Real Estate Information Archive

Sometimes fall is a welcome relief from all the things to do in the Flathead Valley in the summer. It is okay to stay inside at night and relax, without packing the long daylight hours in the summer full of fun and necessary things to do.

Saturday and Sunday the 8-9th, the Kalispell Ski Club does their ski swap at the Flathead County Fairgrounds. Time to buy and sell used and new ski equipment and pick up that ski pass for Blacktail and Big Mountain.

There is a new Applebees restaurant at Hutton Ranch in front of Costco nearing opening day. This part of Kalispell is fast becoming the place to go to eat and shop. The new Hutton Ranch connector road has gone out for bids to provide another access from Reserve Drive.

Kalispell Regional Hospital is progressing with another large addition. Being a regional medical center  this facility sees strong, steady growth. New physicians are coming into the valley to meet the medical needs of residents and tourists.

In reading my CRS (certified residential specialist) magazine this morning, there was an article about housing prices hitting bottom in the next few months. Of course this is nationwide information. The Flathead slowed down later than a lot of markets and traditionally starts picking back up later. The 69 panelists in this article estimate that there may be 2% annual appreciation in the next 5 years. This is described as stability in the market rather than a rebound meaning no actual change in home values. I advise my sellers that if they want to sell now, sell. Waiting for 5 years is not going to net them a greater price.

The Summit - owned by Kalispell Regional Medical Center - offers some great education to the public. I renewed my CPR/AED certification there the other night. Check out their web site for upcoming classes, something to meet any need in the medical or fitness area.

The Bistro restaurant in Whitefish has purchased a former restaurant building in Kalispell and is currently remodeling to open there this fall. Another great place for lunch and dinner. I had a fantastic lunch with a friend at the Split Rock Cafe in the KM Building in Kalispell this week. Great value and love the old building atmosphere.

Must be the fall weather, lots of information to pass on this week!

Wow, what incredible weather we had for the entire month! Helped make up for the rainy June. Today is the last day to get your ski pass for the Whitefish Mountain Resort at the early season discounted rate. Supposed to be another La Nina so mucho snow!

High school sports are in full fall season force. Flathead High and Glacier High are doing very well in both football and girl's volleyball. 

Time to get the final harvest from the garden, still no hard frost which is unusual for the end of September.

City of Kalispell is working on a plan for an improvement district along the west side railroad tracks. Some talk of incorporating the fairgrounds into the scheme as well.

Glacier Symphony is promoting their new season, great musicians in this valley!!

http://www.king5.com/video?id=129543618&sec=640349

Summer is winding down but not the summer weather! 80's and sun all this week. Spent 1 night camping at Tally Lake last weekend. Only 30 min from home but a great place to camp in the woods and on the water. No private land on this lake and it is very scenic. Camp fire and time spent with family kayaking.

Monday horse loving friends came over to challenge their horsemanship in our arena. Had various tasks to complete and we found out which horse could do them and which horses needed a little more work. 2 of the men had a great time riding my 6 year old gelding Bentley, he gaited up a storm and they loved his go.

One of the best things about my job is working with great sellers and buyers. A highlight this week was the following testimonial that arrived in the mail:

"Cary's level of experience, knowledge of the Flathead market and straight forward approach make her a valuable partner in a real estate transaction:

She helped us price our property competitively in a difficult market. We had showings nearly weekly - when other people we knew weren't getting any nibbles. Cary was persistent in her commitment to track down follow-up comments in a timely manner after each showing. She is professional, detail oriented, organized and reliable. She provides excellent customer service to her clients. Cary's "tenacity" paid off for us..after only two months on the market, she acted as a dual agent in the sale of our property for a FULL PRICE, CASH offer to an out of state buyer that saw our property on www.kalispellcary.com! If we were staying in the Flathead she would have clients for life."

Cindy & Jim Yarbrough 8.28.11

Every deal is challenging in this market in different ways, but this kind of letter makes the struggle and hard work worth it! So far this year buyers from: NV, TX, NC and next week GA.

Some schools started this week but summer and tourist season is still in full swing. I have had 2 real estate sales close in the last week. One of my listings I sold myself to a woman from Texas closed last week and she is moving in today after a long drive. The closing this week was for the veterinarian at Alpine Vet. Hospital in Whitefish. Awesome young family and great addition to our valley. More and more out of state buyers are trickling into the valley. I have 2 more for sure coming in the next month. Traditionally, fall is when we see those out of state buyers looking and purchasing.

Yesterday we drove up to Glacier National Park and hiked some of the Highline Trail that starts at Logan Pass. A busy trail it is. It is very narrow with a hose to hang onto if you have little tolerance for heights. Not a difficult trail - at least the part we did. We followed the Going to the Sun road the whole time so clocked it in the car on the way down the pass afterwards. Did about 5.5 miles round trip. Timing was great, just started to rain when we got back to the visitor center and were sitting outside eating our lunch.

Stopped at Perfect Cuts butcher shop in Columbia Falls for steaks for dinner. Their selection is immense from buffalo in many forms to pork to beef.

Kalispell Farmer's market today was the 9am destination to get the best fresh stuff there is to be had this time of year. I was happy that I didn't totally miss out on cherries. There is a late Flathead Lake cherry that was just picked this week so got some of those.

Next, to the historical bike trail. We rode the section from town, along Ashley Creek, to south of town. About 10 miles. I have suggested to my husband that we have done enough work with our legs for 2 days!

My garden: raspberries are finished, lots of lettuce, tomatoes are turning red, pumpkins are turning orange, green beans are ready, carrots still coming. Every night a home grown salad for dinner!

Photos below are from out hike yesterday.

Waterfall with snow above on the trail

Note ant like fellow hikers top left

Looking down at Going to the Sun Road, note hose behind me if a person is afraid of the drop

Been busy working with 3 real estate deals in the works, one closed yesterday. Very happy sellers as I sold their home myself to a nice lady from Texas. Squeezing in some recreation in my free time.

Drove up to Whitefish Mtn yesterday afternoon. Used our season ski passes to jump on Chair 2 for a ride up the mountain. Hiked around a bit looking for huckleberries with no success. Below are some photos of the awesome view. Normally it is Chair 1 that is operating in the summer but not this year so the views are a little closer from these slopes. Watched the Alpine slide riders and the zip line participants. So nice there is so much going on in the summer these days on the mountain. Restaurants are open, hotels are busy. Had a very special dinner at Cafe Kandahar. In all our travels, Chef Andy still out does anywhere in the world we have eaten. Then on to a play in Whitefish at the Alpine Theater Project.

Went riding with a friend one morning last week at Herron Park. Herron Park is very close to Kalispell and near Foys Lake. In the meadows there are cross country and stadium jumps and 2 dressage rings. Taking trails into the hills there are trails for everyone from horseback, mountain bike, hiking, trail running. My friend and I climbed to the top and were rewarded with these NW views from the top.

Lots of excitement at the Event at Rebecca Farms practically in my backyard! Hubby and I jump judged along with other Back Country Horsemen and friends. We judged this morning for the advanced jumpers arriving at 6am for our instructions and to be trucked out to the jump we were assigned to, #1. 19 horses flew in from the east coast on Air Horse One with their riders. This is a 727 with horse stalls in it. I have NEVER seen so many spectators at the event today! People parked along the roads and walking into the grounds. Hillsides covered with chairs and spectators. It is free, you can bring your dogs, and there are vendors. The jumps are amazing. An old west town recreated with a jump over the saloon doors, a miniature historic train, etc. Being a jump judge, we use a walky talky to call in when jumpers have cleared our jump, record on paper the rider's number and whether or not they cleared. 4-wheelers come around and pick up our sheets, trucks come by frequently with drinks and snacks and even lunch. We are up close to the action and thankfully everyone made it safely over jump #1. Some others were not so fortunate on other jumps as we could hear called in on the walky talky. Tomorrow: Stadium jumping. Check out the schedule on the event web site. Here is a video of Air Horse One:

http://saddleupproductions.com/terf2011/theevent2011.htm

Took a long weekend last week and traveled south of Great Falls on Hwy 89 to see some scenery and camp in an area we had never seen. Very scenic and quiet. Packing all the fun into summer we can!

After weeks of rain and from 15-20 degrees colder than normal, I am thrilled to report that summer weather has come! 80 degrees and sun for the next couple of days. Sometimes in NW Montana, that is how it works. We go abruptly from 1 season to the next. Hay crop should be great this year so need to be thankful for the cool damp days. The garden should start looking like it is thriving with the heat, instead of plants looking pretty pathetic.

Big Mountain (Whitefish Mountain Resort), opened last weekend for the summer. Chair 1 has been temporarily shut down due to ground slumping and a tower leaning. Hope they can get that fixed quickly. It is the chair to the top and heavily used by mountain bikers and hikers. Maybe a result of our record snow pack and ground water?

Jewel Basin - popular hiking area north of Bigfork - a friend posted photos showing the snow is still up to the roof on the out house. A mere 5 mile hike to get to the trailhead. Could be a late start for this close in amazing hiking area.

The state legislature passed a new law allowing for preliminary approved subdivisions to get an additional extension due to the economy. Seeing in the Daily Interlake frequently that the Kalispell City Council has one subdivision or the other on their agenda to extend the process for another year. Plats can only be extended if their approval was expiring after the law came into being, so some did not make that deadline.