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M O N T A N A L I V I N G
BOZEMAN • BIG SKY • LIVINGSTON • BILLINGS
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May in Montana and We Are Open...
The days are getting longer and the snow is melting down into the rivers, the birds are busy building nests and feeding their young, the bear are foraging and we are thankful every day to live in this state, especially during a quarantine! Speaking with a colleague in a larger city, it became apparent just what those in the cities have been experiencing not being able to venture outside of the smaller apartments and enjoy city life.
We have had a lot of questions about the real estate market and what to expect in the coming months. Well...it was apparent that the states with a lot of open space would become more and more desirable. Not only are people searching Montana more than ever, but locals are also seeking to explore the idea of living on more land.
ARTICLES OF INTEREST: {CLICK TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE}
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Virtual Tour Stories...
We have been working with clients virtually for years. There is plenty of technology to support buying and selling property from afar. We are an international company with top of the line marketing and selling tools to aid in the search and completion of a transaction.
During the quarantine, we were able to support a seller who had to move suddenly to New York for a job. She called our advisor Amy Alvarado to facilitate the sale of her home in Bozeman. Amy had the flooring replaced, the condo painted, cleaned, staged and photographed and on the market in days. It went under contract in less than a day. Good job Amy!
Another advisor, Courtney King received a call while shopping for groceries right before the quarantine. The buyers were from out of state and were interested in one of our offerings. The property was in the process of going under contract, so they proceeded to look at other properties virtually via Facetime. Courtney went through each property with the buyers as if she was considering it for herself, opening cabinets, drawers, closets, and pointing out positives and negatives for complete transparency. After several property viewings, we came back to the original property which just happened to be terminating. We wrote an offer to be in a back-up position immediately as another offer was coming in as well. After becoming the primary position, we scheduled the inspection. The buyers had planned to be out for the inspection, but the quarantine happened. We again relied on Facetime to walk-through the home prior to the inspection to develop a list of questions for the inspector as well as after the inspection to go through the inspector's findings. Courtney and PollyAnna, who was the listing agent worked with the buyers, seller, and contractors to address details from the inspection. Courtney has facilitated working with local service people to install the internet, maintain the lawn, and deliveries of furniture to the home until the buyers can schedule the movers and be in their new home. Below is the map of a typical virtual transaction. We realize it is a lot to entrust someone with the purchase of a property from afar. We will do everything we can to make either side of the transaction as smooth as possible.
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M A R K E T U P D A T E
April 2020
While the stock market recovered significantly in March, the effects of COVID19 to the economy continue to build. In just the last four weeks, more than 20 million people filed initial unemployment claims according to the United States Department of Labor, fueled by stay at home orders and a slowdown of economic activity across the country. Added to the unemployment claims from March, more than 30 million people have become unemployed since COVID-19 has become widespread in the U.S. In the face of these challenging times, real estate activity in April slowed significantly.
Closed Sales decreased 16.1 percent for Single Family homes and 4.3 percent for Condo/Townhouse homes. Pending Sales decreased 30.9 percent for Single Family homes and 28.1 percent for Condo/Townhouse homes. Inventory increased 9.9 percent for Single Family homes and 32.4 percent for Condo/Townhouse homes.
The Median Sales Price increased 3.5 percent to $440,000 for Single Family homes but decreased 9.7 percent to $314,500 for Condo/Townhouse homes. Days on Market decreased 13.7 percent for Single Family homes and 11.1 percent for Condo/Townhouse homes. Months Supply of Inventory increased 10.7 percent for Single Family homes and 24.2 percent for Condo/Townhouse homes.
While the effect of COVID-19 continues to vary widely across the country, it is expected that social distancing, higher unemployment, and lower overall economic activity is likely to continue to constrain real estate activity in the near term. At the same time, the industry is adapting to the current environment by conducting business using technologies such as virtual showings and e-signing to help buyers and sellers with their housing needs in the face of these challenges.
May is showing an increase in activity in Montana due to the open space and desire to be in a more rural setting. We are seeing multiple counter offers and pricing staying strong overall.
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BOZEMAN | BELGRADE | MANHATTAN | THREE FORKS | BIG SKY | BIG TIMBER | BILLINGS
EMIGRANT | LIVINGSTON | PARADISE VALLEY | GARDINER | GALLATIN GATEWAY
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