I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it’d be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. If I can find enough interesting material, I hope to share one from each year up until now. This week's post will cover a Kalispell ordinance I found from 1919.The United States Prohibition lasted from 1920 to December of 1933. Even though it didn't officially start until 1920, three quarters of all states had ratified the 18th Amendment by 1919. Montana beat that date by voting for prohibition to start on December 31, 1918. And that is how Kalispell City Council's ordinance #350 came to be. Specifically, this ordinance stated that "Every person who sells, exchanges, gives, barters, or disposes of, any ardent spirits, or any compound there... 11/07/2023

This report covers the residential land market in Kalispell Montana as of the end of October 2023. The number of parcels under contract decreased while monthly sales and active listings increased. The residential land market remains a buyers market.   INVENTORYAs of early November 2023, there were 118 residential land parcels for sale in Kalispell which is only one more than October's inventory. Five or more acresOf the land currently for sale 35% of the listings include five or more acres. This percentage is slightly lower than last month's report. 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 acreage adjacent to National Forest or lumber parcels. They are often not locate... 11/06/2023

Following is an overview of the Kalispell Montana real estate results for the residential market as of October 2023. This report covers the entire residential market, including single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and manufactured homes.According to my calculations, the Kalispell residential market spent the month of October in a balanced market where neither sellers or buyers had an advantage. In October sales were lower than the previous month and remain lower than last year. Inventory decreased for the first time since April and homes under contract remained relatively flat. Sales VolumeIn the month of October 2023, there were 56 residential sales in Kalispell which was 21% lower than last month and 19% less than last year. This year's home market remains softer than last ye... 11/05/2023

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it’d be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. If I can find enough interesting material, I hope to share one from each year up until now. This week's post will cover a Kalispell ordinance I found from 1917.After reading the five page ordinance #340, you might think the streets were a mass of confusion before this Ordinance was passed. And you also might assume the Mayor and Town Council were fed up. Here is what this ruling covered:Traffic must keep to the right. The ruling specifically indicated if you were passing a car going in a different direction, both must stay to the right, and if you were passing a car going in the same direction the one passing should drive on the left of th... 10/30/2023

A huge congratulations to my buyer clients on purchasing land for their new home and shop!This wonderful family recently moved into the Flathead Valley, and they were hunting for land that was free of covenants and building constraints. They were also hoping for privacy and lots of woods and wildlife. They wound up with a beautiful parcel with over five acres of land and gorgeous mountain views. The property is within 15 minutes of town and all the area has to offer. There is already electric available, cell service works and there is plenty of southern facing sunlight. And the property is located off a very private gravel road. What more could one ask for?The featured photo is one of the views from the specific area where they plan to build their home (although there are many options f... 10/18/2023

A totally unexpected find in my area of Kalispell Montana has to do with mushrooms. Please note that I am not a professional forager, so feel free to take my input with a grain of salt. That being said, here are my experiences so far with wild mushrooms in northwest Montana. First, in our first Spring at our property, we found these interesting looking mushrooms growing at the edge of our driveway. I remember my husband spotting them, and asking, "What is that?" So when I came home, I checked the photo online and they looked a lot like morel mushrooms. I then posted a picture on a local Facebook page and I was bombarded with excited people telling me those were definitely morel mushrooms, and they were quite desirable and delicious.So after doing a little additional research, I decided ... 10/12/2023

This report covers the residential land market in Kalispell Montana as of the end of September 2023. The number of parcels under contract increased while monthly sales and active listings decreased. Unlike the residential housing market, the residential land market remains a buyers market.   INVENTORYAs of early October 2023, there were 117 residential land parcels for sale in Kalispell which is 13 less than September's inventory. Five or more acresOf the land currently for sale 36% of the listings include five or more acres. This percentage is slightly lower than last month's report. 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 acreage adjacent to National Forest or lumbe... 10/06/2023

Following is an overview of the Kalispell Montana real estate results for the residential market as of September 2023. This report covers the entire residential market, including single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and manufactured homes.The Kalispell residential market remains a seller's market but it is even closer to being a balanced market. In September sales were lower than the previous month and remain lower than last year. Inventory increased for the sixth month in a row and homes under contract decreased again. Sales VolumeIn the month of September 2023, there were 71 residential sales in Kalispell which was lower than last month and 9% less than last year. Year to date sales have been 16% lower than the same timeframe in 2022. This year's home market is definitely sof... 10/05/2023

A huge congratulations to my buyer clients on purchasing the land where their forever home will go!These wonderful buyers had been scouring listings for more than a year, trying to find the right land OR a ready-made forever home. They knew exactly what they wanted, so that did make the search somewhat easier. That's because we could quickly cross off anything that didn't meet their needs.They wound up with a beautiful parcel with over 12 acres of land, lake frontage, lake access, gorgeous mountain views and easy access to town. They're only minutes from Jewel Basin hiking and cross-country skiing and only a half hour or so from Glacier National Park and local downhill skiing.The featured photo is of the lake on the edge of their property. This one is of the building site, looking away ... 09/22/2023

This report covers the residential land market in Kalispell Montana as of the end of August 2023. The number of monthly sales and parcels under contract increased while active listings decreased. Unlike the residential housing market, the residential land market remains a buyers market. That being said, this month does show some signs of slow movement towards a more balanced market (very slow).  INVENTORYAs of early September 2023, there were 130 residential land parcels for sale in Kalispell which is 18 less than August's inventory. Five or more acresOf the land currently for sale 37% of the listings include five or more acres. This percentage is slightly lower than last month's report. I define rural as those properties in the 5+ acre category. Those are most likely to be parcels loca... 09/08/2023

Following is an overview of the Kalispell Montana real estate results for the residential market as of August 2023. This report covers the entire residential market, including single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and manufactured homes.The Kalispell residential market remains a seller's market but it is even closer to being a balanced market than it was last month. In August sales were higher than the previous month but remain lower than last year. Inventory increased for the fifth month in a row and homes under contract decreased again. Sales VolumeIn the month of August 2023, there were 92 residential sales in Kalispell which was higher than last month and 14% less than last year. Year to date sales have been 17% lower than the same timeframe in 2022. This year's home market ... 09/07/2023

This report covers the residential land market in Kalispell Montana as of the end of July 2023. The number of monthly sales and active listings increased while land parcels under contract decreased. Unlike the residential housing market, the residential land market remains a buyers market.   INVENTORYAs of early August 2023, there were 148 residential land parcels for sale in Kalispell which is nine more than July's inventory. Five or more acresOf the land currently for sale 40% of the listings include five or more acres. This percentage is slightly higher than last month's report. 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 acreage adjacent to National Forest or lumber p... 08/07/2023

Following is an overview of the Kalispell Montana real estate results for the residential market as of July 2023. This report covers the entire residential market, including single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and manufactured homes.The Kalispell residential market remains a seller's market but it is close to being a balanced market. In July sales were flat from the previous month and remain lower than last year. Inventory increased for the fourth month in a row and homes under contract decreased slightly.  Sales VolumeIn the month of July 2023, there were 73 residential sales in Kalispell which is the same as last month and 17% less than last year. This year's home market is definitely softer (so far) than last year's. Of the homes that sold in July, four were condos, seven w... 08/06/2023

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it’d be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. If I can find enough interesting material, I hope to share at least one ordinance from each year. This series has reached 1916, and this ordinance is about your feet. Well, not yours exactly. Read on.Ordinance #334 was approved on August 7, 1916. This ordinance was put in place to tell people where they can stand and/or walk.Specifically, this ordinance stated that: "No person on foot shall pass over, or stand on, that portion of the intersection of any street or avenue with any other street or avenue lying within the square formed by an extention (sic) of the curb lines."So what does that mean? The way I read this is that no person could ... 08/01/2023

I originally wrote a post in 2021 that answered the question, "What is the Flathead Valley Exchange Club?" But since I took over as President of the FVEC a week or two ago, and since many people still ask the question, I thought I'd answer it again! While the National organization has been in existence over 110 years, the Flathead Valley Exchange Club is still new, just starting in 2020. The "exchange" part of the name refers to their mission of exchanging ideas to make communities better places to live. Here is a very short video about the National Exchange Club which helps put perspective to the rest of this post:  As indicated in this video, our club focuses its attention on three "pillars" which are Americanism (military), Youth and Community. The FVEC also supports the national pro... 07/11/2023

This report covers the residential land market in Kalispell Montana as of the end of June 2023. The number of monthly sales, active listings and land parcels under contract decreased. Unlike the residential housing market, the residential land market remains a buyers market.  INVENTORYAs of early July 2023, there were 139 residential land parcels for sale in Kalispell which is 12% less than June's inventory. Much of the decrease is attributable to multiple land parcels in a new development being canceled in June. More information will be shared about that cancellation as it becomes available. Five or more acresOf the land currently for sale 36% of the listings include five or more acres. This percentage is higher than last month's report, due to the cancelled listings mentioned above. I... 07/06/2023

Following is an overview of the Kalispell Montana real estate results for the residential market as of June 2023. This report covers the entire residential market, including single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and manufactured homes. The Kalispell residential market remains a seller's market. That being said, in June sales decreased from the previous month and remain lower than last year. Inventory increased for the third month in a row and homes under contract also increased. The Kalispell market is still experiencing a seller's market but continues to move towards a more balanced market.  Sales VolumeIn the month of June 2023, there were 73 residential sales in Kalispell which is 19% less than last month and 9% less than last year. Total year-to-date sales are 17% of the sam... 07/05/2023

Here in Kalispell Montana, sellers and buyers have been known to use the price they see online as a sale price. For example they might say, "Well the house down the street sold for $1M, let's price it at that!" Here is why, in the state of Montana, using that information just doesn't work.Montana is one of twelve "non-disclosure" states in the country. That means that actual sale prices for homes are not disclosed in public databases or websites. It also means real estate professionals cannot share sales price information about specific homes on their own websites or blogs. For example, if you were looking on Zillow at a house that is located in one of the states that allows disclosure, you'd see the sales price of that home. However, if you look on the same website or any other listing... 06/26/2023

The Flathead River is a prominent river in the state of Montana, United States. It flows through the northwestern part of the state, offering picturesque landscapes and abundant recreational opportunities. Here's a description of the Flathead River:Originating in British Columbia, Canada, the Flathead River stretches approximately 158 miles (254 kilometers) through Montana, eventually merging with the Clark Fork River near the town of Paradise. The river is named after the Flathead Native American tribe, who historically inhabited the region.The Flathead River boasts stunning natural beauty, winding its way through the majestic peaks of the Rocky Mountains and the rugged terrain of the Flathead National Forest. Its pristine waters are renowned for their clarity and rich blue hue, offeri... 06/16/2023

More than 42 acres of land just went on the market in Marion Montana. If you've never heard of Marion, it's a town of about 1,050 people that was established in 1891 by railroad workers who were building the railroad line into Kalispell. Marion is home to Little Bitterroot Lake, a 3,000 acre lake with fish that include Rainbow trout, Perch, Whitefish and more. It is also home to the Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge which provides nearly 8,000 acres of habitat for deer, elk, moose, lynx, wolverines and black bear as well as various birds.So what is interesting about the 42 acre parcel? The MLS description reads:Have you been dreaming of property within a mile of a boat launch on Little Bitterroot Lake? Does privacy, seclusion, wildlife and views of the lake sound wonderful? If yes, th... 06/14/2023