A little eye opener for those that think they want to move to Flathead County......... (Bozeman: real estate, rent)

[mjstef]

Yeah, Their is a TON of job openings. NOBODY can find people to work. The problem in a nutshell is housing. and lack of wages to match. Here is a little breakdown:

Average household wage in Flathead County per census is $45,000 (rounded up) That is $21.63 an hour. Ran that through Bankrates How Much Can I Afford calculator with these specs.

$3,750 a month Gross income.
$300 car payment
Real estate taxes, $2,000
Homeowners ins $1,000
30 yr note
4% interest
0% down
Came up with this:
Available mortgage payment: $800.00
Affordable home amount: $167,568.99

Ran that through the Flathead MLS with these specs:
ALL 5,226 sq miles of Flathead county. This is Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Bigfork, Lakeside Ect.
Minimum 2 bed
Minimum 1 bath
Minimum 1,200 Sq Ft
Max price $168,000

Came up with 17 listings and 11 ARE UNDER CONTRACT!!!!!!
That leaves you with 6 homes to choose from if your at around $45,000 a year household, 3 mobile homes and 3 single families that need help.

Anyone see the problem here????

[mjstef]

Lets change it up, Say your married with a couple kids. Average FAMILY wage in the Flathead is $54,000

$4,500 a month Gross income.
$300 car payment
Real estate taxes, $2,000
Homeowners ins $1,000
30 yr note
4% interest
0% down
Came up with this:
Available mortgage payment: $1,070.00
Affordable home amount: $224,123.53

Ran that through the Flathead MLS with these specs:

ALL 5,226 sq miles of Flathead county. This is Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Bigfork, Lakeside Ect.
Minimum 3 bed
Minimum 2 bath
Minimum 1,400 Sq Ft
Max price $224,000

Came up with 33 listings and 24 ARE UNDER CONTRACT!!!!!!
That leaves you with 9 homes to choose from if your at around $54,000 a year.


Here is the MLS link if y'all want to check it out. Search the MLS

[mrwumpus]

Given an office admin at a local elementary school pays under $14/hr, it's hard to argue.

Kalispell is not Austin, TX. Middle class refugees aren't flocking there, but since the inventory is relatively low compared to anywhere, all it takes is a couple of dozen of out-of-state buyers to raise the prices.

We bought for $290k and even that was a stretch with my out-of-state wages, but I don't imagine most people moving here have remote jobs, so they must bring a large wad of cash to the table.

[krew09]

take up a part time hobby,get a gold sluice box....relatively cheap,extra cash..exercise ,outdoors...Location is key... tax man doesn't have to know about it.

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by krew09

take up a part time hobby,get a gold sluice box....relatively cheap,extra cash..exercise ,outdoors...Location is key... tax man doesn't have to know about it.

Thanks for the laugh!

[MTSilvertip]

Originally Posted by mjstef

Lets change it up, Say your married with a couple kids. Average FAMILY wage in the Flathead is $54,000

$4,500 a month Gross income.
$300 car payment
Real estate taxes, $2,000
Homeowners ins $1,000
30 yr note
4% interest
0% down
Came up with this:
Available mortgage payment: $1,070.00
Affordable home amount: $224,123.53

Ran that through the Flathead MLS with these specs:

ALL 5,226 sq miles of Flathead county. This is Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Bigfork, Lakeside Ect.
Minimum 3 bed
Minimum 2 bath
Minimum 1,400 Sq Ft
Max price $224,000

Came up with 33 listings and 24 ARE UNDER CONTRACT!!!!!!
That leaves you with 9 homes to choose from if your at around $54,000 a year.


Here is the MLS link if y'all want to check it out. Search the MLS

I don't follow. If you want to come to an expensive, premier area like Kalispell or Bozeman, it's not the low rent side of town. I sure wouldn't expect to find affordable housing in Malibu or Belair either.

My house is a 2 bed 1 bath and under 1000 sq feet. I don't need my own 5000 square foot mcmansion, but if I did, and my job didn't pay 100k +, I could buy what I could afford, invest some sweat equity, sell and buy bigger. Repeat until I get what I want, or go to a town with a job and lower real estate prices.

I don't understand why it's my fault or Montana's fault that somebody can't get everything they want the second they walk off the college campus, just because they want it. Since when don't you have to work for your dreams?
If you want lots of money thrown at you without doing much for it, I guess you better learn to sing or act.

Jobs pay what they pay because of supply and demand for that service, not because you're special and deserve more, and if you want to live in an expensive area, you better find a way to afford it by becoming more valuable yourself.

Or move to someplace you can afford and stop whining.

[Pilot1]

Build a cabin on a little piece of land, or buy a pre-fab home to put on a piece of land. They aren't that expensive.

[boulder2015]

Originally Posted by mjstef

Yeah, Their is a TON of job openings. NOBODY can find people to work. The problem in a nutshell is housing. and lack of wages to match. Here is a little breakdown:

Average household wage in Flathead County per census is $45,000 (rounded up) That is $21.63 an hour. Ran that through Bankrates How Much Can I Afford calculator with these specs.

$3,750 a month Gross income.
$300 car payment
Real estate taxes, $2,000
Homeowners ins $1,000
30 yr note
4% interest
0% down
Came up with this:
Available mortgage payment: $800.00
Affordable home amount: $167,568.99

Ran that through the Flathead MLS with these specs:
ALL 5,226 sq miles of Flathead county. This is Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Bigfork, Lakeside Ect.
Minimum 2 bed
Minimum 1 bath
Minimum 1,200 Sq Ft
Max price $168,000

Came up with 17 listings and 11 ARE UNDER CONTRACT!!!!!!
That leaves you with 6 homes to choose from if your at around $45,000 a year household, 3 mobile homes and 3 single families that need help.

Anyone see the problem here????

Eh, stop whining. If you cant afford it, move to a cheaper area. Montanans are know for their rugged individualism and hate whiners who complain about the free market and capitalism.

[Redraven]

I grew up in the Flathead Valley. I really can't imagine why anybody would want to move there. Oh, sure, it is beautiful, but one can't eat scenery.
The Aluminum Plant is gone, never to return.
There is one lumber mill left in Columbia Falls, IF Plum Creek still survives.
There is one lumber mill in Half Moon, if F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber is still thriving.
The was a stud mill in Evergreen (part of the Plum Creek complex, IIRC), is it still going?
I haven't heard much about Semitool recently. Is it still a going concern?
I visit the Valley now and then (the next time will be my 60th high school re-union), and I can stand it for about three days, maybe a week, and I have to leave. I don't like what it has become.
For instance, my "home town", Hungry Horse. What a tourist trap it is now. All three service stations, gone. The VFW, gone. The Glacier Rifle and Pistol Club indoor range, gone. The Club Rocco is now a Baptist church. All but one of the bars, gone. The drug store is now a grocery store. The road around Hungry Horse reservoir is mostly paved, as are many of the campgrounds.
The old saw that "You can't go home again!" is very true. "Home" (including the house, in my case) is simply GONE!
I looked at Kalispell jobs. I notice a toolmaker (LC Staffing) can make $10 -$11 per hour!

[mrwumpus]

Originally Posted by Redraven

The old saw that "You can't go home again!" is very true. "Home" (including the house, in my case) is simply GONE!

In our technical industrial age, change is the one constant of life.

I am under 50 and both my childhood homes are basically in ghettos now.

I suppose we'd have to be Amish in PA to enjoy more generational continuity.