Regardless of the area of The Big Sky State from Billings to Kalispell, from Missoula to Helena or Great Falls to Butte, Bozeman or anywhere in between, Montana has seen an increase in foreclosures. This increase in defaulting mortgages has been caused by the mortgage meltdown and the global financial collapse that followed it.
Montana like all other states has felt the brunt of the foreclosure crisis. Montana, however has been somewhat insulated compared to the rest of the country.
Foreclosures in Montana have increased by more than double yet the state ranks 46th in the number of foreclosures per housing units.
Investors who plan on taking advantage of the down turn in the economy will reap greater rewards for being forward thinking enough to see the benefits of buying undervalued homes in a down economy. In this respect Montana represents nothing if not opportunity. The mortgage meltdown that has reduced the prices of homes across the state had less to do with home values or desirability than it did with faulty loan programs that were ticking time bombs for the states economy. Combined with unstable loan programs was a lending institution that was ripe with fraud and abuse which exacerbated the problem and therefore the number of mortgages that eventually went to foreclosure or will go to foreclosure in the next several years.
Important statistics in the state are:The above numbers once collated indicate that although Montana has a low household income it is a very stable economy and therefore a foreclosure purchase will rely more than average on the equity gained at the time of purchase than most other states which can generally count on some equity increase through time and the natural appreciation of the real estate market.
This is good news for Montanans or real estate investors within the state as the population of the state does remain stable unlike other states that have recently shown a negative population growth as citizens literally give up on a state and migrate to areas of the country that show greater potential for employment. The people of Montana don't appear to be showing any signs of a mass exodus which means that the housing market should level off and begin to regain its strength more quickly than many other states.
