From the Executive Director, Steve Snezek

By Steve Snezek MBIA Executive Director

regular word. Something strange happens? Just shrug your shoulders and say “2020.” Pandemic. Riots. No sports. Sports with no fans. Elections. Murder hornets. Forest fires. Social distancing. Zoom calling. Elections in flux. It seems like if something could happen, it has happened in 2020. The good news is that it’s almost 2021 – the bad news is that we’re not there yet.

Obviously 2020 has affected the building industry all across Montana. Look for an article in this years’ magazine for some information on how the COVID situation is affecting what new buyers are looking for. 2020 has also seen large price increases in lumber prices (partly due to the shutdown and the forest fires), and has seen problems with the supply chain for doors, windows, etc.

Where we’ve probably all seen 2020’s strangeness affect us the most is in the crazy demand for housing in Montana. It now seems to be the norm that once a house gets listed, it’s under contract within a week to 10 days. Why is this? According to the economists at the University of Montana, it’s for several reasons. There was pent up demand due to the shutdown in the spring. Then, many people working from home realized that they could continue to work from home. Then, people living in larger crowded areas wanted to move to less crowded areas for lessened virus exposure. And then the riots made people want to leave due to the destruction of property and dangerous interactions.

How long will this continue in Montana? At this point, no one knows, but it may be the norm for a few years. All of this puts increased pressure on housing that’s affordable. While the people moving in may be able to afford the increase in prices, those already here that may need to move into other housing might get priced out. On top of that, we all know that it is getting harder and harder to find land to build on, due to increased local and county regulations.

Here in the MBIA office, we are prepping for the 2021 Legislative Session with some of this in mind. We will be working on legislation to curb the inclusionary zoning regulations occurring at the local level. We are also working on legislation to streamline subdivision and platting review, as well as septic review.

All of our efforts are contingent on two major things:

1) At the time of this writing, it looks like Greg Gianforte will be our next governor, and that Republicans have picked up seats in the Montana House and Montana Senate. This is very helpful.

2) Will we have a normal session? With the COVID situation, all the interim legislative meetings have been held via Zoom. They have also begun contingency planning for the session should the COVID situation remain as it is today. However, we will need to see who the next legislators and their leadership are before they make a decision on how to conduct the session. In addition, will the Lewis and Clark County Board of Health have any authority over the legislative gatherings? There is a chance that the session will be all held via Zoom, or even that they postpone the session until April and then just do a budget session (with little to no policy legislation). Bottom line is no one knows yet what the session will look like. We are planning our strategy as if it will be a normal session, but we will have to react and respond accordingly if it is not. We will keep you in the loop.

As you know, 2020 has been VERY hard on our local associations. With the lack of Home Shows and Parade of Homes, many of our local associations are having a rough time. We thank you for continuing to be a member, and now more than ever we need your involvement in your local association so that we can survive this COVID situation and thrive as we come out of it. Please contact your local association to find ways that you can help.

Life has not been the same in 2020. We are all yearning for a time when we can get back to normal. All of us are adapting the best that we can, but right now we are all shrugging our shoulders and saying, “Well? 2020.”