It’s been a pretty interesting 6 months since the economic “downturn” started to impact real estate sales in Billings. While all of the statistics I’ve read suggest that prices have held their own in Billings, I can tell you that my bank account says that the number of transactions has decreased by around 40%. A pretty significant number given that there haven’t been significant layoffs in Billings, interest rates have been at their lowest level in years, and sellers are motivated to sell and have priced their homes reasonably. The $8000 tax credit for first-time home buyers should also be a motivator for buyers.
That being said, there has been a fairly significant increase in “activity”, that being phone calls from potential buyers, open house traffic, and an uptick in transaction. Let’s hope that this is the beginning of a recovery in real estate in Billings. Honestly, for first-time home buyers, I can’t think of a better time in my 15 years in this industry to buy a home. And the tax credit ends in November, so I’m expecting a lot of lower-end home traffic in the next several months.
With the increased activity in first-time home buyers, I think this also presents a time for those homeowners who have homes under $200K to consider selling their homes at a fair value. And it’s a great time to move up.. I have 9 homes currently listed for sale, of those, 4 are under $200K, 3 of which are pending sales. None of those over $200K have sold. Sounds like under $200K is where the buyers are.
Here’s to hoping the remainder of the year proves to be productive for both home buyers and home sellers alike.
