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Table of Contents Our ultimate list of cost-effective, green-minded home improvement projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 The city’s Green Blocks program provides a blueprint for updating your own home . . . . . . . . . .10 One writer’s not-so-simple experience living off the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 A grassroots campaign to make organic gardens mainstream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 A local home inspector explains what ails the common Missoula home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
PUBLISHER Matt Gibson GENERAL MANAGER Lynne Foland EDITOR Skylar Browning SALES DIRECTOR Peter Kearns PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Joe Weston BUSINESS MANAGER Ian Vatoussis ARTS EDITOR Erika Fredrickson PHOTO EDITOR Chad Harder CALENDAR EDITOR Jonas Ehudin STAFF REPORTERS Jessie Frochling, Matthew Frank, Alex Sakariassen COPY EDITOR Samantha Dwyer ART DIRECTOR Kou Moua PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Jenn Stewart, Jonathan Marquis ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Carolyn Bartlett, Steven Kirst, Hannah Smith, Chris Melton, Scott Woodall CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING MANAGER Miriam Mick CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Tami Johnson FRONT DESK Lorie Rustvold
Mailing address: P.O. Box 8275 • Missoula, MT 59807
Cover: Missoula home by Redfield Construction. Photo by Chad Harder
Phone number: 406-543-6609
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Where Might Asbestos Be? Insulation 1. Loose Blown-in Fill Insulation 2. Vermiculite Insulation
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IMPORTANT: Exterior Surfaces 1. Deck Undersheeting 2. Cement Asbestos Board Siding & Undersheeting 3. Roof Felt & Shingles 4. Window Pully
Boilers, Heaters & Piping 1. Heat Source Covering 2. Air Duct Lining 3. Door & Cover Gaskets 4. Pipe Lagging 5. Wall Gaskets & Lining
Flooring 1. Vinyl Asbestos Sheets, Tiles & Undersheeting
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 15.32, SECTION 15.32.010 MISSOULA MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED "BUILDING PERMITS–GENERALLY" TO ADD A PROVISION REQUIRING PERSONS APPLYING FOR A BUILDING OR DEMOLITION PERMIT TO PROVIDE PROOF THAT A TRAINED ASBESTOS INSPECTOR HAS SURVEYED THE AREAS OF THE BUILDING AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSED REPAIR, ALTERATION, RENOVATION, REMODEL, DEMOLITION, LIFTING, BURNING OR MOVING BEFORE A BUILDING PERMIT CAN BE ISSUED.
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Quick fixes Our ultimate to-do list of cost-effective, green-minded home improvement projects by Independent staff • photos by Chad Harder Not too long ago the thought of combining “cost-effective” and “green” in the same sentence about home improvement would get you laughed out of the hardware store. A homeowner had a better chance of finishing that lingering bathroom project than finding a cheap way to make their abode energy-efficient, eco-friendly or toxin free. Today, the tables have turned. With an increased demand for sustainable living, building manufacturers and designers have
created an abundance of affordable products. There are ways to not only measure how much energy or water your new appliance may save, but how exactly that will translate to your utility bills. Even the government makes going green easier than ever before—energy-efficient upgrades on windows, doors, insulation and the like can earn you a $500 tax rebate in 2009. (Check out energystar.gov for a list of qualifying improvements.) With the emergence of so many new
and affordable green products, we put together a simple to-do list aimed at helping every homeowner or apartment renter get the most out of their living space.
Think small Too many home improvement projects meet an early end when your tool belt turns out to be bigger than your budget, or your ambitions outweigh your free time. In other words, one weekend of grand planning—“We’ll re-do the entire upstairs; it’ll Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
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be easy!”—gets derailed by the realities of cost and other responsibilities. Avoid this common pitfall by focusing on the low-hanging fruit of your home’s problems. You may be surprised by how small projects reap big rewards—both in your standard of living and the ultimate re-sale value of your home. Start in your bathrooms or kitchen with simple upgrades like new hardware or fresh coats of paint. These don’t break the budget, but do bring a new flare to the room. Plus, according to 2008 statistics from REALTOR Magazine, you will recoup nearly 80 percent
of the money spent on a minor kitchen remodel when you eventually sell your house. That’s much higher than, say, recouping 54 percent for remodeling a home office.
Paint by numbers One of the hottest phrases in natural home improvement is “zero VOC,” a reference to house paints that contain no volatile organic compounds. It’s basically a fancy way of saying the paints don’t release harmful gases into the atmosphere or cause pounding headaches while you wait for the walls to dry. (Hint: Zero VOC paints make indoor paint-
ing during Missoula’s winter months much more palatable.) There are gallons of zero VOC paints available today in both specialty stores and mainstream outlets. For instance, Benjamin Moore Paints (1606 South Avenue W.) just released its Natura line, promising zero VOCs in both the base and colorants. Abode Natural Building Supply (215 E. Main Street) carries a couple different options, including paints from YOLO Colorhouse, an environmentally responsible company based out of Portland, Ore. We like YOLO because it recycles the wash water from batch to batch during paint manufacturing, ships most of its paint by rail or biodiesel, and uses 100 percent recycled plastic for its 1-gallon and quart cans. The quality of the paint is also top-notch. Most zero VOC paints run $35 to $45 per gallon. For a complete list of approved options, visit www.green paintwise.com.
Water wise Over the course of your lifetime, you will likely flush the toilet nearly 140,000 times. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), if you replace older existing toilets with low-flush or dual-flush toilets, you can save 4,000 gallons per year. Look for the EPA’s WaterSense label to find these approved water-saving devices, which cost approximately $250. In addition to the com-
mode, bathroom remodels can also feature affordable, fashionable and eco-friendly fixtures. Low-flow showerheads usually range from $10 to $50, and sink aerators run less than $10. The EPA suggests that if every household in America installed a WaterSense aerator, we could save more than 60 billion gallons of water annually.
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See the light By now, you’ve probably filled your home with compact fluorescent light bulbs—those twisty looking bulbs that NorthWestern Energy basically offers for free through coupon programs. If you haven’t made the switch yet, consider this: If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars. So make the switch already. But there’s more to energy-efficient lighting than just light bulbs—like the light fixtures themselves. Eleek, another company based out Portland, Ore., offers the most advanced energy-saving lamping options, made from mostly recycled and innovative materials. More importantly, their original designs look cool. Learn more at www.eleek.com, or visit their local distributor, Abode Natural Building Supply.
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Today’s stars If your home is anything like the majority of Missoula’s old homes, you’re living with a furnace from the ’70s, a water heater from the ’80s and kitchen appliances that would give your hippie parents flashbacks. When searching for replacements, look for the Energy Star label. Energy-efficient appliances—including everything from toasters to refrigerators—can make a huge difference on your utility bill. For instance, a front-load washing machine made by General Electric (approximately $750 at Vann’s, 3623 Brooks Street) can cut your related energy costs by more than a third–and your water costs by more than half– compared to an older top-load machine.
Seal the shell Montana’s harsh winter months make sealing your home’s shell a top priority. Seal all gaps and leaks in walls and around windows with nontoxic caulk or sealant. AFM Caulking Compound contains no formaldehyde or other toxic preservatives, unlike a siliconetype caulk. Adding attic insulation is another way to improve your home’s energy efficiency. Make sure to check the insulation’s R-Value, which measures the insulation’s ability to resist heat. The higher the R-Value, the better the thermal performance of the insulation. The recommended level for most attics is to insulate to R-38, or about 10 to 14 inches, depending on insulation type.
Once you’ve sealed your house, consider strategically placed exhaust fans to keep the air circulating. Exhaust fans in the bathroom control moisture and help prevent mold. In the kitchen, these fans help control odor. Visit the vast inventory at Home Resource (825 W. Kent Avenue) for second-hand exhaust fans before shopping for a new one.
Improve the view Windows can be an expensive home upgrade, but REALTOR Magazine reports you’ll recoup more than 77 percent of the cost when the home eventually sells. When replacing old, singlepane windows, look for insulating, low-emissivity (or “lowE”), argon-filled windows. What does all that mean? Insulated glass features two or more pieces of glass with a dead air space between. Low-E glass works by reflecting heat back to its source by utilizing a thin metallic coating. And argon acts as an additional layer of insulation on low-E windows. Local vendors partnering with the Green Building Program of Missoula include Frontier Window and Doors (114 N. 1st Street, Hamilton) and Sierra Pacific Windows (3535 West Broadway).
The right wood Any home improvement project involving wood products should include reclaimed or sustainably harvested lumber. In the heart of timber country, this proves to be remarkably easy.
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Missoula’s Heritage Timber (27341 Blixit Creek Road, Bonner) specializes in deconstructing buildings and then selling reclaimed materials. They offer background on any materials you purchase, with the building location, history and specific wood character. You can see how their materials have been used at places like Bernice’s Bakery, Betty’s Divine and homeWORD’s Orchard Gardens, just to name a few. Home Resource’s “Good Wood” comes from sustainably harvested logs. They take care in promoting forest practices that maintain the diversity of native species and ecosystem integrity, while maximizing the quality and quantity of timber grown under sustainedyield management principles. Through a partnership with Vander Meer’s Wildland Conservation Services, the wood is tracked from local private and public land forestry job sites, through a local mill and to Home Resource. For more
information, visit www.homeresource.org.
Find your own project Speaking of Home Resource, a recent walk through Missoula’s building materials reuse and recycling center turned up all sorts of enticing finds: pristine bathroom fixtures, antique ceiling fans, vanity sinks and decorative tiles. Sometimes the best home improvement project is the one inspired by an unexpected discovery. Home Resource’s inventory constantly changes— it diverts hundreds of tons of building materials away from the landfill every year—so your chances of stumbling upon an item that stirs your remodeling jones are high. Ultimately, home improvement projects should be about sparking that kind of creative excitement. And luckily there are now plenty of eco-friendly and cost-effective options to responsibly follow through on your plans. Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
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Low-flow water faucets make up just a fraction of the city’s Green Blocks program, a partnership with local utility companies that will save local residents hundreds of dollars on their monthly bills.
Building Green Blocks The city’s pilot program provides a blueprint for updating your own home by Alex Sakariassen • photos by Chad Harder No one with the Mayor’s Advisory Group on Climate Change and Sustainability knew quite what to expect when Gerald Mueller called asking to be on the January 8, 2008 agenda. Mueller simply sought to modify an old adage: pitch a good conservation idea and they will come. Mueller’s pitch spawned Green Blocks, a two-month, $146,000 pilot program likely saving a number of Missoula residents hundreds of dollars on their utility bills. The idea was simple at birth, a proposed partnership between 10
NorthWestern Energy and the city of Missoula. Program participants would receive free home upgrades—funded by NorthWestern—and the utility would gather data on cost effective measures in demand-side management. Nothing stays simple long when it comes to sustainability in Missoula. Under the guidance of city officers Ginny Merriam and Linda Jordan, Green Blocks quickly added Mountain Water Company and Allied Waste to the program. Community volunteers, designated “block captains,” went
Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
door-to-door drumming up the 90 percent participation required in each program area. NorthWestern asked for four two-block areas of Missoula. Merriam and Jordan handed them seven on a silver platter. “The really kind of fun side that came out of it was the building strong relationships in the neighborhoods that participated,” Jordan says. “Some neighbors didn’t even know each other until the program.” “We had very good parties, too,” Merriam says. “People were quite excited to be block captains.”
Yard signs with the Green Blocks logo began popping up on lawns across Missoula. News hit local broadcast and print venues. All told, the participating utilities sank $1,000 into advertising in spring 2008, Merriam says. Mayor John Engen considered the program an excellent use of the advisory group’s resources. By summer, NorthWestern had teams from locally contracted KEMA Services Inc. performing audits at 91 Green Blocks homes. Mountain Water piggybacked KEMA to perform its own audits. (Similar audits
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The program provided 42,499 square feet of free insulation, a conservation necessity that sets the average homeowner back $0.99 a square foot at Home Depot.
from both utilities are made available free to all customers.) During visits, both companies spent time educating residents on simple conservation methods like installing programmable thermostats or low-flow faucets and showerheads. “For us, it was more an educational thing, teaching people how their bills work and such,” says Greg Gullickson of Mountain Water. “So many times you turn the water on on your faucet and leave it at that … People were really receptive to it.” Gullickson remembers one Green Blocks participant up the Rattlesnake who had
recently installed a low-flow toilet. She was convinced the audit team wouldn’t find a leak. They did. During an audit at another home, Gullickson met a guest from Chicago jealous of the program. “Her response just kind of got me,” Gullickson says. “‘They need to do this back where I live,’ she said.” Local contractors were hired for the heftier Green Blocks upgrades. Bill Thomas, manager of regulatory supply services at NorthWestern, says the energy company pulled money from wherever it could to fund insulation in attics, basements and crawlspaces. The
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program used 42,499 square feet of insulation in total, a conservation necessity that sets the average homeowner back $0.99 a square foot at Home Depot. “I thought I was very fortunate,” says Cindy Weese, whose slant-street home received more work than most Green Blocks participants. “I’m not sure what the total would have been, but thousands of dollars. And I didn’t have to pay. I
“This isn’t rocket science. It’s something that, if you’re handy and can go down to the hardware store to switch out light bulbs, you can do it.” —Gerald Mueller
wouldn’t have done that for years.” The work done on Weese’s home serves as a prime example of the data NorthWestern set out to collect. Teams pumped insulation into her attic and exterior walls, framed a concrete wall in her basement and suggested she place
a timer on her hot tub. Not all the Green Blocks conservation measures involved heavy labor. North Western reps doled out packs of compact fluorescent light bulbs, priced at around $10 at most grocery or retail stores. While big appliances like flatscreen televisions are major energy guzzlers, smaller household culprits can be easily reined in, Mueller says. “This is not rocket science,” Mueller says. “It’s something that, if you’re handy and can go down to the hardware store to switch out light bulbs, you can do it.” Green Blocks contractors installed weather stripping, usually priced around $4 for a 17-foot roll, to improve seals on doors and windows. “You can’t do anything about it if you don’t take initiative,” says block captain Maria Chestnut. “And I’d encourage people to pay attention. The small things matter.” There are other conservation freebies available to the public. Mountain Water installs water meters during audits at no charge, unless the meter requires plumbing changes. Water meters help customers gauge how much water they use per day or per shower. The utility installed five during its Green Blocks audits. “Typically if a person wants to control their bill or wants to conserve, a meter is really the only way to go,” Gullickson says. Green Blocks wrapped up in just over two months. In October, Engen’s advisory
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The city originally looked to line up four two-block areas for the program. Overwhelming interest pushed that to seven areas and 91 homes.
group and the participating utilities staffed open houses at two Green Blocks locations to educate the public on the program. Final Green Blocks reports estimate annual electric savings attributed to the program at around 27,930 kWh, or $2,655. Natural gas savings estimates are at 416 Dekatherms, or $4,298, a year. Merriam and Jordan call it a resounding success. “If everything went as well as this did, I’d be a happy man,” Thomas says. Idea-man Mueller considers himself, for all intents and purposes, an energy conservation guru in the northwest, with nearly 30 years experience on various energy councils and commissions. In the late 1980s he participated in a
Green Blocks-esque project in Hood River, Ore. A brainchild of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Hood River Conservation Project brought energy-saving upgrades to a majority of the Hood River community. And the Green Blocks idea could spread. NorthWestern is currently discussing taking the pilot program to other communities in Montana. Merriam and Jordan have gladly donated the Green Blocks name and logo to any future programs. “That’s what I wanted,” Mueller says. “When I went to talk to [the advisory group], I said ‘I hope this can serve as an example for other cities in other places.’ So it’s very exciting for me.”
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photo by Charles Finn
Lights out One writer’s not-so-simple experience living off the grid by Charles Finn For a period of four years I lived without electric lights, telephone or running water. For three years my home, if you could call it that, was a 7-by-12 foot cabin in rural British Columbia, Canada. I spent the fourth year in a slightly larger version of my own making just down the road from Missoula, in Potomac. My reason for choosing such a lifestyle was at first economic. I was “playing the poet game” as singer-songwriter Greg Brown puts it, and reasoned that the fewer bills I had, the less I had to work, and the more time I could devote to poetry. Leading up to this, I’d begun shedding material possessions, most importantly a car. Other “con16
veniences” soon followed—indoor plumbing, cable television, my girlfriend—all in return for lower rent. In 1997 I bought a transportable cabin for $1,200 and had it moved to a clearing on a friend’s property deep in the forest. There, much like Thoreau’s experiment with deliberate living, I began my life “off the grid.” The greatest misconception about living off the grid is that you are adopting the simple life. There is nothing simple about it, and in fact it is much harder on the everyday, practical level. What you gain is not quantifiable—except in terms of cash—and instead must be measured internally. Obviously the cost-benefit ratio will vary
Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
from person to person, but ultimately making the decision to live off the grid is no different than any other decision. You swap one set of hardships for another, one set of conveniences for another, one set of joys for the next. Almost immediately, I began to enjoy the subtle pleasures of living the not-so-simple life. Aside from the economic savings, the small steeple of flame wavering behind the glass of my oil lamp became a welcome friend and valued commodity—I liked the shadows it cast and the spark of living it represented. Without so much as a refrigerator clicking on and off, I came to love the uninterrupted silence that grew and deepened with every
photo by Chad Harder
hour, and how during the day I would chop wood and carry water, becoming the embodiment of that famous Zen proverb. Far from being Lao Tzu, Thoreau or even Grizzly Adams, I made some concessions. Because I wanted to run a laptop, I purchased four deep-cycle marine batteries and a small inverter, so I could type all day and into the night. It was somewhat strange, I will admit, the incongruous mix of the lamp light and L.E.D., but rationalizations and exceptions are the easiest things to come by and I recommend them wholeheartedly. In this spirit, I hooked up a car stereo to run off the 12-volt batteries and everything from classical to hard rock pumped out of my wilderness abode. At least once a week I had to wheelbarrow the batteries through the forest to the nearest neighbor to be recharged, but this was a small price to pay. Water, to round out the equation, was not as inconvenient as it might sound. A frost-free hydrant and underground line linked me to the creek 500 feet beyond. I remember the peacefulness of my existence most. I found a deep and abiding serenity woven
into the fabric of each day, and my independence from utility companies, phone companies and “The Man” established in me a kind of smug pride. One of the unexpected consequences was my desire and ultimate failure to describe such ephemeral events, to relate to family and friends the steady calmness and deep confidence my living situation produced within me. I remember my brother-inlaw cautioning me that the track I was on would lead me forever away from the real world. But at the time I had no use for the real world. I doubted that it existed or was desirable. Reality and, more importantly, sanity existed right outside my door. Contrary to many predictions, my selfinflicted hardships had morphed into genuine delights and manna for the soul. In the end, of course, my brother-in-law and I were both right, and it would take a woman to lure me back—a beautiful woman who would eventually become my wife. Regardless, I view my years of living off the grid as both formative and informative, and, at least on some levels, the best of my life.
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Home and Garden Show Participating Vendors (see map on page 22) Vendor
Booth #
A Nu You! 277 ABC Seamless 263 Access Ability Solutions, Inc. 204 ADT 310 Advanced Building Supply 115,116 Advanced Water Jet 288 Alpine Granite Accent 292,293 Anderson HVAC & Plumbing 133,134 Anderson's Masonry 219 Arbonne International 410 Artistic Concrete & Stone 230 Axmen 223; 301-302 Best Buy 412 Big Sky Windows 313 Birch Creek Build 225 Bitterroot Turf Farm 286 Blind Guy 233 Blind Man 107 Block Mtn Slate & Stone 258,259 BridgeMAXX 211 Budget Blinds 267 Bullfrog Spas 279-282; 298 Cabaca's 245 Capital Family Mortgage 250 Carpet Direct 236 Clean Air Canisters 119 Cleary Building Corp. 205 Closet Guy 311 College Pro Painters 108 Construction Building Services 201 Cornerstone Tile & Marble 278 Creative Marketing Entry Culligan Water Conditioning 214 Cummins N.W. 220-222 D & N Siding 231,232
Phone 406-370-1525 406-721-2649 406-363-0551 509-893-3175 406-251-9788 406-452-5414 406-375-8406 406-728-8048 406-728-6790 406-825-0222 406-396-4527 406-728-7020 406-829-0409 406-251-6559 406-777-7375 406-961-1184 406-543-9990 406-370-9772 406-826-4025 406-542-5643 406-542-8282 406-251-1340 406-453-0069 406-549-1940 406-240-2958 406-549-0854 406-961-5333 406-600-9198 406-531-4751 406-546-8468 406-726-3278 406-728-1916 406-721-1991 406-728-1300 406-360-0118
Vendor
Booth #
Phone
Dave Jenkins Construction Dayspring Restoration Direct Source Cabinetry Eagle Satellite Ecoquest Edward Jones Investments EKO Compost Erhart Construction Fence Crafters Florian Tools Garden City Plumbing Granicrete of Missoula Green Energy Insulation Griffin Hollow Barns Grizzly Fence Grizzly Seal Guru Lawn & Landscape Hollywood Sheds Home Depot HomeProUSA Howling Moon Salsa Ibey Nursery & Garden Ctr. Invisible Fence J & K Customs JG Construction K Design Kinetico Water Kirby Co. Kitchen & Bath Design Ctr. Kitchen Craft Kitchen Solvers Krieg Chiropractic Lambert Family Chiropractic Linley's Cabinet Co. Loren's Carpet One
415 295-297 124 275,276 131 411 417 242 106 235 104,105 253 129 Outside 297 309 203 Outside 262 252 421 316-318 224 246 256 244 238 Entry 217,218 247,248 208,209 241 128 109 120,121
406-240-3780 406-543-6070 406-542-1485 406-721-3662 406-241-8196 406-542-4799 406-721-1423 406-375-5487 406-251-2406 860-628-9643 406-728-5550 406-728-2763 406-541-3151 406-288-7654 406-549-3993 406-207-6895 406-240-1727 406-273-0891 406-523-0901 970-232-3200 406-493-0681 406-721-5054 406-552-4435 406-541-2119 406-961-0027 406-273-6193 406-363-1782 406-543-8201 406-721-4600 352-483-7600 406-251-6300 406-541-8888 406-541-9355 406-642-3701 406-251-2700
Notes:
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Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
Home and Garden Show Participating Vendors (see map on page 22) Vendor
Booth #
Loyall Pet Food 419 LS Jensen Constuction 289 Lyons Concrete 294 Mark's Resurface-All 117 Matz Chiropractic Center 207 MC Concrete 416 McGowan Water 264 Meadow Lake Resort 261 Miller Barns Outside Miracle Method 215 Mission Valley Woodcraft Outside Missoulian 418 Montana Copper Creations 243 Montana Deck Co. 227 Montana Rock Products 234 Montana Silhouettes 125 Montana Softubs 290,291 Montana Timbercrete 111 Morgenroth Music 113 Mountain Spring Spas 271-274;287 Mountain West Cooperative 212 MT Bird & Garden Products Outside Mumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Word - Cellular One 228 Mutual Materials 257 Nathan's Curb Appeal 240 Nature's Best 251 Nature's Enhancement 284 New Era Plumbing & Heating 130 Nikken 132 NorthWestern Energy 314,315 Norwex 409 Perry Wood Floors 118 P.E.T.E.S. Electric 229 Premier Awning & Solar Screens 112 Professional Pasture Services 212
Phone 406-240-7343 406-532-4825 406-253-9474 406-363-0972 406-549-2006 406-327-5639 406-728-3590 800-321-4653 406-745-3207 406-240-1260 406-745-2018 406-523-5356 406-880-9411 406-544-6264 406-270-1499 406-327-8593 406-546-7578 406-287-3372 406-549-0013 406-777-2181 406-396-5357 406-745-5115 406-207-7012 406-549-2011 406-240-0606 406-544-4754 406-777-3560 406-543-6465 406-543-7733 406-497-2609 406-240-0877 406-642-6248 406-543-3086 406-541-7736 406-396-5357
Vendor
Booth #
Quality Seamless Gutters 312 Qwest 283 R.A.M.P. 216 Scentsy 407 Schrock Construction 110 Scott's Lawn Service 414 Select Comfort 265 Serendipity Table ServPro 300 Shadow Asphalt 239 Sleep City 122,123 Stage-Right 255 Stamping Ground Studio 202 Steel Structures America 268 Summit Roofing 266 Summit Valley Turf 413 Sunelco 260 Sweet Pea Sewer & Septic 299 T & C Fence 206 Tabish Siding, Inc. 285 Temp-Right 269,270 Time Rental 102,103 Time Rental Outside Tizer Lake Distribtion 114 Tour DeFaux 226 TruGreen ChemLawn 210 Turner Paint 135 W Chiropractic Inc. 420 Wadell & Reed Financial 249 Winnwood Floors 254 Wireless Connection - Verizon 237 Wstn MT New Holland Tractor 101 Xooma 408 Yellowstone Tractor 126,127
Phone 406-728-4002 406-721-4705 406-523-3953 406-550-2440 406-961-6808 406-251-5351 406-549-8834 406-240-9371 406-327-9500 406-239-7325 406-541-2865 406-544-2001 406-861-5329 208-777-7290 406-829-9100 406-287-2268 406-642-6422 406-728-3533 406-793-5690 406-543-5840 406-728-1111 406-543-7136 406-543-7136 866-933-8789 406-542-8800 406-829-8784 406-549-7802 406-549-9100 406-728-3916 406-207-5331 406-721-2470 406-728-1996 406-363-3466 406-543-3540
Notes:
Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
21
Missoula Home & Garden Show 29th Annual
Adams Center Map
Notes:
22
Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
Sometimes, No Reason Is The Best Reason
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Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
23
Green thumb A grassroots campaign to make organic gardens mainstream by Skylar Browning • photos by Chad Harder My wife kept telling me to be patient. Relax, she said. Let nature take its course, she said. It’s for the better, she finally assured me. And so I tried my best to turn a blind eye to my back yard, which was quite possibly the ugliest patch of green grass in Missoula last summer. When the weather turned warm last year, we essentially forced our lawn into rehab. Like someone addicted to drugs or alcohol, our grass needed to wean itself off of years of chemicals to regain its health. And like reallife rehab, this stuff takes time. But fear not, uninitiated green thumbs. By the end of the summer, we started to see 24
small improvements. Our yard’s aesthetics eventually caught up with our comfort in knowing the lawn—like our garden—was now fully organic. In retrospect, I realize the best part of this transition was its simplicity. A little patience during the awkward stages will mean less work for me this summer (a major selling point early on) and healthier plants in the long run. Here are a few of the steps we took to make it happen.
Cut off the bad juice Organic gardeners equate spreading chemical fertilizer on your lawn to feeding
Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
your kid a steady diet of Kit Kats and Smarties. It’s simply not healthy, and the long-term effects on your soil outweigh any short-term gains. Alternatives include organic fertilizers, such as natural mulch. Grass clippings and fallen leaves work well to retain moisture, add nutrients and eliminate the need for excess watering. We went from adding several inches of compost to our gardens to lightly spreading that same compost throughout the entire yard. Like chemical fertilizers, pesticides take a heavy toll on your yard. Mainly, they don’t discriminate when they kill. This
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We deliver a complete roofing service from technical advice, design and installation to long-term monitoring and roof management. We believe that quality craftsmanship and design are just the beginning in installing a successful roofing system. We go beyond the basics with our innovative maintenance programs, extended warranties, and great customer service ensuring our customers' satisfaction and their roof's long-term performance. We are a Registered Contractor with the State of Montana as a company with Workers Compensation, General Liability and bonding capabilities. Our team has 33 years of experience in low-slope commercial roofing and 15 years experience in steep-slope residential roofing.
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Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
25
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means that bugs and fungi that may be beneficial—butterflies, bumblebees and earthworms— are unnecessarily removed from your backyard ecosystem. Instead of pesticides, consider natural options like ladybugs. Two summers ago we ordered hundreds of ladybugs through a catalogue to ward off aphids infesting our trees. It worked—the aphids disappeared and the ladybugs returned again last spring. In general, organic solutions like these don’t work as fast as chemicals, but are more in-line with nature’s way and well worth the wait.
Cut your work load The ability to swing by WalMart, grab a bag of the cheapest
lawn fertilizer and spend an hour or so spreading the stuff around sounds enticingly easy. But check this out: organic gardens require even less work. Among the changes we made last summer were to add flowerbeds, bushes and trees around the yard, as well as double the size of our vegetable garden. By reducing the size of our actual lawn, I spend considerably less time mowing. While I personally cherish the extra time to hike the Rattlesnake or watch the Red Sox, my wife made the move mostly to reduce our carbon footprint. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, lawn mowers and weed wackers account for 5 percent of the nation’s air pollution. It
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Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
(406) 396-0406 www.clarkforksprinklers.com
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now takes me approximately 30 minutes to mow, as opposed to more than an hour before. When I do mow the lawn, I cut the grass high. This helps keep weeds at bay and promotes stronger blades of grass that retain more nutrients. Shorter grass dries out more often and makes it easier for weed seeds to breed. Again, that means less work and a healthier yard.
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201 2nd St E • Whitefish • 406.862.9222 28
Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
If you’ve ever walked along the Clark Fork River trail, you may have noticed Missoula’s Water-Wise Garden. A joint partnership between the city, Mountain Water Company and the Clark Fork Coalition, it serves as a “living laboratory” of how to grow a natural garden in Missoula’s climate. The same techniques used in the Water-Wise Garden apply to your back yard. The garden features more than 120 native plants accustomed to surviving our dry conditions. These plants are then grouped according to their watering needs, with very low water use, low water use and moderate water use plants kept together in specified zones. This further reduces the amount of water needed to keep the garden healthy—no small accomplishment considering the city estimates 50 percent
of summer residential water use is for watering lawns and gardens. We planted 13 different native plants in our back yard last summer, including fuzzytongued penstemon, choke cherry, evening primrose, western blue flax, mountain forgetme-not, spiraea and violas. My wife chose these based on the makeup of our yard—shade, slope, etc.—but multiple options are available. For more information on native plants, ask your local nursery or check out all 1,502 native species at montana.plant-life.org. To help with the little watering these plants require, we also set up rain barrels to conserve both money and water. It’s a small step, but we can water our vegetable garden now without ever reaching for a hose. By all appearances, our native plants appear to be thriving and our lawn’s past the awkward stages of the transition. We’ve saved money on lawn care costs, as well as cut back on our water and energy use. My wife continues to play in the dirt, proudly passing along some of her tricks to curious neighbors. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to less time spent on chores—and a whole lot more baseball than ever before.
Troubleshooter A local home inspector explains what ails the common Missoula home by Ira Sather-Olson • photos by Chad Harder Local home inspector John Jacobs knows his toilets—and furnaces and roofs and crawl spaces. For the last four-plus years, Jacobs has worked with current or potential homeowners to point out problems that may otherwise go unnoticed. He searches for toilet leaks and traces of vermiculite, evidence of mold and faulty wiring. And he spends his days at both older and newer homes. “Just because the house is brand new, or just a year or two old, that doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t need a home
inspection,” says Jacobs, noting that certain details can sometimes get overlooked during construction. Jacobs encourages his clients to educate themselves on basic home repair and to always keep an eye out for potential problems within their home. We asked Jacobs to discuss what some of those problems may be, and how to address them. Indy: What are some common problems you find in Missoula homes?
Jacobs: Most things I find are the Harry Homeowner repairs —someone tackling something they don’t know much about, like somebody who finished off a basement and rewired stuff, or shoddy plumbing. Most problems that I find are people trying to do it themselves and doing things that aren’t quite up to code. People have the best intentions, but sometimes they just don’t know. Indy: Where in a house do you find the most problems?
Jacobs: Kitchens and bathrooms. These areas have constant moisture and the number one problem that causes problems in a bathroom is a faulty bathroom fan. A home’s number one enemy at all times is water— water on the inside and water on the outside. You’ve got to keep your home dry inside and out, and you’ve got to keep water away from your house. Whether it’s through a roof leak or through a plumbing leak inside the home, it can create wet rot. You’ll see this in the
Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
29
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Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
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Heating/Cooling Specialists Indy: What are some of the first signs that a home could have a problem? Jacobs: The number one thing, usually, is if you walk in the front Indy: How do you suggest door of a place and you just take dealing with these types of a smell. Mildew and mold, and issues? wet rot in wood have a certain smell. You know Jacobs: The first thing: We always “Things are going then that there’s going to be some take a color picto happen, but moisture issues in ture of what we the house. how you deal find and disclose flooding of basements or crawl spaces, stuff like that. Some of the worst things I see are due to a lot of water damage.
t h a t i n o u r with it and how Indy: What’s report, of course. fast you deal with your best advice And then norfor avoiding it are what’s mally we’ll recthese types of ommend that important.” problems? they either hire a licensed contracJacobs: If you tor or licensed plumber to currently own a home and come in and repair the dam- something doesn’t break within age. Or if it’s above and six months, it will soon. About beyond—something we can’t every six months you should be quite see what’s going on, but looking around. Look in the we know there’s a water leak— crawl space and make sure you sometimes it’ll require having don’t hear any leaks or drips. that contractor come in and do Keep your eyes and your ears further exploration by either open. Things are going to hapremoving drywall or whatever pen, but how you deal with it it may be. and how fast you deal with it are what’s important.
Furnaces • Fireplaces • AC • New Construction Remodel • Gas Piping Experienced • Licensed Bonded • Insured References
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Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
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Missoula Independent Homesteader, 2009
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Missoula Housing Report, 2009
2009 MISSOULA HOUSING REPORT by the Missoula Organization of REALTORS®
Introduction The “Missoula Housing Report” was started in 2006 by the Missoula Organization of REALTORS® and has developed further each year. For 2009 we are excited to partner with the Missoula Independent to create and distribute the condensed version of the full housing report (which is available at missoularealestate.com under “market trends”). We see this as a great opportunity, given the current economic condition of our country, to provide as much information as possible regarding the local market and thank the Independent for making that happen. For clarification, when we say “we,” the reference is to the Housing Report Coordinating Committee. The individuals included in this group come from throughout the Missoula regional community and represent diverse industries and points of view related to the local housing market. Our overall purpose in devoting the many hours required to produce this report is:
“To provide a comprehensive, credible, and neutral picture of Missoula housing that can be used as a tool by community members and policy makers as they seek to serve Missoula’s needs.” “Neutral” indicates our intent to provide accurate and unbiased d a t a re l a t e d t o h o u s i n g. Neutrality is important because issues of housing, land use, and growth may be unsurpassed in their ability to elicit argument and emotion. While we recognize that there is nothing wrong with argument and emotion, we strongly believe that they require a founding in fact and reason. That’s what this report attempts to provide. With great respect for the land we all call home, and for the entire Missoula community that shares that land, we invite you to read this report and get involved in meeting the housing needs of our community. We hope that by providing this report, we will trigger discussions and actions that will further contribute to a shared community vision and leave a positive legacy for future generations of Missoulians.
Home Ownership Market Housing Occupancy Missoula County’s housing occupancy is made up of 56% owner occupied and 34% renter occupied. In the Missoula Urban Area, occupancy is split about 50/50 between owner and renter occupied. Past data indicates that this represents comparatively fewer owner occupied homes and more renter occupied homes than in the state of Montana as a whole or the entire US. The divergence of Missoula from state and national figures is not great, however, and may be explained mostly or entirely by Missoula’s being the home of the University of Montana, as many students are renters and few are homeowners. The vacancy level totals about 10% and is comprised of units for rent, as well as a significant number of residences that are used only seasonally or are temporarily vacant. Median Volume and Price Trends The flat or negative trends in housing statistics noted in last year’s Housing Report accelerated in 2008, resulting in the most pronounced local downturn in this decade. However, in major statistical measurements of the
housing market, the 2008 figures for Missoula (and for other large Montana cities and the state as a whole) are not nearly as weak or as negative as at the national level. For the second consecutive year, the number of homes sold in the Missoula Urban Area declined from the prior year, as shown in Table 1, with a steeper decline than in the year earlier. Also, for the first time in this decade, year-over-year median home prices registered a decline. The number of homes sold in Missoula dropped by 28%, more than double last year’s rate of decline, with 994 sales in 2008, down from 1,385 in 2007 and from a record 1,586 in 2006. The median price of the homes sold in 2008 dropped by just over 2%, from just under $220,000 in 2007 to $215,000 last year. This is the first year-to-year decline in this decade, and a stark contrast to the sizeable 6% to 9% increases registered in most previous years of the 2000s. While 2008 decreases such as these, as well as others cited below, are significant, it’s important to recognize two ameliorating factors: 1. Comparable data for the country as a whole is in almost all cases more dire than that for Montana in general, and Missoula in particular. 2. Year-to-year data for 2008
Missoula Home Sales 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Annual Sales 1,211 1,119 1,150 1,290 1,536 1,586 1,385 994
Median Price $138,000 $149,500 $163,000 $179,000 $192,000 $206,850 $219,550 $215,000
Percent Change n/a 7.69% 8.28% 8.94% 6.77% 7.18% 5.78% -2.12%
Where you can rent
almost anything!
Hardwood floor nailing guns Floor sanders Deck sanders Pressure washers Ladders Scaffolding Sod cutters Rototillers Power rakes
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2105 S. Ave. W. Table 1: 2008 was a “down” year for home sales.
( 2 blks W. of Southgate) Missoula Housing Report, 2009
35
Condominium and Townhouse Sales in Missoula Urban Area
Kendra Richardson R O C K
S Montana Real Estate O L 406-329-2043 I D kendra.richardson@prumt.com
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Figure 1: Sales of less expensive condos and townhouses Burglar & Fire Alarms 24-Hour Monitoring Digital CCTV Access Control Criminal Activity Detection
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is more strongly negative due to the historically high measures recorded for 2006 and, even more so, for 2007. If data for the years immediately preceding 2008 had not spiked upward so dramatically, numbers registered for 2008 would reflect much milder declines. The decline in sales also hit the condominium and townhouse market, as shown in Figure 1. A sales decline from 2007 to 2008 was registered in every price category except the highest; i.e., units priced at $250,000 or more. Also notable is the second consecutive year-over-year decline in the number of condo and townhouse sales in the two lowest price categories; i.e., those sold for under $125,000 or for $125,000 to $150,000.
Comparative Trends in Home Prices Figures 2 and 3 indicate the greater severity of the housing downturn in the US, both as a whole and regionally, than in our local market. The downturn also started sooner elsewhere in the US than in Missoula, with the number of homes sold dropping since 2005, a year earlier than in Missoula, and the median sales price declining since 2006, also a year earlier than in the local market. At the national level, “Sales fell sharply for the second year in a row. Existing home sales fell 13% percent in 2007 to 4.9 million, while sales of new homes plummeted 26% to 776,000, the lowest level since 1996,” according to the widely respected State of the Nation’s Housing from the
needs. She works diligently to keep her clients informed and explains the
National/Regional Number of Home Sales Comparison U.S. U.S.
process every step of the way, taking
out of their hands.
Number of Sales
all the uncertainty of the process
Northeast Northeast
Midwest Midwest
South
South West
West
8,000,000 7,000,000 6,000,000 5,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 2001 2001
2002 2002
2003 2003
2004 2004
2005 2005
2006 2006
2007 2007
Source: National Association of Realtors
®
Figure 2: Home sales nationally have declined more sharply and for more years than in Missoula… 36
Missoula Housing Report, 2009
2008 2008
National/Regional Median Sales Price of Homes U.S. U.S.
Northeast Northeast
Midwest Midwest
South South
West
West
$400,000 $350,000 $300,000
Decorate and furnish your home with antique furniture – the last appreciating asset.
$250,000 $200,000 $150,000 $100,000 $50,000 $0 2001 2001
2002 2002
2003 2003
2004 2004
2005 2005
2006 2006
2007 2007
2008 2008
Source: National Association of Realtors®
Figure 3: ... as have declines in median home prices. Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, reporting in June 2008 on events of 2007. Regarding prices, the report notes, “For the first time since recordkeeping began in 1968, the national median single-family home price, as reported by the National Association of Realtors®, fell for the year in nominal terms, by 1.8% on an annual basis to $217,900” (an amount very close to Missoula’s 2007 median of $219,550). Figure 4, on the following page, shows the markedly different paths that housing prices have taken in the past two to three years in distinguishing Missoula’s course not only from the Mountain States region and the US as a whole, but also from Montana’s largest cities. The figure traces a measure called the Housing Price Index for the decade of the 2000s. Each line indicates the course of housing prices since the first quarter of 1995, when all price levels were set at 100. The index measures the average price changes in repeat sales or refinancing of single-family properties through either of the government-sponsored enterprises known as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For all of the locations in the figure, housing prices generally increased steadily from 2000. However, the US registered a decline both earlier and steeper than the other locations, and the Mountain States followed suit – though a little later than the US, and less severe.
Observers of the national scene have increasingly noted Montana’s escape from the worst effects of the housing downturn. For example, in 2009, a real estate forecasting service called H o u s i n g Pr e d i c t o r s a y s , “They’ve dodged the bullet in the nation’s housing depression in North Dakota and Montana. During the boom…mortgage companies didn’t offer creative new loan programs in either state much, which has acted to protect their housing markets from major deflationary cycles experienced in the majority of the country.” The indexes for the cities of Billings and Great Falls didn’t accelerate at rates that kept up with the other locations, but those cities’ indexes also are thus far free of pronounced declines. As for Missoula, housing price increases significantly outpaced those for Billings and Great Falls through most of the current decade, but the index for our market also shows the very recent decline that the other two Montana cities have thus far largely avoided.
Real Estate Finance Activity
As in much of the US, prevailing interest rates in the Missoula housing market were at their lowest levels in this decade at the end of 2008. However, as shown in Table 2, the year-end rates clearly did not prevail during much of the year; in fact, through all four quarters of 2008,
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OFHEO Housing Price Index, 1st Qtr 2000-4th Qtr 2008
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Missoula Housing Report, 2009
2005
2006
2007
2008
Figure 4: Housing prices have held up better in Missoula than in other locations conventional 30-year rates were essentially no different from levels in 2007.
Call Collin Bangs or Sheryl Mickelson: 728-9410 / 239-2562
2004
Source: Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight
Mortgage Loans The past year was marked by pronounced changes in almost every aspect of mortgages: • Many residential loan programs and products that brought new people into the housing market have been discontinued. • Lenders are offering a far greater share of more traditional financing options and programs than in the immediate past years. • Pricing and underwriting changes have been numerous and more restrictive, owing in part to continuing adverse performance of certain mortgages. The principal driver of these and other changes is the federal takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Stringent new standards and requirements were introduced quickly, following the government intervention, such as assessing mortgage loan fees based on credit scores, loans to value, and cash-out refinances. All additional fees and charges
are passed along in one way or another to the consumer, which increases loan costs. These added costs help explain why historically low interest rates have not yet seemed to spur home buyers. Also playing a part is the absence of mortgage liquidity, which is largely driven by tightening of loan standards. Under these tighter standards, lenders are setting high thresholds on down payment amounts, credit scores, and other measures – which further curb demand from home buyers and housing investors alike. The federal government has responded to this “perfect storm” of factors dampening mortgage lending with increasingly prominent efforts. The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, among other measures, increased loan limits through 2008 to help encourage home buyers. As part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, a firsttime home buyer tax credit was enacted to attract new buyers. The comprehensive government interventions permitted
2008 Mortgage Interest Rates Types 30 Year Fixed 15 Year Fixed FHA / VA 5/1 ARM MBOH
Q1 6.125% 5.250% 5.875% 5.000% 6.000%
Q2 6.000% 5.500% 5.875% 5.500% 6.000%
Q3 6.500% 6.125% 6.375% 6.250% 6.250%
Q4 6.000% 5.750% 6.000% 6.000% 6.500%
Year End 5.375% 4.750% 5.500% 5.375% 6.000%
Source: First Security Bank
Table 2: Mortgage interest rates fluctuated through the year.
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under the Housing Recovery Act were expected to provide muchneeded assistance in stabilizing housing and financial markets. For example, the Act authorized a $7,500 tax credit for qualified first-time homebuyers purchasing homes on or after April 9, 2008, and before July 1, 2009. However, the credit has failed thus far to boost the housing market as expected, with experts attributing ineffectiveness to first-time homebuyers’ use of Board of Housing loans, which don’t qualify for the credit, and to the Act’s structuring of the credit not as a straightforward deduc-
tion from income tax, but instead as what amounts to a no-interest loan to be paid back to the government. Down Payments The average down payment, at 3% to 5%, remained generally unchanged through 2008.
Year
Cancellation of Notice of Sale Notice of Sale
161 206 177 174 176 215 247 313
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Foreclosures Foreclosures in the Missoula real estate market, which increased significantly in 2007, reached new highs in 2008, as shown in Table 3. Notices of foreclosure sale increased by 27% from 2007 to 2008 and are up by
Foreclosures 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
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Loriann Arnot Realtor® 406-360-1363
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Net
63 84 54 68 46 73 108 127
Source: First Security Bank
Table 3: Foreclosure notices and cancellations both increased significantly, resulting in a decade-high number of net foreclosures. Missoula Housing Report, 2009
39
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46% over the past two years. 2008 was marked particularly by a dramatic spike in notices of foreclosure in the final quarter of the year, as depicted in Figure 5. Cancellation of notices of sale also increased significantly. Nonetheless, net foreclosures rose
in 2008 by 18% over 2007. As high as the rate of increase in foreclosures has been, the number of foreclosures in Missoula represents only a little more than onehalf of 1% of our marketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total owner-occupied stock.
2008 Net Foreclosures
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Missoula Housing Report, 2009
Source: First Security Bank
Figure 5: Fourth quarter foreclosure notices were particularly high.
The Housing Affordability Index The Housing Affordability Index (HAI) is a comparison of the median price of a home and the median income of households in the community, and how these factors are affected by mortgage interest rates. The HAI is a way to indicate what the housing numbers mean to consumers who want to purchase in the local market. It reflects the fact that housing prices, interest rates, terms of loans, and amounts of down payments all affect a homeowner’s ability to purchase a home. The HAI also includes estimation of taxes and homeowner insurance. An affordability index of 100 indicates that, given all the factors that affect ability to purchase, a family with a median income has the income necessary to purchase a median priced home. The National Association of REALTORS® uses the HAI to quantify housing affordability. To figure the affordability of the payment, it’s assumed that 25% of monthly income would go toward the mortgage payment. (Experts and professionals in real estate and financial planning generally agree that no more than 30% of a family’s gross monthly income should be spent on housing.) Table 4 (on the following page) shows the HAI for Missoula from 2001 through 2007. HUD data for 2008 on median individual and family income will not be released until after this information is published. The full 2009 Missoula Housing Report will be updated when that information is provided and is available on the MOR website at missoulareal estate.com. The HAI for recent years shows that increases in median home prices have significantly outstripped increases in median family incomes. Therefore, a significant share of families (of any size) is not able to afford the median priced Missoula home. For example, in 2007 a 4-per-
son family at the median Missoula income ($55,400) had 77% of the income required to qualify to purchase a median priced home (at $219,550). Yet this family would fare better than families of one, two, or three persons; their median incomes provided even lower percentages of the incomes needed to qualify for purchase of a median priced home.
Conclusions and Outlook In a culture where national news sources reign supreme and are often used to get the bigger picture of our economic state, any objective assessment of the year in housing must go beyond a comparison with prior years and consider the year in relationship with our state, region, and country. For the US, median home prices at the end of December 2008 were down by about 25% from their peak in mid-2006, and fell by 7% in 2008, the largest oneyear decline in the past 38 years. For Missoula, median home prices for 2008 were down 2% from their highest-ever level in 2007, representing the only yearto-year decline this decade. Forec losures nationally surged by 81% from 2007 to 2008. For Missoula, foreclosures in 2008 increased by 18% over 2007. In the US, building permits issued for new construction fell by 63% from 2005 to 2008. The equivalent decline for the city of Missoula was 49%. Due to the relative strength of the Missoula housing market as compared to the national picture, housing affordability has not improved locally to the same extent it has improved in some regions in the US. For the US as a whole, the mortgage payment on a median priced US home had fallen to about 17% of average family income by year-end 2008, from more than 25% two years ago. Affordability arguably remains the greatest challenge in our local market. Regarding the future, expert
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consensus is that the recovery of the US economy in general, and the housing industry in particular, will be slow. A few indicators have recently brightened the national housing picture; for example, home sales nationally jumped by more than 6% in December 2008 from the previous month’s sales – the largest one-month gain in nearly seven years. December’s increased home sales nationally were likely aided by mortgage interest rates hovering around 5%, the lowest level in decades, and an increased number of distressed sales. Historically low interest rates also prevailed at 2008 yearend in our local market, yet did not immediately spur home sales. Caution among would-be Missoula homebuyers may be a natural reaction to nationwide indicators and fears – such as a pervasively gloomy near-term outlook for the US economy, consumer confidence that’s at an all-time low, and the absence of
Housing Affordability Index in Missoula 2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Median Home Price $138,000 Down payment 10.00% Interest Rate 6.25% Loan Term 30 years
2001
$149,500 10.00% 5.75% 30 years
$163,000 10.00% 5.50% 30 years
$179,000 4.00% 5.50% 30 years
$192,000 4.00% 6.75% 30 years
$206,850 4.00% 6.25% 30 years
$219,550 4.00% 6.00% 30 years
Median Family Income 1 person $30,000 2 person $34,300 3 person $38,600 4 person $42,900
$31,600 $36,200 $40,700 $45,200
$34,200 $39,000 $43,900 $48,800
$37,000 $42,200 $47,500 $52,800
$37,400 $42,800 $48,100 $53,500
$37,800 $43,200 $48,600 $54,000
$38,800 $44,300 $49,900 $55,400
69 80 89 99
71 80 91 101
66 75 85 94
55 64 71 79
54 62 70 78
54 61 69 77
$57,408
$58,704
$60,672
Housing Affordability Index 1 person 68 2 person 78 3 person 88 4 person 98
Median Family Income Needed to Purchase Median Priced Home Income $36,720 $37,728 $39,984 $46,848 KEY:100 - A median income family can marginally qualify for housing >100 - A median income family has xx% more income than minimum <100 - A median income family has xx% of the income required to qualify
Source: MOR Multiple Listing Service, HUD
Table 4: Affordability remains the greatest challenge in our market. mortgage liquidity, among other factors. So Missoula’s housing market, as well as its overall economy, enjoys a level of health and
stability in early 2009 that would be envied by most of the country. This state of affairs, combined with favorable indicators such as mortgage interest rates, as well as
the historical resilience of Missoulians, combine to provide realistic potential for a stronger local housing market when the economy begins to rebound.
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Missoula Housing Report, 2009
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