western montana: Missoula's first 5 months show continued market recovery - 05/09/13 03:09 AM
I've been keeping an eye on sales volume and trends in the Missoula MLS and I wanted to quickly share some numbers that have stood out to me.  In particular April, which was a huge month for our area.  This is not just sales in the Missoula valley but within our entire MLS.  What we're seeing so far is continued market volume recovery.  The most recent numbers that I've pulled show our reported amount of sales in the MLS puts the greater area at higher volume than this time in 2008 and just under the pace of this time in 2007. … (0 comments)

western montana: Western Montana's Community Trends, Darby - 01/18/12 10:47 AM
Our final stop in the Bitterroot Valley is 9 miles south of Hamilton where we hit Darby, a small town of less than 1000 people Darby features a unique western-themed downtown that’s main attraction is a large candy store.  Darby provides access to great fishing spots all over and isn’t much further from the pass leading to the Montana/Idaho border and the Lost Trail Ski Area.
 
Numbers for Darby showed me that in 2010 there were 35 total sales with a median sales price of $325,000.  There were 6 foreclosures and the median time on market was 326 days.  In … (0 comments)

western montana: Western Montana's Community Trends, Hamilton - 01/18/12 10:46 AM
Our next stop is the hub of the Bitterroot and Ravalli County, Hamilton.  Hamilton is a town of about 4400 people overall and was originally founded and mapped out by Marcus Daly himself as it was right next to his estate.  Hamilton has a very strong community identity and hosts many local events throughout the year.  It provides access to the further southern Bitterroot as well as to many trails and national forests that surround it.  Hamilton also features labs for GSK and has an exclusive golf-course called The Stock Farm Club which is a private course where you have to … (0 comments)

western montana: Western Montana's Community Trends, Corvallis - 01/18/12 10:45 AM
As we continue further south down the Bitterroot Valley our next community encountered is Corvallis.  Another small town core with surrounding neighborhoods on larger parcels of land similar to Victor Corvallis features the Daly Mansion found just south of town, a popular attraction to visit and a place where you’ll find many weddings over the summer and fall.  Corvallis unlike Stevensville and Victor does blend with it’s neighboring town, Hamilton.
For 2010 in Corvallis I found that there were 59 residential sales with a median sales price of $239,000.  There was just 1 foreclosure sale and the median time on market … (0 comments)

western montana: Western Montana's Community Trends, Victor - 01/18/12 10:43 AM
 
Further south of Stevensville is the very small community known as Victor.  Victor used to actually go by the name of Garfield but had its town name changed to reflect a former American Indian Chief who was once chief of the nearby Salish Tribe.  Victor was an area that Lewis and Clark originally passed through as well on their way to the Pacific.  The town of Victor today is about a block-long with some historical buildings that house local businesses and a bank.   This area consists of overall of many larger homes and ranches.
Looking at the 2010 number in … (0 comments)

western montana: Western Montana's Community Trends, Stevensville - 01/18/12 10:42 AM
 
Moving south from Florence we head to the oldest town in Montana, Stevensville.  Originally founded in 1841 when missionaries set up camp and built a small mission where "Stevi" exists today.  Shortly after that a trading post known as Fort Owen Inn set up shop in the area and Stevi began to grow.  The greater area consists of the small town which is about 1500 people and the large surrounding area that includes many homes on large parcels of land as well.
 
 Looking at the numbers in Stevi in 2010 there were 73 sales with a median sales price … (0 comments)

western montana: Western Montana Community Trends: Florence - 01/18/12 09:48 AM
As promised, I wanted to put together some similar reports on the trends happening the MLS area due south of Missoula in the Bitterroot Valley.  Our markets blend together quite a bit and I thought it would be usedful to share some of the news from the Bitterroot as well.
First up is Florence, the furthest northern community in Ravalli county, it's actually a much quicker drive to Missoula than to the county seat Hamilton.  Florence is a small cluster of commercial buildings, mostly a large travel center, a small strip mall, and a few restaurants with the rest of the … (0 comments)