HELENA, October 5, 2007 – The Montana Board of Housing (MBOH), an agency of the Montana Department of Commerce, will meet in Shelby on Monday, October 15th. The meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. and will be held at the Marias River Electric, 910 Roosevelt Hwy. more »

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is assisting with the promotion of NEEM/ENERGY STAR energy-efficient manufactured homes. NEEM homes may be heated with propane, natural gas or electricity. NEEM/ENERGY STAR homes are certified by the State Energy Offices where they are manufactured; Idaho, Washington, Oregon, or California. more »

HELENA, Oct. 2 - In just five weeks, the State of Montana has issued more than $75 million in property tax refunds to Montana home owners, Governor Brian Schweitzer announced today. more »

WASHIGNTON, D.C., September 12, 2007 — From new roads, to new ball fields, to new houses, Montana is slated to receive $20.85 million in the fiscal year 2008 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill, Montana Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester announced today. more »

Move Gives ERA Real Estate Major Presence in Western Montana with Eight Offices and 135 Agents

PARSIPPANY, N.J. 08-09-2007 — ERA Real Estate announced today, that Lambros Real Estate, a well-respected real estate company serving Missoula and the Western Montana market for over 46 years, has joined the ERA Real Estate franchise network as Lambros Real Estate ERA. Led by owner and chief executive officer Bruno Friia, the firm has consistently been a market leader in combined listings and sales in the region and will now provide the ERA® franchise with a major presence in the highly sought after marketplace. more »

WASHINGTON – Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson today awarded $600,000 to two rural housing programs in Montana to stimulate economic development, create jobs and produce more affordable housing. The funding is part of $16.8 million in grants provided through HUD’s Rural Housing and Economic Development Program nationwide. more »

WASHINGTON, DC, September 4, 2007 – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, announced the Dawson County Domestic Violence Program has been awarded a $255,000 grant to help provide assistance and transitional housing for victims of domestic violence. more »

IDX, Inc. announced the addition of Bonnie Lynn, the active and experienced owner/realtor of Montana Homes and Land in Bozeman, to its rapidly growing network of real estate professionals. Using IDX Broker, Bonnie Lynn can expect to achieve increases in lead generation, as well as rates of client retention. more »

The Montana Department of Revenue has issued about $30.6 million in property tax refunds to 86,720 Montana households, department officials said on Friday. more »

As of August 30, Montana Department of Revenue have received 56,804 online and 48,000 paper filings. That’s a total of 104,804 filings!

DOR announced the anticipated processing times for property tax refund: more »

Montana’s property tax refund is coming just in time for some Great Falls residents. Democratic lawmakers held a news conference with some local families on Tuesday to help celebrate the bill that allowed the refund. more »

• About the Refund

The 2007 Montana Legislature passed a law to refund up to $400 of property taxes paid in 2006 (or earlier years in some cases) for a principal residence, if certain qualifications are met. We encourage all qualifying property owners to apply for the tax refund. Here is some important information that you will need to know. more »

Democrats are holding press conferences across Montana this week to remind homeowners to apply for their $400 tax rebate in the coming weeks. more »

• $400 per-household property tax refund applies to real estate property taxes paid on a homeowner’s principal residence in 2006. If less than $400 was paid in 2006, homeowners can sum their real estate property taxes paid on their principal residence owned and occupied for at least 7 months in 2005 and 2004 to reach the $400 total. more »

Nationally, the price of agricultural land is climbing steadily, and land prices in several Rocky Mountain States are leading the way.

Throughout the region, an acre of farmland costs about 18 percent more than it would have at this time last year, according to a report released Friday by the Agricultural Statistics Board, a division of the United States Department of Agriculture. more »