Home Buying

Thank you for being a member of Montana Free Press. This quality reporting was made possible due in part to your contribution. Thank you for supporting in-depth journalism in Montana. Homeownership has been long associated with the American Dream, yet the economic climate of recent years has left some potential homebuyers on edge. Many potential […]

Competing bids drove the prices of Bonner’s historic mill homes up last summer as some buyers pounced on the relatively affordable inventory just east of Missoula. Others worry the once working-class neighborhood is headed down an unsustainable path. Last summer, Bonner Property Development sold more than half the 42 homes in Bonner that were originally

HELENA — The root cause of Montana’s increasingly stifling housing market? Too few homes to go around, a researcher told a legislative committee studying the state’s economic condition Monday.  “There is by any metric an enormous housing shortage in this state,” Alex Horowitz of Pew Charitable Trusts said in a presentation to the Legislature’s Financial

Montana’s real estate market has been burning red hot for well over a year. Some real estate agents have dubbed it a “land grab” as out-of-state buyers snap up properties, sending home prices to astronomical heights, particularly in Missoula, Bozeman and the Flathead Valley.  But even in Montana’s more remote corners, property is selling quickly.

WHITEFISH — Ed Docter, owner of a bar and ski shop in Whitefish, didn’t think he’d have any problems finding help this summer, even in the midst of a nationwide labor shortage. After all, Montana Tap House and Tamarack Ski Shop offer competitive wages and a fun atmosphere. But reality caught up with Docter in August

KALISPELL — On a sunny Saturday morning before Memorial Day, when many residents of the Flathead Valley were headed for the lake or hitting the trails, Amber Hogan was packing.  Hogan is originally from the Midwest and first came to the Flathead Valley in 2018. Like so many others who came here before, she fell

HELENA — A bill that would ban single-family zoning designations in Montana cities in an effort to boost affordability by encouraging more duplex, triplex and fourplex housing received a cool reception during a hearing before the House Local Government Committee this week. The measure, House Bill 134, is sponsored by Rep. Danny Tenenbaum, D-Missoula. He

This summer, seven empty lots on the face of Big Mountain in Whitefish were put up for sale — the smallest was just over a half an acre and listed at $1.2 million. The owners of the Northern Lights development weren’t accepting offers on the properties until Sept. 1, but once they did, offers came

Lydia Seely has wanted to move to Montana ever since her son came here five years ago. The California woman, who works in health care, had eyed properties in the Bozeman area in the past — initially as an investment, but someday as a primary home, she said — but was quickly priced out of