Congratulations to PollyAnna Snyder and Stacy Ossorio for their production and recognition by Newsweek!

Searching for your home sweet home can be daunting. The long list of "musts" and "wants" paired with limits of price range and location make it difficult to sort through the many homes listed for sale. The most successful realtors are the ones who alleviate your stress by showing that they have your best interests in mind: the ones who make you feel they are truly working for you.

That's why it's good to know which realtors have a record of success - especially in today's fluctuating housing market. Newsweek partnered with REAL Trends –the trusted source of news, analysis, and information on the residential brokerage industry since 1987– to sort…

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Market data affecting (or not) today’s mortgage rates

From an article on The Mortgage Report

Are mortgage rates again aligning more closely with the markets they traditionally follow? It’s too soon to be sure. But, if you’re ready to take your cue from them, things are looking OK for mortgage rates today. Here’s the state of play this morning at about 9:50 a.m. (ET). The data, compared with roughly the same time yesterday morning, were:

  • The yield on 10-year Treasurys fell to 0.67% from 0.70%. (Good for mortgage rates.) More than any other market, mortgage rates normally tend to follow these particular Treasury bond yields, though less so recently
  • Major stock indexes were mostly lower. (Good for mortgage rates.) When investors are buying…

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4TH ANNUAL BIG SKY ARTISAN FESTIVAL

  • DETAILSDate: Jul 4, 2020
    Location: Meadow Village
    Time: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
    Artisan Festival Returns to Big Sky’s Meadow Village
    Contact: Kate Tompkinson
    Phone:260-312-0671
    Email:bigskyartisanfestival@gmail.com

    This July 4thBig Sky will host over 40 artisans in the Meadow Village for the 4thAnnual Artisan Festival. The festival will feature painters, woodworkers, jewelers, and a wide variety of juried Montana artisans and local members of the Big Sky Artist’s Collective. The festival will run from 9am until 5pm on Saturday July 4th. The public is welcome to attend the festival in person where they can meet and greet artists, purchase Montana made crafts, enjoy live…

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Visit a Dude Ranch

Sponsored by the Dude Ranchers’ Association and shared from Explore Big Sky

Is there really any better way to experience the West than on horseback? We’ll wait…but in our opinion, the answer is simple: no there isn’t! Get your boots on and saddle up cowboys and cowgirls, because no matter where you are in Montana or the western United States, there’s a dude ranch nearby, ready to provide you with an authentic Western vacation experience, complete with a cowboy hat. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF RAINBOW TROUT RANCH

Since 1926 the Dude Ranchers’ Association has been assisting adventure seekers looking for the ride of their lives. Their website is a database of all registered member dude ranches in the U.S., helping pair you with a…

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1) Appreciation - The market has returned to a healthy, stable, and predictable 4-5% appreciation. Rental properties go up in value as rental prices rise.  With high demand and low vacancy rents have been rising steadily for several years. In addition the job market and the maturing millennial generation are creating thousands of new households each month. 

2) Depreciation - The IRS allow rental owners to "write down" a portion of the value of their rental investment over a period of time. This allow rental owners to offset some of their annual gains which can increase their ability to shelter income. Always refer your clients to a qualified CPA for guidance. 

3) Sweat Equity - When rental owners make improvements to their properties over time they…

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According to the Bozeman Chronicle, nearly three out of four of the top-ranked high school students in the state say they plan to attend Montana State University.

Some 214 Montana students have qualified for the Montana University System Honor Scholarship and 158 or almost 74% have selected the Bozeman campus.

The scholarships, good at 16 public four-year and two-year colleges, pay for annual tuition, or about $5,654 a year at MSU. They are renewable for up to four years, so potentially worth more than $20,000.

High school students are chosen based on their grades, class rank and ACT or SAT exam scores.

In 2016, 72% of scholarship winners chose MSU.

“We’re thrilled to have these students join us on our campus and are…

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Here in Big Sky Country we are thankful for a lot of things – blue skies, sharp mountain peaks, and room to breathe and think. We are also thankful for the leadership offered by our Engel & Volkers Americas President and CEO, Anthony Hitt. Anthony recently sent an executive update that called all advisors and shops to pause and reflect on the great upheaval our nation has been experiencing the past few months. As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, and now address nation-wide tension due to racial injustice, it’s apparent there is a “new normal” on the horizon for America.  We choose to believe this is better for us and our nation. Anthony reminds us:

“We as individuals have so much power. While one person’s actions can ignite destruction,…

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Governor Bullock Announces Montana to Enter Phase Two of Reopening Plan on June 1 Governor Steve Bullock today announced the state will move to Phase Two of the Reopening the Big Sky plan and will lift the 14-day out-of-state travel quarantine beginning June 1 as Montana continues to have the lowest number of positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations per capita.  “Montana has been an example for the rest of the nation in our response to this global pandemic. I have no doubt that we can continue to be that example, but only if Montanans, businesses, and visitors alike continue to take seriously the responsibility we all have in protecting others,” Governor Bullock said. “As we continue with the next phase in our reopening, our goal…

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The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage could hit 2.9% in 2021, according to Fannie Mae's April housing forecast!

The housing market growth with the current situation is unknown; however, mortgage rates and a desire for more space could drive our market up. After all, would you rather a few hundred cows within a mile radius or a few hundred people?

The forecasted low-interest rates for 2021 also predict a significant uptick in mortgage originations. The forecast is calling for purchase and refinance originations above 2019 levels in 2021.

The forecast anticipates, overall, a 3.1 percent contraction in real gross domestic product, followed by a rebound of 4.8 percent in 2021.

“The historically rapid decline in economic activity,…

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From a recent article by University of Montana, researchers in the Center for Translational Medicine at the University of Montana have been awarded $2.5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to identify and advance a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The principal investigator on the two-year award is Dr. Jay Evans, the center director and a research professor in UM's Division of Biological Sciences.

"When the call came from NIH in February to shift focus and develop a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, we quickly adjusted lower priority vaccine projects to focus our efforts on this urgent need," Evans said. "Our dedicated team of experienced researchers stepped up in the face of school closures, stay-at-home orders and social distancing to rapidly…

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