Community News - May, 2009

Forecasters Say Recession Nearing End

More than 90 percent of economists think the recession is nearing its end, but they don't expect the economy to soar anytime soon.

Nearly 75 percent of economists, surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics, say that the recession will end in the third quarter. Another 19 percent think the turnaround will come in the fourth quarter. The rest are betting on the first quarter of 2010.

Americans seem to believe that things are getting better too. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose 14.1 points in May to 54.9, the second month in a row in which there has been an increase.

Forecasters say that home sales will bottom out in the second quarter, an important stabilizing factor.

Source: The Associated Press, Jeannine…

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NAR: Existing-Home Sales Jump

Existing-home sales rose in April with strong buyer activity in lower price ranges, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Existing-home sales — including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — increased 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million units in April from a downwardly revised pace of 4.55 million units in March. Yet, home sales were 3.5 percent below the 4.85 million-unit level in April 2008, according to NAR.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says first-time buyers continue to influence the market but there also is a seasonal rise of repeat buyers.

“Most of the sales are taking place in lower price ranges and activity is beginning to pickup in the midprice ranges, but high-end home sales…

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New Hope Given to Homeowners

Few will argue that times are tougher now than they have been in quite some time, and the housing market has seen more than its fair share of publicity and speculation of how bad it will get before a turnaround comes about. I’d like to take this article to explore some of the efforts by the government to keep current homeowners in their homes which will help the real estate market recovery as a whole. 

There is no denying that foreclosures and short sales have been on the rise nationally and even locally. Though thankfully Montana still ranks very low in these categories compared to most of the United States, it is an issue that needed to be addressed. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) introduced its HOPE for Homeowners program…

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HUD: Tax Credit Can Be Used on Closing Costs

FHA-approved lenders received the go-ahead to develop bridge-loan products that enable first-time buyers to use the benefits of the federal tax credit upfront, according to eagerly awaited guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on so-called home buyer tax credit loans that was released today.

Under the guidance, FHA-approved lenders can develop bridge loans that home buyers can use to help cover their closing costs, buy down their interest rate, or put down more than the minimum of 3.5 percent.

The loans can't be used to cover the minimum 3.5 percent, senior HUD officials told reporters on a conference call Friday morning.

Thus, buyers applying for FHA-backed financing with an FHA-approved lender that offers a bridge-loan…

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As Prices Fall, Housing Market Picks Up

In recent weeks, Ted and Heather Fust have been driving around the Bozeman area, looking at houses for sale.

 
NICK WOLCOTT/CHRONICLE Chris Omland inspects a Bozeman home while shopping for a house Friday. Some new statistics indicate a possible brighter future for Bozeman's housing market. But they haven’t actually gone inside any yet.

“Financially, we’re not quite ready,” Heather said.

The Fusts, a couple in their early 30s, want to take advantage of declining home prices and low mortgage rates. But before they buy anything, they want to build their down payment and make sure that they wind up with a mortgage they could pay with just one income, should one of them lose their job.

“We’ve been watching the market for the last two years - since we…

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Discover Treasure at the Museum of the Rockies

Bozeman, MT – From May 23 to Sept. 7, 2009, the Museum of the Rockies presents an exhibition called Treasure! There are few words that stir the imagination as much as treasure. What is the treasure? Who hunts for it, and why? In this exhibit, Museum visitors will explore the history of treasure, treasure hunting, and the people and personalities that hunt for treasure. People can also drive a Remote Operated Vehicle, experiment with metal detectors, and calculate their weights in gold.

On a personal level, the exhibit also provokes the question, what do you treasure? Treasure hunts within the exhibit invite the visitors to be active participants while exploring 5,000 square feet of artifacts, hands-on activities, videos, biographies, and…

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National Real Estate Road To Recovery

Sally Hickey of ERA Landmark Real Estate joined approximately 8,000 Realtors® who gathered in Washington, DC, to inspire action on Capitol Hill that will help stabilize the real estate market and encourage economic recovery as part of the National Association of Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo. The meetings took place May 11-16.

During the week, Hickey participated in NAR’s “Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy,” an all-day program of sessions to address and meet head-on the challenges facing today’s residential and commercial real estate markets. Realtors® were joined by a number of policy leaders and industry experts, including U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan; Federal Deposit…

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ERA Landmark Receives Customer Service Award

Robyn Erlenbush, Broker/Owner of ERA Landmark Real Estate, is pleased to announce that ERA Landmark Real Estate has received recognition from global real estate leader ERA Franchise Systems, Inc. for ranking in the 90 Club. The prestigious club honors companies that received higher than 90% overall customer satisfaction ratings in 2008.

The company was ranked in the top 15 companies in the nation among all sizes of ERA companies for 2008 and was the recipient of the Jerry Award for fund-raising in excess of $10,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. ERA Landmark was also a 2008 Gene Francis Memorial Award Finalist, which honors the top 5 all-around companies in the nation. The ERA network includes more than 33,000 brokers and sales associates and…

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Junior Myth-Busters Family Day

Become a member of the Museum of the Rockies’ Junior Myth-Busters team by uncovering myths from our popular exhibits. Family-friendly experiments, activities, and mind-boggling discoveries will take over the Museum at this Mother’s Day event. Bring your detective skills and your family. Was T.rex a scavenger or a predator? What causes the seasons? Investigate these questions and more, plus enjoy rocket demonstrations.

Junior Myth-Busters Family Day will be held Saturday, May 9, from 1 to 3 pm. It is free for Museum members or free with paid Museum admission. The Museum of the Rockies is open during the winter and spring from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Saturday, and 12:30 pm to 5 pm on Sundays. For more information visit museumoftherockies.org or call…

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Final Days of Exhibits at Museum of the Rockies

FINAL DAYS OF TREE HOUSES, TOYS, AND EDWARD CURTIS EXHIBITS AT THE MUSEUM OF THE ROCKIES

Bozeman, MT— Three popular traveling exhibits will have their last day at the Museum of the Rockies this Sunday, May 10. Tree Houses: Look Who’s Living in the Trees!, Toys: The Inside Story, and Edward Sherriff Curtis: The Artist as Ethnographer will all be closing and moving on to other museums.  

Children have thoroughly enjoyed the Tree Houses and Toys exhibits. This weekend will be their last chance to explore an indoor tree house, view tree houses from around the world, find signs of wildlife, and peek into the hidden tree homes of animals. In the Toys exhibit they can learn about the mechanisms that make many common toys work.
 
Edward Sherriff Curtis…

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