Why buy now !!!
by Larry Thomas

All real estate is local and our real estate market here has little relation to markets elsewhere in the country. Our market in Montana and Yellowstone county is still very stable. Our local foreclosure rate is only a fraction of the rates in other parts of the country, primarily because sub-prime mortgages were not used very frequently in Montana. Mortgage rates are at an all time low and if you are thinking about a new home and qualify for a loan it would be wise to lock in a fixed rate now, because the rates may go up again at some time in the future.

Our economy in Yellowstone county is driven to a large extent by the new corporations and companies moving in to this area. Look at the big companies that have located here just recently, Cabela's, Kohl's and a new Wal-Mart in Laurel last year. In fact how many area's of the country can you name that have 3 Wal-Mart's within 25 miles of each other, probably few if any. And these big companies do their homework, they see the growth pattern and the potential for the future in Billings and Yellowstone county. The hospital district of Billings has expanded 3 times in the last 10 years and is still expanding. The last 10 years have brought tremendous growth to the heights and the west end of Billings and that growth although slowed somewhat now, will probably continue because our housing market here is still very reasonable compared to California, Florida or other large metropolitan areas.

Home owners motivated to sell are more apt to be realistic now because of the bad real estate news generated from other parts of the country. They don't realize that real estate is local and wrongly associate this market with those other markets.
So is now a good time to buy. You bet it is.

For more information contact Larry Thomas 628-2903 or e-mail larrythomasbrep@msn.com