Bozeman Chosen by Back Packer Magazine As Top Kid City

The Best United States’ Cities to Raise Outdoor Children includes Bozeman, Montana, which is  rated in the top 20 Best Places to Raise an Outdoor Kid.

Bozeman, Montana was ranked 18th and received an overall score of 54 points.

Population of Bozeman, Montana is approximately 27,500.

The median Bozeman home price is approximately $253,000.

1. Fifteen points for  Mountaineering Associations and Outdoor Science School that teaches youth outdoor classes.
2. Eighteen points for being a College town and Bozeman’s nascent high-tech industry. Also, 15 percent of Bozeman, MT people commute to work by walking or bicycling.
3. Twenty-one points because many homes are within a 15-minute walk of some type of  trail system. Also, it’s only a 1.5-hour drive to Yellowstone National Park. Bozeman is  close to abundant wildlife and beautiful national forests like the Gallatin National Forest, the Deerlodge National Forest, and the Beaverhead National Forest.

Fix Housing First Coalition Seeks To Revive Housing And Economy

From THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS WEBSITE:

Fix Housing First Coalition Seeks To Revive Housing And Economy
 
December 10, 2008 – The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is spearheading Fix Housing First, one of the largest coalitions of housing advocates ever assembled in the United States, to push for a housing recovery plan that will revive the economy.
 
“If we are going to successfully pull our nation out of recession, we must address housing first,” said NAHB President and CEO Jerry Howard.
 
Fix Housing First, which consists of more than 600 organizations, home building companies and manufacturers continues to add new members on a daily basis, is pressing for a major stimulus package to stem the decline in home values, stabilize financial markets and reignite consumer demand. To get the economy moving again, the coalition is urging Congress to support enhancements to the home buyer tax credit and provide below-market 30-year fixed-rate mortgages for home purchases.
 
“If Congress enacts a meaningful tax credit, coupled with an aggressive interest rate buy-down program, we are confident that these measures will help to stabilize home prices, prevent future foreclosures, restore consumer confidence and start creating jobs,” said Howard.
 
The coalition cites a similar plan that worked in 1975, when the nation was also in the midst of a recession. Congress then passed a short-term $2,000 tax credit for all new homes ($12,000 adjusted for today’s median home prices) along with subsidized mortgage rates. The stimulus jump started the depressed economy and the effects continued long after the measure expired.
 
“Entering this holiday season, we saw a sobering loss of more than half a million jobs in November, and major job cutbacks among the nation’s top employers are being announced daily,” said Howard. “We need to put a stop to this dangerous erosion on Main Street before it grows out of control.”
 
Enzo Perfetto, a third-generation home builder from Cleveland, has gone from constructing 20-to-30 homes annually to just one this year as a result of the economic downturn. The situation is critical and getting worse, he said. “Home building generates American jobs. You can’t outsource the construction of a home. But these jobs won’t return until the credit freeze ends and our government addresses the housing crisis.”
 
“We are leaving no stone unturned in conveying to our government and the public the message that a housing stimulus is urgently needed, and that restoring demand for housing is the fastest and most effective way of reviving the economy,” Howard said.
 
The housing stimulus proponents are calling for significant enhancements to the current $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers. Among the improvements:
 
- All primary home purchases between April 9, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009 would be eligible.
 
- The credit amount would be increased to 10 percent of the price of the home, capped at 3.5 percent of FHA loan limits, bringing the credit to a range of roughly between $10,000 and $22,000.
 
- The current recapture provision would be eliminated. Repayment would only be required if the home were sold within three years.
 
- The credit would be available at the time of closing, making it easier to be used as a downpayment.

The second component of the stimulus plan would provide qualified home buyers with 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at 2.99 percent on contracts closed until June 30, 2009 and 3.99 percent on closings between June 30 and Dec. 31, 2009.
 
The coalition has also announced its support for continuing foreclosure prevention measures to keep people in their homes.
 
To help buyers in California and other high-cost markets, NAHB is also calling on Congress to permanently keep the FHA/Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming loan limits at $729,750. Under current law, the loan limits for high-cost areas will be reduced to $625,500 on Jan. 1, 2009.
 
Fix Housing First points out that 3 million home building-related jobs have been lost as a result of the slowdown in housing production, which represents $145 billion in lost wages and $4.9 billion in lost purchases. Deterioration in these jobs has now spilled over into virtually all sectors of the U.S. job market.
 
“Over the past two years, the new home construction market has experienced an unprecedented decline. This has led to major layoffs, lost business and production cutbacks by thousands of building product manufacturers and suppliers nationwide. Clearly, innovative and decisive government action is urgently needed to stem the decline and create positive traction in the housing market,” said Frank Cicero, Executive Vice President of Store Operations for 84 Lumber Company.
 
To learn more about Fix Housing First, go to www.fixhousingfirst.com.

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Taunya Fagan Bozeman Real Estate – Montana Real Estate

Ten Real Estate Rules For Buying Montana Homes

Ten Rules to Follow When Buying Your Montana Home – From a Montana REALTOR®

1. Stay where you are. Commit to your new house for at least two years prior to buying another home.

2. Money is important. If you will apply for a home mortgage, order a credit report and ensure your credit is adequate for what you need.

3. Have a motgage lender pre-approve you. This will save you time–you won’t waste it touring at houses that are too expensive.

4. Carefully figure the best home mortgage payment you can afford. Look at many home loan options in an effort to pinpoint a loan in your best interest.

5. Be certain about where you want to purchase your home and what you want to purchase, considering schools, work, location to recreation and amenities.

6. Consider your Montana home’s value when reselling. A good school district is a plus when reselling, even if you have no school-age children.

7. Do the neccesary homework. Predicate property offers on the trend in sales of homes similar to yours in your neighborhood.

8. Consider and then calculate every hidden cost, like insurance, home owner association fees, property taxes, home maintenance  and others. These “hidden costs” can cost extra money over time, if you fail to identify them.

9. Keep from being house poor. Never allow yourself to spend beyond the amount needed for your mortgage payments, leaving little or nothing for home maintenance, landscaping costs, etc.

10. Find professional assistance with Taunya Fagan Bozeman Montana Real Estate. As a Montana REALTOR® she will help you get the most for your hard-earned money and will look out for your best interest.

 

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Taunya Fagan - Bozeman Montana Real Estate - Belgrade MT Real Estate

Remodeled, Charming Manhattan, MT Home For Sale

This charming, remodeled Manhattan, Montana home is a must see!

Charming and fully remodeled home in downtown Manhattan, Montana on a huge, secluded 14,000 sq ft lot. This home is surrounded by old growth trees and hedges.

Gutted to the studs and remodeled in 2001, the seller has re-finished the original fir floors throughout, built a new kitchen, bathroom, replaced windows, etc.

Seller built a new, oversized detached two-car garage with lots of storage space. The old single car garage could be razed and the footprint used as an additional structure for an office/studio and/or guestquarters above.

This is a great price and a must see property!

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    Taunya Fagan Manhattan Montana Homes    

Virtual Tour of This Montana Home       Manhattan, MT Homes

New Times at Big Sky’s Yellowstone Club

2 September 2008 – Having recently gained control of Big Sky, Montana’s Yellowstone Club, Edra Blixseth has joined forces with Sam Byrne, another major owner, and hired the Discovery Land Company, based in Scotsdale, Arizona, to manage the private golf and ski club in an effort to build infrastructure and improve amenities. With the hirng of Discovery Land Company, led by Michael Meldman, the Yellowstone Club management will strive to finish Club projects postponed or delayed, including land planning and development projects, constructing 450 residential, condo, and townhome residences in the coming months.

Planned are new skiing facilities on Eglise Mountain, a Family Village adjacent to the Warren Miller Lodge, constructing the planned golf clubhouse,building a luxury spa, finishing the ice rink planned above the parking structure adjacent to the Warren Miller Lodge, putting in a baseball field, and improving kid programs such as fly-fishing, camping,  wakeboarding, and others.

Acording to Edra Blixseth:

“Today marks a historic milestone for Yellowstone Club as we embark on the next phase of Club enhancements and infrastructure development that will fulfill The Yellowstone Club’s original vision and provide our members, their families and guest with and unmatched Montana outdoor lifestyle.

“I am delighted to be working with Michael Meldman and Discovery, which I know shares our vision and has the experience and creativity to enhance the mountain living and recreation lifestyle and amenities for our members and their families. This venture will help secure our position as the world’s most exclusive skiing, golf and outdoor recreation community.”

Sam Byrne, of Cross Harbor Capital Partners, stated:

“We are extremely pleased to have a partner like Discovery Land Company bring its world-renown[d] expertise in developing premier living and lifestyle communities. This is great news for current and future club members and their families and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership with Michael and his management team.”

The Yellowstone Club, Big Sky, Montana, is a private ski and golf community of luxury homes, luxury condos, and luxury townhomes, and offers members skiing, cross-country skiing, golfing, hiking, horse-back riding, and other recreational activites.

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Taunya Fagan Montana Real Estate – Click For Bozeman Events

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J.D. Power and Associates’ 2008 Home Buyer/Seller Study: Prudential Real Estate Ranked Highest for Seller Satisfaction

August 27, 2008 – J.D. Power and Associates: 2008 Home Buyer/Seller Study Ranks Prudential Real Estate Higher than any other National Real Estate Firm for Seller Satisfaction

IRVINE, Calif., August 27, 2008 – Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) company, today announced that Prudential Real Estate ranks “Highest Satisfaction for Home Sellers Among National Full Service Real Estate Firms” in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2008 Home Buyer/Seller Study^SM.

The inaugural study measures customer satisfaction of home sellers and buyers with major national real estate companies. Overall satisfaction is determined by examining four factors for the home-selling experience: agent (43%); marketing (38%); office (12%); and services (7%).

Among home sellers, Prudential Real Estate achieved a score of 793 on a 1,000-point scale – and Prudential Real Estate received particularly high ratings from customers in the marketing and office factors.

“We are very proud of this distinction, as it underscores the quality of our affiliates and their hard-working sales professionals,” said Laurie Keenan, president of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates. “Our sales professionals are local experts, and sellers appreciate their ability to market and price homes right – along with providing exceptional, attentive service.”

The study finds that despite the popularity of home selling and buying resources on the Internet, the real estate sales professional remains key to customer satisfaction with real estate companies. A large proportion of both home sellers and buyers rely on the Internet to facilitate the real estate process, with 61 percent of sellers saying that they used Internet tools to help them in the purchase process, and 68 percent of buyers reporting that they used a website listing to market their home. In addition, among home sellers, online methods are the most important aspect of marketing.

However, the sales professional carries the greatest importance among the factors that comprise overall satisfaction among both home sellers and buyers.

According to J.D. Power and Associates, although the Internet provides real estate consumers with the ability to perform some essential tasks – such as listing a home for sale or researching a neighborhood in which to purchase a home – it still does not replace the importance of a good sales professional. The knowledge and expertise provided by experienced sales professionals are important benefits of using a full-service real estate company.

The study also finds that the average time a respondent’s home remained on the market was slightly more than six months; although home sellers represented by the top-ranking real estate companies report that their homes were on the market for slightly less time – approximately five and a half months, on average.

Satisfaction averages 794 among those customers whose homes sold within five months or less, but declines considerably to an average of 730 among customers whose homes took seven months or longer to sell, the study showed. A real estate company that provides sales professionals who are skilled at determining the appropriate market value and listing price for homes, and who can effectively market properties, can help minimize the time that clients’ homes remain on the market -which can save the seller money, inconvenience and anxiety.

Nearly one-half of respondents in the study (46%) reported using recommendations from family or friends to find their real estate sales professional. Approximately 28 percent used the Internet, 23 percent used a sales professional they had used previously and 11 percent used a printed real estate guide.

The study reports that home buyers were shown an average of 13 homes before they made a purchase. Home sellers reported that, on average, their home was shown 11 times, and about five open houses were conducted before a sale occurred.

The 2008 Home Buyer/Seller Study includes 3,670 evaluations from 3,205 respondents who bought or sold a home between April 2007 and June 2008.

Based in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The company’s quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc. is Prudential’s integrated real estate brokerage franchise and relocation services business. Prudential Real Estate franchises are independently owned and operated. Companies are selected based upon outstanding performance records, high levels of customer service and shared business values with those of Prudential. Prudential Real Estate provides franchises with business strategies using Operation Reviews as well as numerous benefits, including access to Prudential Real Estate’s Online Seller Advantage^SM program designed to provide real-time information to sellers with the touch of a keystroke. Prudential Real Estate is one of the largest real estate brokerage franchise networks in North America, with nearly 2,100 franchise offices and approximately 64,000 sales professionals in the franchise Network as of June 30, 2008.

Thanks to Prudential News for this information; for more go to Prudential Real Estate News.

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Taunya Fagan Prudential Montana Real Estate Agent – Market Your Property

Best Kayaking Towns – Paddler Magazine: Bozeman #11

You already know about Bozeman being so close to world class skiingat Bridger Bowl, Big Sky, and Moonlight Basin, but do you know that Bozeman is a paddling town, with some of the world’s best paddling streams and finest kayakers and canoeists? According to the July-August issue of Paddler Magazine, Bozeman, Montana is #11 in kayaking in the U.S.

Cover Paddler Magazine July - August 2008

Some of southwest Montana kayaking streams with great paddling and your share of whitewater:

1. Yellowstone River: Yankee Jim Canyon
2. Gallatin River: Mad Mile and House Rock
3. The Jefferson River  
4. Madison River: Bear Trap Canyon
5. The Boulder River
6. Missouri River: try long, long paddles…

Read More on the Best Kayaking Towns at Paddler Magazine

Remember Bozeman’s other world-class activites:  Hyalite Canyon’s ice climbing, hiking, hunting, trail running, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, and the fly-fishing…

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Taunya Fagan Bozeman Homes - Montana Real Estate – Ski Resorts in Montana

Art Walk, Bozeman, MT – Experience Montana Art at it’s Finest

 Downtown Bozeman, MT - Bozeman Art Walk - Friday, August 8, 6:00 PM

The Downtown Bozeman Association, downtown Bozeman art galleries and participating downtown Bozeman businesses are presenters of Bozeman’s ArtWalks 2008, which are scheduled for the 2nd Friday of June (the 13th), July (the 11th), August (the 8th), and September (the 12th), from 6-8pm on Main Street, Bozeman downtown and at the The Emerson Center, 111 South Grand Avenue, Bozeman, MT. Also, a ”special” Hatchfest Artwalk is scheduled for Wednesday, October 1st, which will be the final 2008 Art Walk.

Participating downtown galleries will be featuring artists’ openings and receptions and will often provide complimentary refreshments and hors d’oeuvres. Bozeman’s Artwalk is a community affair for your whole family, encouraging you to socialize while viewing great regional art. This is an excellent method of experiencing Bozeman’s summertime social and cultural community, exposing you to a wide variety of people to talk with and genres and mediums to view.  

Maps and ArtWalk 2008 information can be picked up at all Bozeman’s participating businesses and galleries, as well as Bozeman’s Downtown Visitor’s Center, 224 East Main Street.

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Taunya Fagan Montana Real Estate Listings     Luxury Helena Montana Log Homes

 

 

Luxury Bozeman Ranch Land – 7 Ranges Gated Ranch – Montana Horse Property

7 Ranges Ranch - Bozeman Ranch - Montana Ranches - Seven Ranges - Montana Horse property

Just outside of Bozeman’s hustle and bustle, 7 Ranges is quietly located on the foothills of the Hyalite Mountain Range. World class fly fishing, skiing and sporting activities are the backdrop to 7 Range’s historic fence lines. A stone’s throw away nightlife and commercial amenities can also be found in charming Gallatin Gateway with it’s rustic charm and local small town flavor. With all that 7 Ranges has to offer, it has been well worth the wait.

7Ranges is a private, gated, luxury land community offering 18 home sites on over 1300 acres. Secluded setting in the Gallatin Valley foothills between Bozeman and Big Sky with miles of trails for enjoyment and access to thousands of acres of Forest Service. Stunning, 360 degree views of the valley at large and 7 mountain ranges. Utilities to every tract and covenants allow for private residence, guest house, barn and outbuildings. Horses are very welcome.

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Click for Taunya Fagan Seven Ranges Ranch, Bozeman, Montana 

Montana Log Homes – Helena Log Homes 

Bozeman – Makes American Dreamtown List…AGAIN

From: bizjournals – July 21, 2008 by G. Scott Thomas

Bozeman Ranked #2 Dreamtown in United States

Helena, Montana Ranked #5

America may be a metropolitan nation, but most of us don’t seem very happy about it.

A total of 252 million people — 83.5 percent of all Americans — live in metropolitan areas. That includes 164 million in the 51 biggest metros, the ones with populations above 1 million.

Yet a substantial number of these residents of big cities and inner-ring suburbs don’t have their hearts in it. They would prefer to live on the suburban fringe or in small-town America, as repeatedly shown by surveys during the past decade.

The top three small towns:
1. Torrington, Conn.
2. Bozeman, Mont.
3. Lexington Park, Md.

Bozeman Quality of Life -
Strengths: This Rocky Mountain community is fast-growing and prosperous. Only four micropolitan areas have expanded more rapidly than Bozeman since the start of this decade. The local poverty rate is the lowest in any U.S. micro, and the unemployment rate is the second-lowest.
Location: South-central Montana, west of Billings
Closest major metropolitan area: Denver, 517 air miles

Bozeman Quick Stats -
Area population: 81,763
Population growth since 2000: 20.5%
Average commuting time: 20.6 minutes
Median household income: $47,532
Homeownership rate: 66.2%
Median house value: $261,900
Adults with bachelor’s degrees: 45.2%

Read More at Biz Journal

Taunya Fagan Bozeman Real Estate

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Bozeman Schools Information      Explore Bozeman Montana

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