly acquainted with, instantly get their guard up worried about commitment. They don't realize I'm following good practice and Montana Law!

Maybe some folks just want to use me to open a door for them, and they don't have any intention of making a purchase or commit to use me as their REALTOR. I'm ok with not showing those people homes.

I wonder if one of the first things I said was "Montana Law requires me to disclose to you the various ways I can help you with your Real Estate needs" . Pretty blunt, and I do work this into the conversation very well when I'm writing listing and buyer's agency contracts.

If anyone has a favorite script that helps people understand this required disclosure, I'd love it if you could share!

Rural Development Financing is available from many lenders in our area, with rates and qualifying hoops that many people can jump through, but this does not work for homes in Billings Montana.

Not every home can qualify, and not every borrower can qualify, but the adjusted gross income limits are worth a serious look for many home buyers. This is not just for first time home buyers either! This program will allow you to buy as much home as you can afford in the country, or even in small towns with a few highlights to consider:

• No down payment
• No monthly mortgage insurance, so this won't be an addition to your monthly payment
• No cash reserves required (but I would have some anyway)
• Credit history doesn't have to be perfect, guidelines that fit situations other lending programs won't even consider, of course, you can't have terrible credit
• No limitation on source of closing costs, can be gifted, other down payment assistance funds might be allowed
• Repairs may be financed up to 100% of the appraised or "as improved" value, I find this really helpful for people who want to purchase a discounted home that needs some fixing!

We have some really nice homes in the rural communities that may work just right for this type of mortgage. If you want to know if the area you're thinking qualifies, or not, follow the link to the Rural Development website and check this out. Then call me and we'll see if we can find you a home!

Once you get to the site, just click Property Eligibility and then Single Family, accept the info and you'll be directed to a place you can enter the zip code of the area you're interested in.

I took this picture of a real bird (house)'s eye view of the Yellowstone River from a log home for sale just east of Billings Montana. The road is named Bald Eagle Road and while we were viewing this log home listing, right on cue, a Bald Eagle flew right in front of us on it's way to fish in the Yellowstone.

I think it's only fair to mention that this is not riverfront property, there is a railroad track down next to the river. However, this view is really not to hard to take, lots of wildlife all day long. Tonight you'll be able to see the Northern Lights on the horizon, looking in the very same direction.

If you want more info on log homes for sale in our area, just email me here 2wandathomas@gmail.com.