Cary Jo Hofstad

We are all hoping Spring is here for good! With the weather going back and forth between winter and summer, the leaves are finally daring to appear on the tree lined streets of Kalispell!

I rode one of my Rocky Mountain horses for the first time so far this weekend. She was perfectly behaved and it was so nice to be sitting on a horse in the sunshine again.

Donut update: The lawsuit filed by the City of Whitefish against Flathead County regarding the donut area around Whitefish being in the county jurisdiction not city, was denied by a judge last week. The city is now trying to figure out what their next step is. The donut area in recent past has been controlled by the city of Whitefish as far as planning, zoning and growth go. Those who live within the donut have not vote over city matters. Flathead County maintains it should be their say that goes not the city. We'll see if the disagreement continues.

Snow in the high mountains is finally melting and the rivers are coming up. I am looking forward to Flathead Lake filling to full pool so we can get our sailboat in. This is not usually until the first of June or so. The lake is controlled by a dam at the south end to make flooding less likely to happen.

Buyer activity: starting to see some out of state buyers - real buyers - coming into the area at long last. Building has slowed significantly as sales have slowed. Spec building will be behind when the market suddenly picks up. For the time being it is still a buyers market but that could change once buyers realize now is the time and inventory starts ticking off. Prices are not going to change drastically here as they have in some parts of the country, we just did not have the crazy appreciation they did. Some seller's have reduced prices to where they need to be to be competitive but there are very few true hardship cases out there.

Don't miss the summer in the Flathead Valley, it is superior!!

The weather is as always a topic of conversation this week. Rumors of 70 degrees by Sunday are flying around the valley. We are ALL ready for Spring/Summer to arrive. Too bad that Whitefish Mountain ski area closed last weekend. The conditions were superb and snow was falling for those that were still on the mountain. Usually by this time it is sunny and mushy, but not this year! My husband tells me that he had a great day skiing last Friday at Blacktail. Blacktail in Lakeside will remain open as long as the conditions are good.

The task force of builders/developers/commercial construction have had a meeting this week regarding the impact fees for roads that the city of Kalispell is proposing. Glacier Mall which finally got city approval, would be very hard hit as commercial has the highest proposed fees to deal with. Does not seem like a good plan to penalize businesses when that is what keeps the economy growing and healthy.

Buyers have started looking at houses this week with the more enticing weather. Our web site activity has also increased with out of state buyers planning their summer trip to the Flathead.

"Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"" Robin Williams, actor

After a winter of snowfall in enormous proportions, Glacier National Park is expected to open on June 13. This date of course, is subject to the weather from now until then. This summer the Going to the Sun road will be impacted by the continuing construction that was started last fall. There is a shuttle system that again will be used to shuttle visitors and hikers from one side on the park to the other. For pictures of snow removal, go to www.dailyinterlake.com. On 4/3/08 there is a photo of the plowing. Awesome amount of snow!

Speaking of snow, Whitefish Mountain Resort and Blacktail Ski areas will both be closing down the ski season this weekend. What a season! Too bad I had knee surgery and missed the record amount of snow and powder! Oh well, there is always next year.

The City of Kalispell is having workshops to decide on road impact fees. From residential to commercial, the City wants to implement fees. Roughly $1000 per new single family home is the proposed amount. Apartment buildings will be assessed per unit and commercial buildings per square foot. We'll see if this happens. Just another fee that will be passed onto the consumer. Some discussion on the policing to make sure such fees actually are used for roads is taking place.

Flathead Building Association, our local association of Realtors, and the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce are working together to get Flathead County to do something about the onerous regulations the county put into effect last August. There are regulations that are more stringent than the state's rules and these agencies want the regulations to match with the state codes. Some of the new regulations are in regard to building on slopes, distance from streams and rivers, groundwater areas, and sewage treatment. Again, all regulations that impact the price of a new home and are passed on to the buyer. As a builder, my husband has been a part of some of the focus groups that have meet from the FBA to come up with an action plan.

It is a gorgeous spring like day and boy are we ready for spring!

We have been enjoying beautiful views of the sun rising over the Rocky Mountains from our home on the clear spring mornings. The other morning I was up early, sitting reading in my living room, and saw through the window the full moon sinking to the west. Awesome! In the evenings when the sun is setting, we see a pink glow on the snowy mountains to the east.

I spent half a day at LaSalle Vet Clinic this week when my trusty Dusty gelding foundered and required x-rays and the farrier to meet us there and put special shoes on him. He was in such pain but a great trooper. No riding this Rocky Mountain horse for a few months.

The City of Kalispell is finally moving across the street into the former Wells Fargo building. 5 months late and of course over budget. An interesting location as there is NO parking except on the city streets. The downtown library is still looking at options for a new location. There is a vacant supermarket that would be ideal but we'll see if the board makes the best choice or another more expensive choice.

Donut continuation from past blogs. A judge has ordered the county to not proceed in further action removing the Whitefish donut. The "donut" is a 2 mile radius around the city of Whitefish used for planning and zoning. The residents have no representation or say in what the city does. County council is moving to do away with this donut, in response, the city of Whitefish is suing the county. What a mess!

Spring snow has been falling off and on all week, just in case we dared to think summer was around the bend!

The great news this week is that the Federal Reserve again lowering the interest rate that banks pay to loan money out. This will not be reflected immediately in the residential lending arena but will effect rates sometime in the near future.

For an update from last week's blog on the City of Whitefish "donut" issue. The County Commissioners are doing away with the donut - Whitefish currently controls a 2 mile radius outside the city limits for zoning. According to yesterday's newspaper, The city is going to sue the county. Stay tuned for more developments.

Spring break is this week for local schools so things are pretty quiet. Out of town buyers are starting to inquire, but don't typically show up until May and then through the fall. It is a great time for investors to think about rental property purchase, rental needs go up when people are not buying.