What a beautiful fall we’re having! Prolonged gorgeous fall colors, crisp clean air, blue skies, snow on the mountain tops, a winning MSU Bobcat football team, hunting season, fantastic HMS Pinafore performance by Intermountain Opera, stirring Bozeman Symphony concerts, The Ellen Theatre performances – plus so much more! If you don’t live here – you probably want to!
Hope you enjoy these monthly ramblings. And please know we’d love to hear from you, anytime!
SEPTEMBER MLS STATISTICS
Ongoing stats show that in Bozeman and Surrounding Areas, the median sold price at $320,000 is up about 6.5% over 2013. And the average sold price of $401,000 is up 8%. Those prices are close to 2008, but not back up to 2006 prices.
81 days on market is back down to better than 2007’s 83 days. In 2009, those days on market were averaged at 114.
Inventories increased in most areas this month. At end of September, there were 150 properties available in Bozeman, 300 in area around Bozeman and 92 in Belgrade.
Average sales prices are up 7% in Bozeman ($325K), 26% in area around Bozeman (over $500K), and Big Sky up 18% from last September.
Quarterlies next month! And, as always, call us for more information (condos, other areas, vacant land, etc.). We’re happy to provide a Current Market Analysis for your property – of course, at no cost!
SOME IMPORTANT TERMS FOR BUYING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE
1. Good-Faith Estimate – your lender gives you the best estimate possible at the time of what you’ll need to close. But situations can change, so be sure to build in a cushion in case you need more funds to close.
2. Pre-approval – That is a pre-approval. It isn’t set in stone. Great for shopping for a home, but it can be changed by your buying habits, market changes, and time. Best to work to get your closing scheduled as soon as possible and not make any changes in your financial situation.
3. The “comp” – Our Comparative Market Analysis takes into consideration more than one property. While your property is on the market, new sales figures will probably become available, and we can update and adjust if needed. We’ll explain our reasoning, using Active, Sold and Pending comparable properties. This will be much more correct than national web sites.
4. MLS (Multiple Listing Service) is only one of many tools we have to present your property to the world. We can track from where your possible buyers are clicking on your listing from several web sites.
5. We want you to know what we do as we market your property, so we created our 39-Step Marketing Plan. It details for you how the marketing and sales process unfolds, as well as pending and closing procedures. It takes the mystery out of the process.
OUR NEW WEBSITE UNVEILED
We’re proud to introduce our newly-designed web site. It’s beautiful, with many area photos and helpful information for both Buyers and Sellers. Plus a map search and other searches are ready for you to use. Please give us a call if you find properties you like and need more information. Enjoy!
www.BozemanFineLiving.com
WAVE OF SINGLES TO MAKE BIG IMPACT ON HOUSING – an interesting article from **DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2014.
Half of all American adults now live in one-person households, a rapidly growing number, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The singles demographic is likely to reshape multifamily communities and single-family home designs going forward, according to Builder Online.
In 1976, only 37 percent of adults were single. As of August, that percentage has bloomed to 50.2 percent, or about 124.6 million singles. It marks the first time that single Americans make up the majority of the adult population since the government began tracking such data.
“Thanks to the growth of single-adult households, floor plans will go from static to flexible as living arrangements change more frequently,” Susan Yashinsky, vice president of innovation trends for Waterford, Mich.-based Sphere Trending, LLC, predicts on Builder Online. “Analysts project that this group of adults will job hop more often, bring new types of living arrangements into the housing market (think friends buying homes together), and expect their environments to adapt to their frequently changing lifestyles as easily as picking a favorite Keurig coffee flavor.”
Affordability will be key, since single home buyers will have less income per household than dual-earner couples.
Also, “housing developments will need to embed elements of community that address the social aspects singles need, similar to what we have seen in multifamily new builds,” according to Builder. “Builders, developers, and designers who create housing for single consumers need to consider fresh concepts, such as communal sheds for lawnmowers and snow blowers, and even cars that can be rented as needed versus owned. Work/live spaces will evolve to reflect the growing number of entrepreneurs working from home. And, backyard cottages will bring solutions for related and/or unrelated adults sharing a single lot.” Source: “More Americans Are Going Solo,” Builder Online (Oct. 6, 2014)
LANDSCAPING BOOSTS HOME VALUE UP TO 12%
DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
You might want to take a closer look at your listing’s curb appeal: Upgrading a home’s landscape from average to excellent can raise its overall value by 10 percent to 12 percent, according to research from Virginia Tech.
Up Your Curb Appeal
Researcher Alex X. Niemiera with the Department of Horticulture at Virginia Tech found that a $150,000 home with no landscaping could fetch an additional $8,300 to $19,000 by adding a landscape with color and large plants.
The value of landscaping differed greatly from state to state. For example, the change in value from a home with no landscape to well-landscaped ranged from 5.5 percent in Louisiana to 11.4 percent in South Carolina. Michigan homes saw the biggest difference in landscaping appeal, with a home’s value being increased by 12.7 percent.
“The most preferred landscape included a sophisticated design with large deciduous, evergreen, and annual color plants and colored hardscape,” according to Niemiera. Adding different plant sizes to a front yard, for example, can boost curb appeal, as well as mixing fruit trees and flowers for added color.
The following landscape elements were found to be most important to survey respondents:
*Design sophistication *Plant size *Diversity of plant material type
“Survey results showed that relatively large landscape expenditures significantly increase perceived home value and will result in a higher selling price than homes with a minimal landscape,” Niemiera writes in the paper. “Design sophistication and plant size were the landscape factors that most affected value. The resulting increase in ‘curb appeal’ of the property may also help differentiate a home in a subdivision where house styles are similar and thereby attract potential buyers into a home. This advantage is especially important in a competitive housing market.”
Source: “Does Landscaping Increase Your Homes Value?” Realty Times (Oct. 13, 2014)
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