Construction and home sales up in Whitefish

Whitefish posted strong results in 2013 for new home construction and residential sales, with both numbers increasing to their highest totals in eight years.

The city of Whitefish recorded 75 building permits for single-family homes, while a report released by Kelley Appraisal shows an increase to 198 home sales within city limits.

The increase in building permits for single-family homes in 2013 follows a strong construction season the previous year. There were 51 permits in 2012, a number that had been the high for the previous six years.

“The economy seems to be recovering and Whitefish is a desirable place to be,” planning director Dave Taylor said. “Resort areas in the state are seeing an increase.”

Kalispell recorded 106 single-family building permits, while Columbia Falls had eight for 2013.

A total of about $30.2 million was listed for project valuation for single-family homes in Whitefish for last year, according to the city’s Building and Planning Department.

High-end homes appear to be part of the construction trend. Eleven permits were issued for new homes within city limits estimated to cost more than $700,000, with the most expensive being a $1.9 million home on Huckleberry Lane.

Taylor said the boom of 2009 that brought lots of development in higher end areas like Iron Horse had dropped off in recent years, but might be returning.

Preliminary plat activity increased this year for the first time in several years. The city reviewed six applications for a total of 61 lots, and 10 lots made it to final plat in 2013. While subdivision activity has picked up, it still seems to be slower to return because of a surplus of empty lots, according to Taylor.

Commercial permits were also up last year. New commercial permits only rose by three to five total for the year, while commercial remodels almost doubled, coming in at 40.

Taylor noted a number of commercial projects in town, including construction of the new North Valley Food Bank, the Whitefish High School project, the expansion of The Wave, remodel of Sportsman and Ski Haus and construction at the Don K car dealership.

“As the economy recovers, people seem to be willing to invest again,” he said.

On the real estate side, numbers show a strong year for home and land sales in Flathead County. A trends report recently released by Kelley Appraisal points to a change in the market.

Last year, 61.8 percent of new residential listings sold in the county, which is the highest it’s been since 2002. This is considered a very good sign that the local housing market is continuing to gain strength, according to the report.

At 38.8 percent, the percentage of new land listings that were sold is the highest since 2005.

Inside Whitefish city limits, the percentage of residential sales increased by 21.5 percent over 2012. The median price also increased to $245,000. The number of sales has been on an increase since 2010, but the median price continues to fluctuate.

Kalispell city limit sales also increased about 20 percent, with the median sale price increasing 16.5 percent to $167,000

Sales within Columbia Falls city boundaries remained flat with 61 homes sold in both 2012 and 2013. The median price, however, increased 15.9 percent to $153,000.

For the area within 3.5 miles of the city limits, Kalispell and Whitefish markets both saw a bump in sales. Kalispell saw a 18 percent increase and Whitefish had a 29 percent increase. Columbia Falls decreased in the number of sales by almost 8 percent.

Countywide, the types of home sales appear to be changing. The number of non-distressed sales were up 49 percent with 1,282 sales compared to 862 in 2012. Of residential sales in the county, 12.9 percent were bank-owned and 3.8 percent were short sales.

The combination of a decrease in bank-owned listings and sales continues to indicate that the county is working its way out of the local foreclosure problem, the report notes.

Overall residential sales were up for the second year in a row. In 2013, there were about 1,500 sales while the previous year there was 1,300 sales. While the percentage increase in sales was only 15.4 percent, that comes after a 29.5 percent increase in sales from 2011 to 2012.

Median residential sale price also rose again for the second year in a row. The median price was $210,150, up from $188,000. The data indicates that as the demand continues to increase, prices are also starting to increase, according to the report.

Residential land sales also were up, with 527 properties sold in 2013 compared with 327 the year before. Much like home sales, this is the second year in a row that sales have increased. However, the median price for land decreased by 83 percent.