WAGFest in Whitefish benefits dog park

Mark your calendars for WAGFest! This dog friendly event will be held from 11 AM to TBD on August 24, 2019 at Hugh Rogers Wag Park in Whitefish, MT. Admission is free.

“BringFido” and the family to this fun annual event that supports the park. A complimentary BBQ picnic, raffle, and contests make this an event not to be missed! All funds raised go directly to the dog park.

Join in the fun now. BringFido members can upload a photo of your pet at WAGFest!

You can also share by using the hashtag #bringfido on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Sponsored by Alpine Animal Hospital.

Click here for more information.

Summer Brewfest benefits the S.N.O.W. Bus

Save the date for this brewfest, located in Depot Park – 510 Railway Street, Whitefish, on Saturday, August 24 at 3:00 pm,

Over 30 brewers are on tap for this awesome annual event. Enjoy beer, cider and kombucha as well as delicious food trucks, all the while supporting FREE public transportation in Whitefish. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Please bring your ID!

The SNOW Bus provided free transportation during winter between town and the ski lifts on Big Mountain.

Below are some beautiful properties listed by Kerrie.

Real Estate Market Trends

Smooth sailing: Flathead County residential sales by quarter past five years

BY RICHARD DEWS // JUL 10, 2019 Flathead Beacon

During which quarter of the year do the greatest (or least) quantity of homes sell? Q2 (April through June) runs amazingly neck-and-neck with Q3 (July through September) (see chart). For first quarter sales quantities, over the past five years, the slow uptick shot upwards noticeably in 2019. Q2 sales quantities have been almost identical, for 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Eyes are on sales quantities for Q3 2019, which we’ve only just begun, as Q3 2017 showed a 15 percent spike over surrounding years. Outside of that spike, Q3 sales quantities have also been amazingly consistent for three of the past four years. The Q4 units sold grouping shows a nearly linear stair-stepped growth over these past four years.

Q4 quantities were encroaching upon Q3 numbers, in 2018. One might summarize the chart as depicting a healthy picture of stability and manageable growth.

Richard Dews is CEO of Glacier Flathead Real Estate, a Flathead-based real estate software and services company.

Real Estate Market Trends

BY RICHARD DEWS // JUN 19, 2019 // FLATHEAD BEACON

Last Fourth of July, we looked at the Flathead Country single-family residence sales quantities and median speeds (listing to contract) — and median list and sold prices per square foot. Let’s update the chart for this past year’s activity (since June 14, 2018), for homes whose original list prices were between $150,000 and $650,000 (see chart).

Blue bars represent quantities sold over this past year, using the left-side vertical axis numbers. By far the greatest quantity of homes (200+) sold at the original list price. About half as many sold for 98 percent of their original list, stair-stepping downward from there in quantities sold through ranges of 97 percent to 90 percent of original list.

Orange bars show that those homes which took longer to sell also sold for less of their original list price, with time-to-contract shrinking consistently all the way down to about a week for those selling at their list price.

Richard Dews is CEO of Glacier Flathead Real Estate, a Flathead-based real estate software and services company.

1400 Wisconsin Avenue Condo #212, Whitefish, MT 59937
MLS #21910552 Offered at $649,000

Enjoy resort living at its best in all seasons in this waterfront 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom condo at Whitefish Lake Lodge in the desirable resort community of Whitefish, Montana, this is for people who buy houses 4 cash in Alabama and more. Condo includes access to all of the Lodge at Whitefish Lake amenities; fine dining, casual dining, spa, pool and hot tub, marina, and Tiki bar & grill. Activities in Glacier National Park are only 30 minutes away. Whitefish Mountain Resort is just a short 10 minute drive. Call Kerrie for more information at 406.270.2614.

3067 River Lakes Drive Lot 57, Whitefish, MT 59937
MLS #21910554 Offered at $185,000

Build your dream home in this wonderful neighborhood at The Lakes. Take in the views of Whitefish Mountain Resort from your front porch and the Swan Mountain Range from your back porch. Close to the ball parks, river, walking trails and dining / shopping in the resort town of Whitefish, Montana. Only a short 10 minute drive to the airport and 25 minutes to the entrance of Glacier National Park. Membership to all of the Canoe Club amenities is available. Call Kerrie Cardon at 406.270.2614.

Nhn Farm To Market Road, Whitefish, MT 59937
MLS #21910642 Offered at $230,000

Beautiful 4 acre property with nice mix of pasture and trees. Great views and good access off Farm to Market Road. Sale subject to boundary line adjustment to create parcel. Survey has been completed, corners are marked. Call Kerrie for more information at 406.270.2614.

Glacier National Park website launches new page to provide real-time updates

BY CHARLOTTE BAUSCH // JUN 17, 2019  // FLATHEAD BEACON

During peak season, Glacier National Park is choked with visitors. Cars circle lots with no open spaces, campgrounds are thick with tents and roads such as Two Medicine and North Fork are so busy that park workers are forced to restrict access.

The park’s new Recreation Access Display (RAD) is designed to help ease the pressure of these summer crowds, giving visitors real-time updates on the status of parking lots, campgrounds and roads on its convenient web interface.

Whitefish Adopts Water Usage Ordinance

New conservation measure will affect hours of outdoor watering

BY TRISTAN SCOTT // MAY 24, 2019

The Whitefish City Council on May 20 adopted a new water conservation ordinance for city water users during peak summer months, limiting the timeframe in which residents can water their lawns.

“This ordinance is not about using less water, it’s really about wasting less water,” Craig Workman, director of Public Works, stated in a release announcing the ordinance. “During the peak summer months, our existing infrastructure struggles to keep up with current water use demand.”

Although infrastructure upgrades are planned, Workman said, they would not be in place for two to three years.

Read the rest of the story in the Flathead Beacon…

Real Estate Market Trends

By Richard Dews // April 24, 2019 // Flathead Beacon

Flathead active home market comparison, last four quarters

A third of the way through spring, how do the quantities of actively listed homes compare to prior quarters (see chart)? I’ve charted the quantities (bars) of homes active last spring (gold), last fall (grey), this January (orange) and now (blue) — by original list price ranges in $50,000 blocks. Findings: 1) availability of lower-priced homes keeps falling, 2) $250,000 to $349,999 home availability recovering from winter pull-back, 3) $350,000 to $749,999 about as thin as winter.

I also charted the median Days on Market (DOM), which are the number of days since listing. These are represented by dashed lines of the same color as their counterpart quantity bars. Findings: 1) substantial shrinkage in time-on-market since January, 2) $200,000 to $499,999 fairly parallel to the DOM of last fall, 3) higher-end homes on market longer that those last spring.

Richard Dews is CEO of Glacier Flathead Real Estate, a Flathead-based real estate software and services company.

Senators push Amtrak for answers on future of Empire Builder in Montana

BY JUSTIN FRANZ // APR 19, 2019

Daines calls any proposal to alter long-distance service “troubling,” Tester writes letter to Amtrak president seeking answers

Montana’s two U.S. senators are pushing Amtrak officials for answers about the future of long-distance passenger trains, including the Empire Builder, which stops twice daily in Whitefish.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration proposed drastically slashing Amtrak’s budget and having states pay more for passenger rail service. Amtrak officials have also been “reassessing” its long-distance routes to see if it can reduce the amount of federal money it needs to subsidize the services. Few details have been provided about what, if any, changes might be made or when those changes would be implemented.

“Amtrak is trying to reassess how best to address the needs of rural communities and maintain mobility but also think of ways to reduce (federal) subsidies,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao during a hearing last month.

Click here to read the whole story in the Flathead Beacon.

THE FLATHEAD HOME SHOW – ‘looking forward to 2019’

Bee Broadcasting brings you an all new show in the real estate market in the Flathead, it’s the Flathead Home Show.

Our hosts, Leah Lindsay and Justin Meccia, discuss the real estate market in 2019.

Special guests include Brian Murphy and Nikki Marengo of RE/MAX Rocky Mountain Real Estate.

Comparing real estate costs around the Flathead Valley

Reprinted from the Flathead Beacon, March 2019, by Richard Dews

Let’s nix the bar charts and look at a map of the past 12 months of single-family residence sales across the Flathead (see graphic). Almost 1,500 units sold during this timeframe, with the lion’s share costing between $125 and $200 per square foot. The legend, at the top left of the map, shows the ranges of dollars per square foot by color of map dot. The count of homes sold (by range) appears within the brackets, per range.

The map shows the locations of the properties. Takeaways? Lots of greens near Kalispell and Columbia Falls. Whitefish spendy nearer the resorts. Somers, Kila and Marion show bargains. Broad pricing ranges in Lakeside and Bigfork. You CAN live near a lake affordably.

Read the Flathead Beacon…click here.

Richard Dews is CEO of Glacier Flathead Real Estate, a Flathead-based real estate software and services company.

Snowpack Overview 2019

By USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service MT

Snowpack conditions generally improved across Montana during the month of January, but some regions still remain below, to well below normal for snowpack on February 1st. The first two weeks of the month were dominated by high pressure in many basins east of the Divide, while western basins saw snow trickle in during the first week, then transitioned to high pressure during the second week. The bulk of the improvements in snow pack totals were from the storm system that began during the third week of January, where significant snow totals fell in central basins along the east of the Divide, and in southwestern and south-central Montana. Snow pack in some of these regions was well below normal and this storm helped to improve conditions from January 1st.