Cary Jo Hofstad

Tax day has come and gone and spring is here! Temps in the 70's lately and NICE. Seems like everyone has come out of hibernation. Traffic is thickening edging towards summer.

The new Super One grocery store in Kalispell is making encouraging progress in the remodel. Looking forward to having a large supermarket near my office again. With construction very slow, it gives a glimmer of hope. Waiting for the Super Walmart to start construction in the Costco area.

CASA, court appointed special advocate for children, is an organization I volunteer for. Currently I am on a break between cases, but a compelling article in the Daily Interlake for the great need for more CASAs to help with the caseload is prompting me to get back in the game. We CASAs are the sole voice for the child or children who are removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. It is an extremely stressful and emotional volunteer job and takes many hours to do court reports, interview family, social workers, counselors, teachers and spend time getting to know the child. All our work helps the judge decide what is best for the child. My last case made me just want to take this 10 year old boy home and raise him with boundaries and love, but of course that isn't possible. The state always tries to reunify the child with their parents or at least a family member. I definitely learned about the "other side of the tracks" in our wonderful valley. Drugs and alcohol are often the cause of family problems as is abuse. If you want to make a difference, look into volunteering for this wonderful organization.

Happy Easter everyone! After attending church in Whitefish with friends, went to brunch at the Grouse Mountain Lodge, awesome! Surprised to see snow on the golf course still that the lodge sits on.

Weekend ranch happenings: horse riding, greenhouse growing, bee hives put together and painted, inventory of fences that need replacing (ugh!), hoses and patio furniture back out for the summer. Wonderful weather to get chores done. A funny think happend with my youngest Golden this week. Maggie has become used to walking on the swimming pool ice all winter. Well, this week she went swimming instead with two paws cling to a floating piece of ice. I had to coach her to the step so she could get out, all the while saying that I wasn't coming in to get her!

There are buyers out there! Many showings on my listings the last few days, all price ranges. Feel much more optimistic this spring than last. I have listings from townhomes, to houses on small acreage, to a house on an airstrip with a hangar, horse properties, just about anything in every price range. Getting many internet inquires from buyers or buyer prospects. Could be a busy year!

Chinese Proverb: "those who say it can't be done should not interupt those doing it"

A happy and sad day. Hit the sunny slopes for the final day of skiing on Whitefish Mountain. Awesome! The 2 feet in the last 1.5 weeks made closing day great, better than 2 weeks ago. By this afternoon I am sure it was mushy. Put the season pass to rest and looking forward to horseback riding, sailing, gardening. Just need the snow to finish melting!

Kohl's and Pet Smart are canceling plans for their stores here. Retail is tough everywhere right now so makes sense. Kalispell is still looking forward to the super WalMart however.

Showings, showings - hey, there are buyers out there!! Much more activity on my listings than a year ago, very encouraging. My web leads have picked up and have some great new listings. See on www.kalispellcary.com.

I am reading a great book: "Off The Beaten Path Montana". It is a guide to unique places in our state. I learned just from the introduction that in our 145,556 square miles you could fit Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Delaware, Rhode Island, New York, and Pennsylvania and have room to spare. When I meet people from out of state I always tell them that Seattle is closer to Kalispell than Billings Montana. I go on to say that I don't know how many Florida's (or whatever state they are from) would fit into our large state. We are planning some off the beaten path camping trips this summer so having fun reading up on some hidden gems that we can discover.

Flathead Valley commercial construction should start showing big gains. Kohl's is building next to Lowe's, a super WalMart is going in at Hutton Ranch Plaza, Super One is remodeling a former store in Kalispell so we will have a new grocery choice right in town. Residential construction is expected to be slow this year.

Ski season is just about over but there has been new snow on Big Mountain this week. Might try and head up there on Saturday for a couple more runs. It was pretty heavy and spring like last Friday so thought the season was over, but never fear, it got colder and we saw more snow. Last weekend it was in the 50's and then Tuesday had a winter storm advisory. Life at 3000 feet elevation is like that in the spring time.

The horses are shedding and romping in the sunshine. Hauling my youngster off for more training. I just might get my courage up to ride him this year. He is very sweet, but very reactive still and VERY tall. I have noticed neighbors out riding and ponying younger horses even though there is still snow on the ground. Some years we are riding a lot outside in March but not this year.

Attended the weekly lecture series on China at the Flathead Community College last night. The speaker was born in Hong Kong and is a professor at West Point. Very interesting.

Remember www.kalispellcary.com - new listings added weekly!

Is it the beginning of the end?? I receive a newsletter called Market Timer by Bob Brinker. It arrived last Tuesday and showed a lot of data from the last 1/2 century of recessions. Bob's research stated that the stock market had to reach a low - which it did in November of 2008, then a new low had to be reached which it had just the day before I received the newsletter. Next comes a rise in the market that is sustained. Once the market starts to stabilize, the end of the recession is 3-5 months off. So far the market continues on a slow chug up with no further declines. We will see what is around the bend in the next few weeks. Very encouraging though.

Had a good open house on Sunday. Townhouse listed for $135k, had both scale down buyers and first time buyers through. In this market it seems open houses are worth doing. Something I haven't done except in vacant homes for years. People need to see the options in this market and open houses are a good way to do so.

The City of Kalispell went ahead with impact fees placed on developers and builders. They are not the full amount originally proposed but none the less, still fees. Of course these are passed onto buyers, very short sited in this economy. Sometimes government can't see that they are handicapping the small business that keeps them alive with tax dollars. We will see if anyone challenges this, especially plats that have received preliminary approval before the fees were imposed.