http://www.newwest.net/topic/main/C61/L36/ New West Network: The Voice of the Rocky Mountains en info@newwest.net Copyright 2008 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:46:38 MDT Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:46:38 MDT http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/montanas_subprime_woes_may_yet_arrive/C61/L36/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/montanas_subprime_woes_may_yet_arrive/C61/L36/ Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:54:00 MDT If you're thinking the housing bubble in Missoula, and Montana, will somehow remain full of air, think again. The situation is probably worse than you think. Median home prices, as recorded by real estate organizations, have been relatively stable, but some indicators suggest a downturn could be just around the corner. Why? Because homes have been sitting on the market for months and months, while sellers have begun to slowly lower their asking prices. A rash of foreclosures may force prices down, which will greatly increase the downward pressure on all home prices. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/missoula_median_home_prices_drop/C61/L36/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/missoula_median_home_prices_drop/C61/L36/ Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:27:00 MDT Missoula home prices are following the national downturn, according to figures from the Missoula Organization of Realtors. In both April and May, the median sales price of Missoula homes dropped. Also, the volume of sales has continued a two-year slowing trend. This is based on prices recorded by real estate agents. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/a_new_residential_model/C61/L36/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/a_new_residential_model/C61/L36/ Sat, 10 May 2008 08:04:01 MDT About a year ago, a client of mine came to me and asked me to design a house that would have no energy bill -- a "Net Zero House," producing as much energy as it used. During the same year, I found that my energy bill for my own house was beginning to become much more of a burden on our family budget. These two events led me to research energy costs and how those costs are impacting the average American household. It was immediately clear from the research that energy prices are outpacing income and our current way of building houses will create energy bills that will not be sustainable for the average household. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/missoula_county_asks_mark_rey_to_halt_plum_creek_talks/C61/L36/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/missoula_county_asks_mark_rey_to_halt_plum_creek_talks/C61/L36/ Thu, 08 May 2008 13:24:00 MDT Wednesday the Missoula County Commissioners sent a letter to Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey asking him to drop consideration of the forest road easement amendment until the documents proposed for amendment have been identified and made available to the public. The commissioners wrote: "...the failure to identify, review, and properly reference the easements to be amended will make the proposed Easement Amendment legally void, and the process leading up to your expected approval fatally flawed." Rey, overseer of the Forest Service, said during a meeting last week with officials from western Montana that he would not make the paperwork available and invited a lawsuit, which appears imminent. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/backdoor_deals_on_public_lands_dissappointing/C61/L36/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/backdoor_deals_on_public_lands_dissappointing/C61/L36/ Thu, 08 May 2008 12:37:00 MDT In Montana, we are proud of our sunshine laws that keep government actions open and responsive to the public. Unfortunately, the laws that apply to the federal government are not as enlightened, which can sometimes lead to nasty surprises from Washington—surprises that impact the clean water and open spaces we treasure on our public lands. Montanans got just such a surprise two weeks ago, when the Missoula County Commissioners and Senator Jon Tester discovered that Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey, the Bush Administration political appointee who oversees the Forest Service, has been quietly negotiating a backroom deal with real estate developer Plum Creek. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/montana_banks_remain_remote_from_national_crunch/C61/L36/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/montana_banks_remain_remote_from_national_crunch/C61/L36/ Tue, 06 May 2008 17:21:00 MDT Ask Tom Welch, president of Pioneer Federal Savings and Loan (offices in Dillon and Deer Lodge, Mont.) about his mortgage portfolio: "Great," he says, "As good as it's been. I can't tell you the last time I've had a foreclosure." Even as risky national lending practices and the collapse of the housing bubble have pulled the national economy into recession, lenders in Montana remain largely unaffected by mortgage losses. Banks in the state haven't been hurt much by the credit crunch, either, because few swing big leveraged financial deals, bankers say. "Montana has some foreclosure hot spots," said Helena branch president Paul Drake of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "But we haven't seen the kind of issues like Arizona or Nevada, not even close to it." http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/idahos_village_green_development_files_for_bankruptcy/C61/L36/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/idahos_village_green_development_files_for_bankruptcy/C61/L36/ Mon, 05 May 2008 12:22:00 MDT The Village Green at the Valley Club, a new high-end subdivision and golf course development in Ketchum, Idaho, filed last week for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, owing more than $24 million to its creditors. The development plan includes 43 custom homes -- valued at about $3 million each -- and a nine-hole Tom Fazio golf course, but so far only 13 homes have been completed and only seven of those have been sold, according to developer Henry Dean. "We expected to do a lot better," Dean said. "We just fell off of our pro forma." It's the latest in a string of bankruptcies among developments in the West, from Tamarack Resort in Idaho to Promontory Club in Utah, further evidence that the high-end real estate market in the West has been deeply affected by the credit crunch. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/the_high_end_real_estate_market_they_went_bankrupt/C61/L36/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/the_high_end_real_estate_market_they_went_bankrupt/C61/L36/ Mon, 05 May 2008 06:58:00 MDT The national real estate pullback and the credit crunch, combined with several years of sky-high construction costs, have some luxury developments in the New West on the ropes. While bankruptcy is an imperfect prism through which to view the effects of the market slowdown, these five cases offer rich glimpses into the operations and financing problems. More bankruptcies are undoubtedly on the way. The B-word has even been thrown around as a possibility at the vaunted Yellowstone Club, where the divorce of owners Tim and Edra Blixseth has compounded its woes. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/oil_price_off_the_rails/C61/L36/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/oil_price_off_the_rails/C61/L36/ Fri, 02 May 2008 07:26:01 MDT The convergence of record high gas prices ($3.60 a gallon average across the U.S.), a presidential campaign, obscenely high earnings reports from Big Oil, and the prospect of $4 gas during the summer driving season has led to some rampant silliness, including the proposed “gas-tax holiday” being backed by candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Congress plans to get into the act, pledging to bring forth legislation to offer low-income Americans relief from high prices at the pump – legislation that President Bush will almost certainly veto. The price surge is also leading to an alarming question: has the oil industry jumped the rails of basic economic laws? According to economics, soaring prices would, in normal times, lead to increased output of oil, reduced demand and a subsequent reduction (or at least a flattening) in prices. But prices haven’t followed suit. In other energy news: Colorado Wildlife Commission weighs in on oil and gas production; Xcel plans to shutter coal plants opposed by consumer-protection agency; and Colorado will study the economic effects of new oil and gas regulations on the industry. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/boise_in_its_own_little_bubble/C61/L36/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/boise_in_its_own_little_bubble/C61/L36/ Thu, 01 May 2008 09:16:01 MDT The Treasure Valley Repo Bus Tour embarked on its maiden voyage in March, driving about 25 pre-qualified and hopeful homebuyers on a tour of Boise and nearby Eagle and Meridian, hunting for deals on foreclosed homes. "In this market it's ‘Think outside the box.' What can we do to generate some business?" says Nate Wilson, who helped organize the monthly bus tour. In 2005, Wilson's agency, the Boise branch of Keller Williams Realty, had 600 agents. In mid-April, the count was down to about 380. Boise has been hammered by the national housing slump and the sub-prime loan debacle. In April, there were 200 homes in Ada County scheduled for a trustee sale, the last step in the foreclosure process, compared to 42 last April. March saw 245 defaults filed, up from 99 in March 2007. In the fourth quarter of 2006, single-family home permits plunged 39.6 percent.