Greetings!  

The summer in the Flathead Valley is truly a special place.  The valley is buzzing with people enjoying world class music, theatre, festivals*, Farmer's Markets, Glacier National Park and Northwest Montana's finest asset- an abundance of water. 

Real Estate has always been about location- and waterfront properties continue to be the most coveted location of all.  Sales figure for 2012, according to the NMAR Multiple Listing Service data show an increase for year to date sales over 2011 for navigable water properties.  Transaction volume is up 12% while the dollar volume is up 40%.  There are new opportunities to acquire properties that haven't been available in years.  Larger tracts on both Flathead and Whitefish Lakes that are legacy properties, and multiple generation owned properties are now available at attractive prices.

The Flathead Valley is clearing a majority of bank owned properties from the market; therefore, stabilizing most areas of the market.  There have been fewer new foreclosures over the past 6 months, but always viewed with caution of a shadow inventory. 

Articles that have varying opinions of the national real estate market continue to be spread throughout the media.  We are cautiously optimistic that our market has stabilized in most sectors.   Click through on the links below to read for yourself what the rest of 2012 may bring.

Put on the sunscreen, and enjoy all the Flathead Valley summer offers.

*Bigfork Festival of the Arts is this August 4 & 5. For more information>

Yes, The U.S. Housing Bust Is Over - onlinewsj.com The housing market has turned-at last. The U.S. finally has moved beyond attention-grabbing predictions from housing "experts" that housing is bottoming. The numbers are now convincing. Read full story.

Mortgage rates drop again, Freddie Mac says; 30-year at 3.53% - latimes.com The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage hit another new low this week, dropping to 3.53% from 3.56% last week, according to Freddie Mac 's survey of what lenders are offering to well-qualified borrowers. Read full story.

Housing Market Turns Corner; U.S. Home Values Post First Annual Increase In Nearly Five Years - forbes.com Zillow's second quarter Real Estate Market Reports, released today, show home values increased 2.1% from the first to the second quarter of 2012 to $149,300 (Figure 1). On an annual basis, home values rose 0.2% from June 2011...View full story.