Real Estate Information Archive

Pond Skimming flight at Whitefish Resort with a Hexakopter from Jeff Scholl on Vimeo.

It is a sunny Friday in the Flathead. Whitefish Mountain Resort ends this awesome season on Sunday. The annual Pond Skim event is on Saturday. People dress up and use all kids of contraptions to get down to a pond on skis or whatever and try and skim across without sinking in the icy cold water. I was driving up today to get a few last runs in and saw something that gave me a chuckle. Between Kalispell and Whitefish a guy was riding a bike along Hwy 93 with a snow board strapped to his back. It was about 32 degrees outside and he had a LONG way to go to get to the mountain. I thought "what a motivated snowboarder to bike to Whitefish!". Hopefully he was going to take the ski bus once he got to Whitefish. The back side snow was incredible in spite of the wind blowing against me all the way down. A couple of times it actually stopped me in my tracks. The chair ride up was in the sun and warm with the wind behind. Ah, another year over and an incredible one it was!

Hungry Horse Dam near Columbia Falls, is going to start to release water early in anticipation of the 121% snow pack melt off. Flathead Lake is lowered at the south end each winter, boats come out of the lake and the docks are high and dry. Every spring, the dam controls the Flathead River flow to prevent flooding on the way down to the lake.

The snow is FINALLY gone! I can actually see the grass turning green as I look out my window. Lots of outside chores that have been delayed with our extended winter. You better believe the residents of the Flathead Valley are ready for Spring!

Back Country Horseman had the defensive horsemanship course last weekend. We put on our long underwear and sat in an arena in Kalispell and listened to Smoke instruct is on all kinds of topics useful for being ready to ride horseback into the back country. Even learned a new knot, the bankrobbers knot. This knot will not slide along a highline when you are camping. Will have to practice it until I get it down.

It is Spring Break week in the Flathead Valley. The weather is getting warmer but it is also rainy. Only a little snow left around where it was plowed into piles. Some parts of the valley see grass starting to green up. I noticed the Buffalo Hills Golf Course in Kalispell starting to turn that wonderful spring green.

City of Kalispell is negotiating with the fire fighters union. I hate to see such essential services such as this be a victim of budget cuts. Talk of privatizing ambulance service. Many young men and women do an awesome job for the city, let's hope they can come up with a plan that preserves these jobs.

The Montana Legislative Session is still going on in Helena. I can't say that I have heard of any significant happening but sometimes the best is saved for last! Since they meet only every other year, there is a lot to take care of.

Summer road construction: expect some delays on Hwy 93 north of Kalispell as a tunnel is dug under the highway from Flathead Community College to the other side where some over flow classes are held. Will be nice for bike riders as well.

We attended a seminar at Hoopers Garden Center on pruning trees and shrubs. Learned a lot, got the shears sharpened and when weather allows, getting those trees shaped up. We had good snow cover this winter so might have some branch damage but hopefully no loss to freeze like last year.

Here is a link to the current interview with the NAR economist. Interesting point about credit ratings.

http://bcove.me/37m5ebyi

What a ski season! 300" have fallen and the summit has a 134" base. Only 49" has fallen in the valley so the snow is where it should be. Skied this morning and it was wonderful! Sun, smell of burgers on the barbecue, great condition. Whitefish Mountain Resort got 8" the other night and 1" last night so plenty of good stuff to go around for the slim crowd enjoying it today. Yesterday I rode on Chair One with some CA guys. They must be up here a lot since one hit the 1 million mark when his pass was scanned for vertical feet. Another enthusiastic skier on the chair has had 2 knee replacements and is loving every second he is on the slopes! I have logged just over 55,000 vertical feet not counting today. Not great, but okay. The snow in the valley is quickly melting in the sun and warmer temps.

Heading to Hooper's Garden Center tomorrow morning for a seminar on pruning trees. We have many Austrees lining our drive and they will need some cleaning up as will the fruit trees.

Mama goat is looking pregnant. Should have some new kids the middle of May. Goat milk, yum!

The Home and Garden show is this weekend at the fairgrounds. This annual event is put on by the Flathead Building Association.

We had lunch today at the Whitefish Lake Lodge. I am reporting that Whitefish Lake is firmly frozen! Will be watching to see when it starts to break up.

Fresh Life Church is looking into moving into a warehouse building in Whitefish. They are maxing out their Sunday service being held in the Mountain Cinema so looking for more room. This is in addition to the 3 Kalispell services in old movie theaters held on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Majestic Valley Arena is the site for Easter Services. Capacity 5000. Big deal in a valley of just over 100,000 residents.

After a little trip to relax and refresh, I am back and happy to announce it is still ski season! So much snow on Big Mountain this year. Kalispell has had only 49" which is below normal. You would never guess that though with so much still on the ground.

The Daily Interlake had articles this week about how the Flathead Valley benefits from our Canadian neighbors. With only 2 hrs between us and the border and the exchange rate being beneficial, Canadians continue to shop, ski, golf, use our medical facilities and purchase homes. Kalispell Regional Hospital has a concierge program catering to Canadians who do not want the long wait for surgeries in Canada. The hospital says they see mostly orthopedic surgeries being desired by our northerly neighbors. I talked recently to one local retailer who said it is the Canadians keeping them in business during these trying economic times. I recall when the exchange rate was in our favor and we used to trek up to Calgary for shopping. Costco prices were the same there so we really benefited with the high US dollar. Now, travel from MT to Canada is strikingly down. Costco sells bundled ski tickets to Whitefish Mountain Resort at $50 a lift ticket. Skiing in Banff costs$100 per day.

It is listing season. Listing 2 homes this week, look for them at kalispellcary.com in the next few days.

We have a record snow pack happening in our mountains. 121% was the report this week. Above last year for sure.

It was a busy weekend working last week. I wrote 2 offers, 1 was part of 3 competing offers on a bank owned home. The other was a backup offer on a house for an out of state buyer. Seems there are buyers a plenty out there for the "deals". Probably have a contingent offer written a couple weeks ago going down the tubes with another offer expected today on that property. Nothing is easy in the real estate world these days! Work, work, and maybe get paid.

Whitefish brought in record funds with their resort tax. Tourists are coming and contributing their dollars spent to the cofers and helping improve that community.

Flathead High will be undergoing some much needed safety issue repairs including sprinkler system upgrades. It is an old building and funds need to be spent on constant upgrading.

What a beautiful week it has been in the valley! Blue skies, awesome mountain views. Yes, it was very cold at the beginning of the week but very mild today. It would be a great day to hit Whitefish Mountain resort. New snow and clear skies, unfortunately, some of us have to work this weekend. Not complaining about a buyer flying in today, but sure would have liked to ski :) Whitefish Carnival parade is this afternoon - always fun.

High School basketball is in full swing with Glacier High and Flathead High, the rival Kalispell teams, playing each other last night. Since Glacier High is maturing with seniors, much more of a threat to the formerly lone high school team in the city.

Had lunch yesterday at the North Bay Grill. Great burgers and fast service for a quick lunch.

Removed the horse's blankets this morning and boy were they glad to romp and take a roll in the snow. Probably gets pretty scratchy and warm wearing those all week. Starting to think riding even though it is at least a month away depending on the winter. Hosting Kathleen Lindley at my place for a clinic in June. Great privilege to have her in my neck of the woods and not have to travel to learn more about these wonderful animals and improve my horsemanship.

Enjoy the first weekend in February

It is that time again, Whitefish Winter Carnival. Tonight is the ArtWalk downtown along with the North Valley School of Music concert and benefit auction. Tomorrow is the skijoring event. Skijoring is at the city airport. A rider on horseback races through a course towing a skier/snowboarder. It is always a kick to watch, not with out incidents.

I had a chance early in the week to ski in the sunshine. The front of the mountain had great snow and there were no people around. A little snow fell this week but with the cooler temps, conditions stay very good.

Real Estate is picking up. I wrote an offer yesterday, working on 2 short sale listings, have out of state clients calling and emailing daily looking for homes and land. Great time to buy!

Listings:

This week I listed an investment property duplex in Kalispell which is 7 years old and always occupied. 3 bed and 2 full bath in a nice subdivision. I also was showing some buyers other duplex listings in Kalispell this week. My listing is larger and higher priced. There has been a lot of buyer activity in all duplex listings on the market recently.

I listed a home Saturday in Ponderosa Pines. One of the nicer subdivisions in Kalispell. All these homes are on approximately .50 of an acre, have access to a homeowner park and in the winter ice rink. Putting green in the summer. Set in the pine trees, most homes have plenty of privacy from their neighbors. Good location on the way to Whitefish off Hwy 93.

Buyers:

Besides the duplex buyers, I showed homes to a young family from WY. We looked at homes from Columbia Falls on small acreage, to a house on the Whitefish River, a totally updated home just south of Whitefish, a great updated home in Ponderosa Pines, and lastly a home on 8 acres in Kalispell. Huge variety in the $300's both in the houses and locations.

I had a closing on a bank owned home (REO) in a subdivision that sold when new 6 years ago for around $200k, this buyer bought it for $160k. Great deal.

What I see happening in our NW Montana market:

More bank owned homes on the market and less short sales. When purchasing a bank owned home, they are usually priced very well. The process puts the seller in the driver's seat all the way. The terms and paperwork are all in the seller's (bank) favor. This is hard for some buyers who may think in this market they have control over the price and terms, not so in bank owned purchases. In exchange, they are getting a great deal. The seller - bank - will not do any repairs that might show up on an inspection. Key words are "as is" and many pages worth of saying this are required for the buyer to sign. The buyer can back out if the inspection comes up with more than they want to deal with if they are within their contingency period.

There are definitely more buyers out there looking and buying. I am seeing much more activity on my web site and interest from out of state buyers. Out of state buyers have been absent in recent years. Canadians continue to come down and take advantage of this market. There are deals out there and and the buyers that have been waiting, are starting to take action.

Please contact me if I can help explain any of the above goings on in my market place!