Standing out from the other cities of

Flathead County, Whitefish seemed to improve in its building and

home sales numbers last year.

A report from Kelley Appraisal of

Kalispell notes that 43 building permits were recorded in 2011 for

single family homes in Whitefish. In comparison, 42 permits were

issued in Kalispell, and eight were issued in Columbia Falls.

The report is compiled by Jim Kelley,

who compiles data on the building and real estate market in

northwest Montana. He periodically releases the data in detailed

reports.

The number of new home permits in

Whitefish is double the recorded 21 permits for 2010. The city

recorded 14 permits in 2009, 29 in 2008, 22 in 2007 and 60 in

2006.

The report calls Whitefish the “bright

spot” in the county with the highest number of single family units

built since 2007.

In 2010, Kalispell recorded 50 homes

and Columbia Falls had four. In addition to single-family permits,

Kalispell issued one duplex, eight townhouse and 21 multi-family

permits. Whitefish and Columbia Falls did not report any permits

other than single-family homes.

Flathead County does not issue building

permits. To estimate the new number of building permits in the

county, the report looks at the number of septic permits. In 2011,

there were 219 final septic inspections for both residential and

commercial buildings. The number of septic inspections in 2010 was

241. The report says that the number is only a guide, because a

community sewer system could have several new homes under one

septic inspection.

In home sales, the report shows the

percentage of new residential listings sold in the county is higher

than it was in 2007. Some 38.9 percent of new listings were sold in

2011, comparing with 27.9 percent in 2007.

“This is a good sign that suggests that

the residential market is gaining strength,” the report notes.

The number of sales was up 2.4 percent

in Whitefish city limits.

The median price for sales inside

Whitefish city limits increased 7.3 percent in 2011. This comes

after three years of decreasing median sales prices. Median sales

prices in 2009 dropped by 20.6 percent and then 10.5 percent in

2010.

Within three-and-a-half miles of the

city limits, the number of sales was up 0.9 percent. This is after

the number of sales was up 37.6 percent in 2010.

The median price for sales increased by

9.1 percent for the Whitefish area outside of city limits.

In Columbia Falls, the number of home

sales was up, but the median price declined by 30 percent, falling

for the third straight year. The report notes that 63 percent of

the sales were bank-owned properties.

Kalispell saw the number of sales

decrease 10.6 percent. Within three-and-a-half miles of the city

limits, sales decreased 2.9 percent.

The Kelley report also included

foreclosure data from the Flathead County courthouse. Notices of

trustee’s sale, which must be recorded 120 days prior to an actual

trustee’s sale, were down almost 20 percent. The number of

trustee’s sale notices have increased every year from 2005 through

2010.

The actual number of trustee sale

foreclosures that have occurred over the last five years continued

to increase. In 2011 there were 481 sales, up 22.4 percent from 393

in 2010.

Trustee sales numbers include all types

of real estate, not just residential properties.