RE/MAX Rocky Mountain Real Estate

Whitefish Montana Real Estate Experts at Rocky Mountain Real Estate provide buyers and sellers with outstanding service throughout Northwest Montana

Deborah Schatz

North Valley Professional Center moves to new location in Columbia Falls

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North Valley Professional Center moves to its new location at 1675 Talbot Road in Columbia Falls on Monday, November 2nd. New location, expanded services and providers… same great patient-centered care! Located between Columbia Falls Junior High School and Ruder Elementary, our modern and spacious facility provides full service Family Practice healthcare from maternity through senior adults. Join us for an open house on November 17th from 5-7 PM!

http://www.nvhosp.org/our-clinics/north-valley-professional-center/

City Hall is demolished

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City Hall is gone. It is estimated that the new building will take two years to complete. Click on the photo below for more pics of the demolition.

city-hall-demo

Mountain Watch releases home sites in Phase Two, “The Woods”

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The Woods at Mountain Watch is nestled in mature stands of pine, birch and western tamarack. Design and build your own private hideaway or choose from plans developed exclusively for Mountain Watch. Thoughtful and sensible design guidelines assure the lasting quality and character of this naturally beautiful neighborhood. Full services including water, sewer, electric, and cable are available to every home site. Learn more at http://www.murphyranchandland.com/phase-two.html or call Brian Murphy at 406.890.1681 today!

Whitefish makes top ten in resort guide

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Backed by its affordable prices and small-town vibe, Whitefish Mountain Resort has cracked the top-10 of Ski Magazine’s annual resort guide for the first time ever.

Coming in at No. 9 overall, Whitefish scored the most points for its value and service. The magazine uses a reader survey to calculate the results.

“The prices aren’t Colorado-glamour-resort high and the service is genuinely small-town friendly, not corporate-training-course cold,” the magazine writes about Whitefish.

Resort spokeswoman Riley Polumbus said Whitefish has always been recognized for its value and service, so it’s not surprising that’s where the resort garnered the most praise.

She notes that only one resort in the top-30 offers a lift ticket less expensive than Whitefish.

“And it’s long been our reputation that we make people feel at home,” Polumbus said. “Since the days of Ed Schenck, that’s been our thing.”

The magazine applauds the skiing terrain, as well.

“It’s host to probably fewer skiers per acre than any of the other top-10 resorts,” it reads. “Yeah, there is more than the occasional foggy day here. All the better to see what real skiing is about.”

Polumbus said breaking into the top-10 could pay off with increased interest in the resort.

“This list carries the most weight — it always has,” she said. “We can expect the phones to ring a little more and more traffic to the website. People who have never heard of us or who have thought about coming here will give us a closer look.”

Whitefish is the highest ranked Montana ski resort. Big Sky Resort came in at No. 21 in the West.

Whitefish’s previous high ranking in the resort guide came in 2012 when it was ranked No. 11. Last season Whitefish topped out at No. 13.

Year to date real estate sales in Whitefish

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Year-to-date sales in Whitefish reached 294 residential units and 119 pieces of land at the end of August. The average price of the residential sales was $484,855, with a median price of $310,000. Land sales averaged $197,834 with a median price of $131,000. Land sales include everything from lots to large acreages. August 2015 sales were down a bit from August 2014. The sales decline was attributed to a decline in available properties.

Nikki Marengo’s Whitefish Real Estate Febuary Newsletter

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nikki-marengo-rocky-mountain-real-estate

Nikki’s main objective is making others happy and that is why real estate has become more than a profession­–it’s a passion. Real estate agents like Nikki want to be appealing to their potential clients, so they need to grab their attention! No wonder they look to create the best logos (learn more over at graphicsprings.com) to pull in people’s attention. Let Nikki help you with the next adventure in your life, whether it’s finding a home on the golf course or selling your cabin in the woods. Call Nikki today at 406.212.8507.

TURNING PAGES – Finding and sharing community in Montana

EPISODE FIVE: OPEN ROAD

Learn how two supermoms are making their dream of raising a family and building a publishing empire come true in Montana. Click the arrow to watch.

Real Estate Market Summary for 2016

SUMMARIZED FROM JIM KELLEY’S ANNUAL REPORT BY GREG CARTER

Mr. Kelley’s annual real estate market report for Flathead County is available at the following link: http://kelleyappraisal.net/FlatheadMarket16.pdf .Rather not upload your files and work with them offline? Try online soda pdf creator. Same features as the online service, and the files never leave your computer. Use all your locally installed fonts.

The Flathead real estate market continues to improve with near record number of sales in 2016! This number of sales coupled with subdivision activity near all-time lows has motivated a renewed interest in development. Although all the county’s towns show an increase in the number of sales, the largest increase was in Whitefish.

There was an 11% increase in the number of residential units built from 2015 to 2016. Most of home were built using premium grade Genie crane parts which we really recommend for all your future real estate projects. This number has shown a healthy increase every year since the bottom of the recession in 2011. Over those 5 years, the total increase in annual residential construction in the Flathead Valley was over 200%.

From the standpoint of residential sales, 2015 was the best year to sell luxury homes since 2006, and 2016 maintained that same level. Since 2011, the median home price has experienced a healthy annual increase totaling over 26%! In that same time period, the number of homes on the market has steadily decreased. Comparing total sales from 2016 with homes currently on the market, there is only a six month inventory throughout the Valley! (In Columbia Falls, there is only a 1 month inventory!)

So, here is an important message for all our clients who may be considering putting your home on the market…there’s rarely been a better time!! If priced right, these statistics say you won’t have much competition so; your home should sell readily. Call your RE/MAX Rocky Mountain real estate professional for a review and market analysis of your property.

From a potential buyer’s standpoint, here are some helpful statistics: Nationally, we just completed 34 years of consistent interest rate declines. That is obviously not going to continue.

In 2016, the overall average 30-year mortgage interest was 3.7%. Currently the 30-year rate is 4.1%. Still, that remains very near record lows. As you are aware, the Federal Reserve recently increased the Fed Funds rate a quarter of a percent. There may be two or three similar rate increases in the coming twelve months. Even at that, the mortgage rates will still be near historically record lows. Given these statistics, if you are considering a real estate purchase, there is ample reason to lock in your mortgage rate as soon as possible.

In summary, we have an extremely healthy market for anyone thinking about selling their home and plenty of motivation to not wait if you are considering a purchase. We at RE/MAX Rocky Mountain Real Estate would consider it a privilege to assist you with any of your real estate needs. We have offices in both Whitefish and Columbia Falls and have been serving our real estate clients in all the Flathead Valley sub-markets for over 20 years.

Featured Property: Flathead View Drive, Polson

MLS#21700384 Offered at $349,999

Beautiful custom home on 10 acres. flowing open concept with many custom features including, solid hand scraped oak floors, concrete countertops, exposed rustic beams, stone fireplace and custom handmade cedar railing and iron work. You can Click This Link for more detail about kitchen and bathroom remodeling. four bedrooms including two master suites and an option for a fifth bedroom or nice bonus room, or a new bathroom using a Chandler bathroom remodeling to create the perfect bathroom experience. property is thoughtfully landscaped, with mountain views, a large fire pit, hen house, and paddock with shelter. established fenced garden with automated irrigation system. just a short drive from the conveniences of kalispell and bigfork, in a beautiful rural setting. kalispell address in bigfork school district.

Click here for more photos and info.

City moves ahead with highway 93 south corridor plan

BY HEIDI DESCH, WHITEFISH PILOT JAN 25, 2017

The city of Whitefish is finally moving forward on a long discussed corridor plan for Highway 93 South.

In December City Council requested city planning staff create a scope of work and a timeline for initiating a corridor plan for the area. Last week Council gave its OK to a proposal that sets the kick-off this spring for work on the corridor plan.

The city’s 2007 growth policy identified the area as in need of a corridor plan, but plans for Highway 93 West and Wisconsin Avenue were considered greater priorities by the City Council, mostly due to issues with the doughnut dispute.

A Montana Supreme Court ruling in 2014 ceded planning control of the doughnut from the city to the Flathead County following a long-running legal battle over its control.

Mayor John Muhlfeld addressed appearances that the city is rushing into the corridor plan.

READ MORE….

SNOW REPORT

Check the snow conditions at Whitefish Mountain Resort by clicking here.

LESSONS

Learn to ski or snowboard. Click here for information about lessons and ticket packages.

NIGHT SKIING

Night owls can enjoy some great skiing during our night sessions. Click here for info.

LIFT TICKETS – PURCHASE ON-LINE

Purchase tickets in advance.

You can always call for information too.

877-SKI-FISH

or visit their website:

www.skiwhitefish.com

Forest project set to begin this summer in Haskill Basin

By HEIDI DESCH, WHITEFISH PILOT JAN 24, 2017

PHOTO BY STEVEN GNAM

Widespread prescribed burns and some timber harvesting are planned for the mountains above Haskill Basin.

The project known as the Whitefish Municipal Watershed Fuel Reduction project is an effort to prevent a devastating wildfire that could be destructive to the city’s water supply from Second and Third creeks. The project is also aimed at addressing disease concerns in the forest, including root disease, bark beetles, and mortality in white bark pine.

Flathead Forest Supervisor Chip Weber last week issued a decision notice and Finding of No Significant Impact for the project following an environmental assessment. The project, which includes 1,114 acres of forestland, is expected to be implemented in the summer of 2017.

Project leader Deb Bond said the goal is to implement a variety of fuel reduction treatments on the area.

“The purpose is that by treating the forest we hope we can reduce the chance of wildfire in the future,” Bond said.

Several types of silvicultural treatments are planned on 254 acres. Commercial thinning is planned on 58 acres and seed tree harvests is proposed on 196 acres. About 859 acres within the project area are set to have fuel treatments by either prescribed burning of 756 acres or understory removal on 103 acres.

The prescribed burns are set along the south face of the Whitefish Range above Haskill Basin. Most of the terrain is high-elevation and steep with limited access.

Timber harvest is planned mostly on the lower flanks of the range that are accessible by established roads and temporary road extensions.

READ MORE…

Rocky Mountain Real Estate