Quality of life is what drew Whitefish native Kyle Archer back to the Flathead Valley. After graduating from Chapman University in Orange, California and stops in New York City and Nashville, Kyle knew there’s no better place to raise a family than in Northwest Montana. With a background in finance he works for his family construction business who specialize in residential excavation. Catch him around town with his wife Natalie performing original songs in the band Archertown, exploring the outdoors with his one year old son Boden, or at the ice rink playing in the local adult hockey league. He aims to provide first class service and is an asset when dealing with site work challenges. He is passionate to share his love of the valley with folks searching for their next adventure.
Kyle Archer newsletter
Kyle Archer, Your Whitefish RE/MAX Agent, March 2021
Real Estate Today
Is Now The Time to Sell?
Have you been thinking about selling home? Is your current property too large? Too small? Too expensive? Too hard to manage? Are you ready to travel more? Whatever the reason, you’ve been thinking about a move, but you don’t know if it’s the right time to move?
This might be the right time to sell! The first step in making a good decision is information. You would be amazed how many people will use stories they heard at the grocery store to make the decision to sell a home. Before you make any decision, speak to a professional agent and talk about your local market and home values. Learn about the inventory levels of your neighborhood and get a comprehensive market analysis of your property.
Traditionally a great time to list a home, this spring selling season is seeing a low inventory of homes for sale. This means that the home values are stronger than they have been in the past. You might have more money sitting in your home than you expect.
As interest rates continue to tick up, many buyers are seeing this as a great opportunity to buy before it’s too late. With record low unemployment and changing tax laws, more and more buyers are entering the housing market. This has resulted in strong home values and with more buyers ready to find a new home, this might be the perfect time to sell your home as well.
Don’t forget you can always call me for even more ideas and tips!
Here’s What’s Happening
BY TRISTAN SCOTT |
North Fork Land Purchase Preserves Habitat on Flanks of Glacier
Advocates of maintaining the North Fork Flathead River’s wild-and-scenic character celebrated a victory this month when the Flathead National Forest and Vital Ground Foundation brokered a deal to conserve 10 acres of open space and wildlife habitat in the shadow of Glacier National Park, where development pressure runs high.
Looking for a beautiful Montana home, land, or commercial property for sale near Whitefish? Call Kyle Archer, your Whitefish RE/MAX real estate agent at (406) 862-9000 or (949) 885-6569
Nhn Sherman Road
Kalispell, MT 59901
MLS #22013359
Remarkable 130 Acres! Build your dream home and horse property on a Mountain top with 360 degree views of Big Mountain, Flathead Lake, Swan Range and Glacier National Park. Gated log entrance leads you through this one of a kind property.
Recipe of The Month
Pot of Gold Cupcakes
Make these pot of gold cupcakes for your whole crew this weekend! They’ll love the rich, dark chocolate cake with the rainbow striped frosting, and the gold coin on top is such a fun touch!
Ingredients:
- Gel paste food coloring in Red, Lemon Yellow, Kelley Green, Royal Blue, Violet, and Rose Pink
- 1 batch Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 1 batch Simply Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes
- 30 chocolate coins
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven according to your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe or try the recipe that is linked above at 350 degrees F.
2. Follow cupcake recipe, bake and allow to completely cool.
3. Make your favorite buttercream recipe or follow the one linked above.
Now for the fun part…
4. Gather your pastry bag and tip, the gel paste food coloring and use a thin, clean artist brush to swipe stripes of gel paste food coloring down the inside of your pastry bag. Then fill it with buttercream and squeeze it out, just like you normally would.
5. Top them off with a gold (chocolate) coin and you’ve found your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Hope you enjoy!
(Recipe adapted from bakingamoment.com)
Kyle Archer Whitefish Real Estate, February 2021
Quality of life is what drew Whitefish native Kyle Archer back to the Flathead Valley. After graduating from Chapman University in Orange, California and stops in New York City and Nashville, Kyle knew there’s no better place to raise a family than in Northwest Montana. With a background in finance he works for his family construction business who specialize in residential excavation. Catch him around town with his wife Natalie performing original songs in the band Archertown, exploring the outdoors with his one year old son Boden, or at the ice rink playing in the local adult hockey league. He aims to provide first class service and is an asset when dealing with site work challenges. He is passionate to share his love of the valley with folks searching for their next adventure.
Real Estate Today
Home Sellers Quick Guide
- Research the Best Time to Sell – In the current market, the time is now!
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- Make Repairs – Repairing anything that needs some fixing or whatever seems problematic, will definitely speed up the selling process of your home. Keep receipts for proof of work done.
- Find a Real Estate Agent – you want an agent that has experience working in the area you live in, with a proven track record, and someone who can offer feedback through every step of the process.
- Pricing Your Home – A comparative market analysis is a document that presents pricing information for homes similar to yours. Your real estate agent can provide you this and give their feedback on it. It will be helpful to know what has worked price wise in your area and what hasn’t.
- Putting Your Home on the Market – Discuss with your real agent their marketing plan they believe will work best for your home. They should, at the very least, utilize the Multiple Listing System (MLS), real estate websites, social media, reach out to other agents, use yard signs if permissible, advertise in print media and have a virtual tour available for example.
- Prepare Your Home for Showings – You want your home to look its best when buyers are looking at it. In order for it to be in top condition, go through each room and clean up clutter. Allow your buyers to imagine themselves living in your house by putting away any personal items.
- How to Handle Offers – When a buyer makes an offer on your home, they will use a contract to offer up their sale price and any other terms of purchase. You can either accept, reject, or counter the offer that will then lead to negotiation with your agents help. For a successful negotiation: disclose everything, ask many questions, meet halfway on costs when possible and keep in mind your “why” for selling.
- The Closing – This can take a month or longer depending on they property. Be ready to cooperate with a Title Company, Escrow Officer, Inspectors and Appraisers. A closing agent will finalize the transaction and review the sales agreement. He or she will also collect any last payments from the seller and buyer, will make any adjustments, and makes sure the buyer’s title is recorded in the local records. After this, congrats! You’ve sold your home successfully!
- Moving Out – Start by getting rid of items that you don’t need by donating and or having a garage sale weeks prior. From there you can see the items that you need and start packing. Get the movers ready and schedule a time for them to be at your home. Separate valuable paperwork and other important things into one box. Do a change of address and forward any medical records if needed. Lastly, walk through your home one last time to see you didn’t forget anything and take inventory of everything you have.
Here’s What’s Happening
By HEIDI DESCH
Editor | February 10, 2021 1:00 AM
Whitefish, other cities, advocate for retaining affordable housing tool
The City of Whitefish, along with representatives of other cities around the state, last week told a Montana House committee that a bill that would effectively put an end to inclusionary zoning would leave them without an important tool in efforts aimed at creating affordable housing.
Whitefish City Councilor Ben Davis, who also serves on the city’s housing committee, told legislators that the community has determined that housing is at a crisis level here and years were spent in the public process to determine that inclusionary zoning is necessary to address the situation. Read more…
Looking for a beautiful Montana home, land, or commercial property for sale near Whitefish? Call Kyle Archer, your Whitefish RE/MAX real estate agent at (406) 862-9000 or (949) 885-6569
Real Estate Market Trends
The average sales price in Whitefish, Flathead Valley as a whole, Kalispell, and Columbia Falls of a single-family residence in January for the past 3 years is depicted in the graphs below. The only downward trend in NMAR’s latest data is the average number of days on market for Flathead Valley homes—yet another indicator of a bustling real estate market.
Nhn Sherman Road, Kalispell, MT 59901
MLS #22013359
Remarkable 130 Acres! Build your dream home and horse property on a Mountain top with 360 degree views
Please call Kyle Archer at 949-885-6569, or your real estate professional.
Recipe of The Month
Since it’s the month of love, nothing says “I love you” more than some sweet, delicious, and cute thumbprint cookies! Best of all, they don’t take a lot of effort but taste like you slaved away in the kitchen. ?
Ingredients:
✔️2 cups all-purpose flour
✔️ ½ tsp. Baking powder
✔️ 2 tbs. Almond milk
✔️ ½ tsp. Salt
✔️ ¾ cup margarine, softened
✔️ ½ cup sugar, or sweetener of your choice
✔️ 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
✔️ ⅓ cup assorted jams for the filling
✔️ Optional: Powdered sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/177 C and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour and salt together. Set aside.
3. Add softened margarine, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond milk to another bowl and mix.
4. Slowly add in the flour/salt mix and combine until a dough is formed. Be careful not to over-mix.
5. Scoop out a half tablespoons worth of dough and roll into a smooth ball. Place all dough balls about 1 ½ inch apart.
6. Make the indent by using your finger (the “thumbprint” mark). Fill each indent with jam, but be careful not to overfill.
7. Bake for about 13-15 minutes or until barely lightly golden.
8. Remove from the oven and let them cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Optional: Dust with powdered sugar.
(Recipe adapted from veganhuggs.com)
Kyle Archer Whitefish Real Estate December 2020
Quality of life is what drew Whitefish native Kyle Archer back to the Flathead Valley. After graduating from Chapman University in Orange, California and stops in New York City and Nashville, Kyle knew there’s no better place to raise a family than in Northwest Montana. With a background in finance, he works for his family construction business who specializes in residential excavation. Catch him around town with his wife Natalie performing original songs in the band Archertown, exploring the outdoors with his one-year-old son Boden, or at the ice rink playing in the local adult hockey league. He aims to provide first-class service and is an asset when dealing with site work challenges. He is passionate to share his love of the valley with folks searching for their next adventure.
Real Estate Today
Age-Old Real Estate Selling Tips to Ignore
Homeowners planning to sell their home tend to get unsolicited advice from every direction. “Do this,” “don’t do that”; it can be difficult to decipher the good from the bad advice. As homebuyers become more informed and market-savvy, knowing which age-old advice to
ignore can be important. Here are some adages which should be retired immediately.
• ?Spring is the best time to sell – While spring is traditionally when home sales tick upward, the real key to selling is inventory levels. Low inventory means more chances your home will be more desirable, and this can occur any time of the year.
• ?The first offer is always the best – While all offers should be considered, don’t feel pressured to take a sub-par offer just because it was the first.
• ?Open houses sell houses – Not necessarily. Only 2% of homes sell as the direct result of an open house, according to the National Association of Realtors®. People are more attracted to virtual tours and online photos during these times. Consider a “Virtual Open House,” or scheduled showings on a specific weekend giving a certain end date that all offers must be in by. This will still generate the “buzz” around your property and create some urgency for perspective buyers.
• ?Price high so there is room to negotiate – Homebuyers are more sophisticated about pricing and will not bother with overpriced homes.
• ?If you don’t want to make repairs then lower your price – Unless you market your home as a fixer-upper, buyers expect the home to be in reasonable condition and a low price might not be enough to encourage an offer. Have your Broker or Real Estate Agent pull a Comparable Market Analysis, considering items such as condition of the property, square footage, amount of rooms, and area the home is located when considering how to price. Most agents have a list of trusted vendors they can suggest for you to make the needed repairs. Small repairs can make a big difference in the final price.
• ?You must update your kitchen to sell – Buyers do love renovated kitchens, but keep in mind that you typically recover only 81% of the cost of a remodel when selling. Try these simple ideas instead: Keep it clean and uncluttered, possibly a coat of paint or new hardware on the cabinets or an updated backsplash can make a big difference. This will leave the buyer to update to their preferences, which most prefer to do when making a home purchase.
Selling a home is a major life decision. Before you begin the process of listing your home, do your research and make sure the advice you rely on is valid in today’s changing environment and you pair up with an agent you can trust.
Here’s What’s Happening
Picture Credit | HUNTER D’ANTUONO
Mask Up, Ski Down
Opening week off to a smooth start at Whitefish Mountain Resort, with the ski area earning praise from ‘super seniors’ for its safety precautions
Although Whitefish Mountain Resort’s outdoor operations will run similar to pre-pandemic times, with lift line corrals set up roughly the same, a major difference is that skiers and riders are required to wear face coverings while waiting in line for the chair, as well as while loading and unloading.
That might seem like a straightforward requirement, particularly given that face coverings tend to be standard attire for skiers and snowboarders. But mask requirements during the pandemic have become the subject of a polarizing national debate, and Whitefish Mountain Resort, as well as the city of Whitefish, have gone to great lengths to educate the skiing community on the importance of heeding the requirement this winter… read more
Looking for a beautiful Montana home, land, or commercial property for sale near Whitefish? Call Kyle Archer, your Whitefish RE/MAX real estate agent at (406) 862-9000 or (949) 885-6569
Real Estate Market Trends
The average sales price in Whitefish, Flathead Valley as a whole, Kalispell, and Columbia Falls of a single-family residence in November for the past 3 years is depicted in the graphs below. The only downward trend in NMAR’s latest data is the average number of days on market for Flathead Valley homes—yet another indicator of a bustling real estate market.
THE FARMHOUSE INN AND KITCHEN
A luxury bed and breakfast and farm to table style Bakery and Café featuring produce, meats etc from farms in the area. More info…
28 Lupfer Ave
Whitefish, MT 59937
(406) 730-2666
Recipe of The Month
Here is a simple recipe you can cozy up to:
Ingredients:
✔️ 4 cups apple cider
✔️ 1 bottle (750 ml) red wine of your choice
✔️ ¼ cup honey
✔️ 2 cinnamon sticks
✔️ Juice, zest, and peel from 1-2 oranges depending on your taste
✔️ 4 cloves
✔️ 3-star anises
Directions:
✔️ Combine all ingredients except the orange peel in a large saucepan.
✔️ Bring to a boil and then let the mix simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
✔️ Pour mulled wine into mugs and add the orange peel for garnish.
Recipe adapted from Food Network.