COVID-19 News
Coronavirus spurs increased interest in moving to Montana
Published
4 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Rob Rogers THE BILLINGS GAZETTE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Melisia Muscat had been thinking of moving to Billings for about a year, but COVID-19 sealed the deal.
It helped that in February she got a good offer on her home, a condo in a highly sought-after building in the lush seaside city of Anacortes, Washington, north of Seattle.
“It was kind of the perfect storm,” she said.
She had long wanted to move, she got an incredible offer on her condo, and it was all coming to together just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to seep into large swaths of the country, including the Seattle area.
Muscat left Washington in the first week of March, just as that state was entering its COVID-19 lockdown, and arrived in Billings weeks before Yellowstone County shut down. She quarantined in her new home for the state-required 14 days.
“This is a new adventure,” she said.
Muscat is one of a growing number of non-Montana residents who seem to have found their way to the state as COVID-19 has flared up in more populous areas around the country.
Nancy Brook, a broker and CEO of Billings Best Real Estate, earlier this year suspected interest in the state was rising, so she sent a survey to more than 100 local Realtors to gauge what they were seeing.
And that’s what her survey confirmed; 57 percent of the Realtors who responded said they’d seen an increase in out-of-state interest in Montana, with the majority of calls coming from California.
The survey found that most of these prospective home buyers were eyeing Montana because they had family here or were originally from the state.
Muscat was initially drawn to Billings because she has a sister in Reed Point.
But what was interesting to Brook was that a quarter of the responses listed concerns with the novel coronavirus as a motivating factor. Montana’s response to the disease has helped keep infection rates here to some of the lowest in the country.
As Brook sees it, Montana is increasingly appearing like a safe haven. Tied to that is a penchant among some of the out-of-state buyers to purchase their new homes site unseen, sometimes paying with cash, she said.
Muscat didn’t pay cash, but she bought her West End home without ever having stepped foot in it.
“I did not actually see my new house in person until the movers were moving in my furniture,” she said.
When she finally decided in February she wanted the house – she’d been “stalking” it online, she said – she connected with Brook and did a virtual walk-through by video. That allowed Muscat to see the flow of the house and gave her the chance to experience Brook’s real-time reaction to it.
Before signing, Muscat’s sister from Reed Point visited the home and did a final walk-through. It all checked out, and since moving in Muscat has loved it.
“No regrets,” she said.
Brook acknowledged that out-of-state buyers, motivated like Muscat, can make the housing market in Billings feel especially competitive, shutting out local first-time home buyers.
It’s something that weighs on her. At the same time, a competitive market is good for Billings residents selling their homes, and it’s a good sign for the local economy, she said.
“The reality is people are wanting to move here,” she said.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Time
(Wednesday) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
The Waypoint
50 Ousel Falls Rd