BILLINGS - The dream of home ownership is becoming increasingly hard to achieve in today’s economy and housing market.
Montanans like Matt and Madison Miller know that all too well when they started looking at getting out of their rental apartment and into a long-term home.
The couple is also getting ready to welcome their first child, a boy, at the end of November and both agree a stable living situation is on their list of goals.
“We figured we would probably have to save up for the next couple of years to afford the house,” said Matt Miller.
But when the couple started seriously looking for homes in their price range, they quickly learned the options were few.
“We went and talked to a banker and we’re like, 'It’s going to cost that much?' Then we put it on the back-burner,” said Madison Miller.
Matt, an engineer, and Madison, a kindergarten teacher, had difficulty finding something in their price range.
That is until they heard about a new interest rate financing option only available in Billings.
“We’re really excited to get into our own place,” said Madison.
At the end of August, the Millers will purchase a home in the Annafeld subdivision in southwest Billings through a program through McCall Homes that cuts the interest rate on a new home down considerably.
“For folks that know they are going to buy a home and they know they are going to be in that home for three to eight years, then this program makes sense,” said Greg McCall.
This is how the program works, according to owner Greg McCall.
For a limited time, McCall is offering a newly built home with a 4.875% interest rate on a 30-year fixed loan for qualified buyers, partnering with Bozeman-based lender OneTrust Homes.
Buyer’s rates are still based on credit score and the current offer ends July 31, 2024, but already Greg McCall says there’s about 15 buyers getting pre-qualified on homes.
“That’s lowering people’s payments 500 to 700 dollars,” he said.
Interest rates on home loans are staggering across the nation, with potential buyers sitting out of the race to find a home, simply because of the cost going to interest.
However, McCall says, they found a way to get people back into the game and help put a solution in sight to the housing crisis.
“One of our primary goals is to combat this housing crisis that we are in right now,” he said. “What we are able to do, is buy a large bucket of capital that is tied to no single home, utilize that capital to create new loans for these homes that are substantially lower than the current interest rate.”
Today’s current mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan in Montana is sitting at 7.31%.
The Millers were not only sold on the program but also the neighborhood concept, where McCall builds homes specifically centered around community.
“Front porches, pocket parks, large parks, coffee shops, we believe those are things that bring us together,” said McCall.
And you’ll notice all those things if you visit a McCall developed community like Annafeld and Josephine Crossing, the company's first neighborhood, also in southwest Billings off Elysian Road.
The McCall philosophy on homes centers on the idea of building community and getting to know your neighbor.
“There is a greater blend of diversity of people because of that, you may have someone who is just getting their first place, to someone who is downsizing and retiring, and they can all live in the same community,” he said.
The path to home ownership remains a challenge across the nation but also specifically in Montana where the average cost of a home is now over half a million dollars, pushing many potential buyers completely out of the market.
Those with McCall Homes hope this new financial program could help put families, like the Millers back on a path to the American dream.
“We didn’t think we would get the baby and the house in the same year, “said Madison Miller. “But it turns out we had just a really good 2024.”
