This week Habitat for Humanity and Lowe's are celebrating the 2021 International Women Build Week. The goal is to raise awareness about the global need for safe affordable housing for women (and families).  There are 300 Women Build projects in the United States, Canada and India which focus on the need to make housing an option for all.  In the Flathead Valley of Montana, Habitat has already completed building more than 60 homes for 60 amazing families. The organization is also currently building five homes in Lakeside, Montana, and more are anticipated.  Below is a video that Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley has shared. If you are interested in helping, there are many ways to contribute. These include volunteering your time at the building site(s) or the ReStore, contributing f... 03/12/2021

This report covers the residential land market (active listings and sales) in Kalispell Montana as of the end of February 2021. Similar to the Kalispell residential home market, land sales remain strong.   InventoryAs of early March, there were 67 residential land parcels for sale in the Kalispell area which is a 9% decrease since the last month's report. Similar to residential listings in the area, land options have decreased over the last few months.    Five or more acresOf the land currently for sale, slightly more than half of listings include five or more acres. While most of the land in Montana could be considered rural, I define rural as those properties in the 5+ acre category. Those are most likely to be parcels located on a gravel mountain road, agricultural farming land, or a... 03/09/2021

 Following is an overview of the Kalispell Montana real estate results for the residential market as of February 2021. This report covers the entire residential market, including single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and manufactured homes.    The Kalispell residential market continues to be strong, both in terms of sales and price points. Sales VolumeIn the month of February 2021, there were 71 residential sales in Kalispell which is 39% higher than the same time last year. It is lower than January by 18%, but remains strong for this time of year.  Also of interest, there are currently 187 homes under contract, more than double the amount sold in February. This indicates there is still strong buyer demand. Next month's results should remain high.  InventoryIn terms of available... 03/06/2021

This report covers the residential land market (active listings and sales) in Kalispell Montana as of the end of January 2021. Similar to the housing market, land sales remain strong.   InventoryAs of early February, there were 74 residential land parcels for sale in the Kalispell area, which is a 24% decrease since the last month's report. The decrease is attributable both to properties going under contract, one listing expiring and only a small amount of new listings during January.  Five or more acresOf the land currently for sale, 53% of listings include five or more acres. While most of the land in Montana could be considered rural, I define rural as those properties in the 5+ acre category. Those are most likely to be parcels located on a gravel mountain road, agricultural farming... 02/07/2021

Previous posts indicated there were Kalispell land options for those who wished to spend $100K or less, between $100-300K and from $300K-500K. But what if you had the opportunity to spend between over $500K on your dream land parcel? What would that buy you? At the time of this post, in late January 2021 there were twenty possibilities in this category. Number and type of listingsFour of the listings are smaller than 20 acres in size and range in price from $700K to $1.9M. The smallest parcel is 1 acre and already has 4-bedroom septic in place. This lot has 149 feet of Lake Blaine frontage and has a driveway in place and a partially cleared building site. The lake is only open to residents. This is listed at $790K. The second parcel is approximately 5.5 acres. This is an agricultural pr... 01/26/2021

Here is an overview of the Kalispell Land Selling Process for those considering selling their Montana land.    Gather your documents. It would be useful to pull out your title report and closing documents from your purchase of the land to be able to answer any questions that may come up. If you are using a skilled land listing agent (see below for more) she will obtain a report from the title company which often includes a copy of your deed, any land covenants, property report, and more. However, you should be prepared to supply whatever documents are missing and may need to be attached to the listing.  Also, if you have any questions about your own property, it’s a great idea to resolve those prior to putting your land on the market. For example, one seller had issues in the past findi... 01/22/2021

So you want to purchase land in Kalispell or elsewhere in Flathead County, Montana. The following will walk you through the process of doing so.  Decide how you are going to fund your land purchase.Your options can include cash, owner financing (if seller is interested in this, many are not), home equity line-of-credit or loan, land mortgage (only a few financial institutions will provide these and a large down payment is typically needed), personal loan, borrow against a 401(k), use a construction loan if buying land AND building, or gift.  Please note, if you are using cash you will need to provide “proof of funds” prior to making an offer, and if you are using a mortgage, you will need a pre-approval prior as well. For more information on funding options, check out this link.   Ident... 01/15/2021

My previous posts indicated there were Kalispell land options for those who wished to spend $100K or less, or wanted to spend between $100-300K. But what if you had the opportunity to spend between $300K to $500K on your dream land parcel? What would that buy you? At the time of this post, in mid January 2021 there were 11 possibilities in this category. Number and type of listingsFour of the listings are smaller than 20 acres in size. The smallest parcel is slightly bigger than 1.5 acres and already has 4-bedroom septic and a well in place. It also comes with a 40' x 50' shop with 16' ceilings, radiant flooring, a bathroom and a 14'x18' insulated door. All that's missing is your home! This is listed at $498K. There is another option that is slightly less than 2 acres. This one has been... 01/11/2021

This report covers the residential land market (active listings and sales) in Kalispell Montana as of the end of December 2020. Similar to the housing market, land sales have been very strong. InventoryAs of early January, there were 98 residential land parcels for sale in the Kalispell area, which is an 18% decrease since the last month's report. The decrease is attributable both to properties going under contract and some listings expiring. Five or more acresOf the land currently for sale, 45% of listings include five or more acres. While most of the land in Montana could be considered rural, I define rural as those properties in the 5+ acre category. Those are most likely to be parcels located on a gravel mountain road, or adjacent to National Forest or lumber parcels. They are often... 01/06/2021

Following is an overview of the Kalispell Montana real estate results for the residential market as of December 2020. This report covers the entire residential market, including single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and manufactured homes.    The Kalispell residential market had a very strong 2020 in terms of both sales and price points. Sales VolumeIn the month of December 2020, there were 113 residential sales in Kalispell. That result is 69% higher than the same time last year and slightly lower than November. As can be seen by the chart below, sales typically slow down in the October period and stay relatively low for the next three or four months. And while sales in the final three months of 2020 were slower than the late spring and summer, they were still very strong overa... 01/05/2021

A previous post indicated there were indeed Kalispell land options for those who wished to spend $100K or less. At the time of that post all of the available properties in that price category were under an acre in size. In addition, they all came with covenants and most had an HOA as well. So what if you wanted to spend more on land, specifically between $100K to $300K. What kind of options would you currently have? The first thing to state:There are plenty of land listings in this category. Number and type of listingsAs of the end of December 2020, there were 53 active properties within this price range. Seventeen percent (or 9) of them are under 1 acre, and the rest are larger as can be seen in this chart.  The smallest land parcel currently available is .12 of an acre. It is approved... 12/29/2020

Do you dream of a secluded mountain parcel of land with views of Montana's Flathead Valley? With acres of forest to explore? Minutes from Flathead National Forest, perfect for hiking and hunting? A property for your mountainside dream home, or hunting retreat? With cell service and only 20 minutes into Kalispell?  If yes, this is the place! Twenty acres of beautiful Montana forest land with no zoning, HOA or covenants. That means your imagination can turn this property into whatever you dream.      Do you want to build a small off-the-grid hunting camp that allows you to walk out the backdoor and already be in fantastic hunting land? Do it! Deer and elk tracks abound! The area is also home to black bear and many other varieties of wildlife.   Or would you rather build a mountain side re... 12/24/2020

Once a year while growing up, Kat’s parents would take out the brown boxes and make sure each girl had their marching orders. “You can only bring what can fit in that box.” So off they’d go to stuff clothes, books and other items in their box. Then the family would pack up the vehicle and head off on their annual two week camping trip. Memories of natureThose trips were the source of lifetime memories. Watching a moose swim across a still lake in Algonquin Park in Canada first thing in the morning. Feeding left-over birthday cake to horses wandering in a field. Finding out what happens when you play with the roof of a canvas tent in pouring rain. Listening to the sounds of the forest before anyone else wakes up. Taking turns getting water, cleaning up after dinner, and gathering firewoo... 12/24/2020

The most expensive parcel of land for sale in the Kalispell area right now has an asking price close to $7M. That's for 104 acres with the possibility of commercial or residential development. Currently nearly 10% of all land parcels for sale are over $1M.  Is it even possible to purchase land for less than $100K? The answer is yes, but....  At this point in time, December 14th 2020, there are 31 land parcels for sale with listed amounts under $100K. And that's great news if you'd like to live in a development with Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, because 100% of those listings fit that category. For those who are interested in living close to the activity of Kalispell, there are quite a few options available at this time. (And the but is for those who are interested in rural acr... 12/14/2020

This report covers the residential land market (active listings and sales) in Kalispell Montana as of the end of November 2020. Similar to the housing market, land sales have been very strong.  InventoryAs of early December, there were 120 residential land parcels for sale in the Kalispell area, which is an increase of just 1 over last month. So basically, the number of land parcels in inventory has remained level over the last few months.  Of the land currently for sale, 57 listings include five or more acres. While most of the land in Montana could be considered rural, I define rural as those properties in the 5+ acre category. Those are most likely to be parcels located on a gravel mountain road, or adjacent to National Forest or lumber parcels. They are often not located in a develo... 12/08/2020

In this edition of The HouseKat Presents, I had the pleasure to speak with Conor Davison, president of Rooftop Systems Inc. Check out the video, and then see below for additional information.  I had the pleasure of meeting Conor when he and his team installed the roof on our new home a year ago. His team’s professionalism and attitude were top notch and I would definitely recommend them. And when we recently met again, I was even more impressed. Conor made it clear that his main concerns were for new and existing home owners. In fact, I think the only reason he agreed to do a video was to make sure home owners have information that will help them keep a sturdy roof over their heads!   Rooftop Systems Inc. is a roofing company that serves the Flathead Valley of Montana including Kalispel... 12/08/2020

Following is an overview of the Kalispell Montana real estate results for the residential market as of November 2020. This report covers the entire residential market, which includes single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and manufactured homes.    The Kalispell residential market remains very strong this year, even through the Fall. Both sales volume and median price points have increased since the October report. Sales VolumeIn the month of November 2020, there were 120 residential sales in Kalispell. That result is 36% higher than the same time last year and 9% higher than the previous month. As can be seen by the chart below, sales typically slow down in the October period and stay relatively low for the next three or four months. While sales are lower than they were during t... 12/07/2020

This report covers the residential land market (active listings and sales) in Kalispell Montana as of the end of October 2020. Similar to the housing market, land sales have been very strong.  InventoryAs of early November, there were 119 residential land parcels for sale in the Kalispell area, which is a 10% decrease from the previous month. Of the land currently for sale, 59 listings include five or more acres. While most of the land in Montana could be considered rural, I define rural as those properties in the 5+ acre category. Those are most likely to be parcels located on a gravel mountain road, or adjacent to National Forest or lumber parcels. They are often not located in a development, but by themselves, and provide privacy and multiple building and use options.  This month, th... 11/07/2020

Following is an overview of the Kalispell Montana real estate results for the residential market as of October 2020. This report covers the entire residential market, which includes single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and manufactured homes.    The Kalispell residential market was incredibly hot this year. Activity is still very strong, but is starting to slow down a bit. See below for specifics. Sales VolumeIn the month of October 2020, there were 110 residential sales in Kalispell. That result is 16% higher than the same time last year, but a third lower than the previous month. As can be seen by the chart below, sales do typically slow down in the October period and stay relatively low for the next three or four months. Of course 2020 has been nothing you would call "typica... 11/06/2020

Following is an overview of Bigfork Montana real estate results for the residential market as of October 2020. Similar to the Kalispell reports, this data includes single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and manufactured homes.    In October 2020, the number of sales and median prices remained strong. Following is an overview of the market. Sales VolumeIn the month of October 2020, there were 39 residential sales which was 34% more than the previous year and 26% less than September 2020. As you can see from the chart below, sales do typically start to drop off during Autumn, so the lower number of sales is no surprise.  So far this year there have been a total of 291 residential sales which reflects a 40% increase over 2019's year-to-date sales. 2020 has been a very strong year fo... 11/05/2020