Real estate brokers hope for better days

Maybe, just maybe, this is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Residential and land sales are up in Bigfork, an early indicator of a reviving real estate market nationwide.

Katie Brown, owner and broker of Trails West Real Estate, said that most of her client base is buyers from California, Texas, Florida, Arizona and southern states.

"As those markets start coming around, we hopefully will see people feeling more optimistic about this market," she said.

If those markets start steadily climbing and coming back a bit, consumer confidence will go up, she said.

Already sales are increasing in the Bigfork area, said Denise Lang, a broker with Riverbend Realty.

"When you're in a second-home market such as Bigfork, we very dependent on those other markets," she said. "Since the Fourth of July, there has been a dramatic increase in showings. I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll see some sales result from the showings."

From Jan. 1 to July 23, 2008, there were 1,132 closings on residential, commercial, business and land listings in the Bigfork area, she said. During the same period in 2009, there were 691 closings, which is a 39 percent decrease. However, from May 1 to June 30, there were 58 residential and land listings under contract, while from July 1 through July 23, there have been 85 accepted offers on residential and land listings - though Lang did say there may be repeated properties, boosting that number.

Lang noted that there have been more sales in Kalispell, because it's a more affordable market. She also pointed out a trend of buyers from another Rocky Mountain state: Colorado. Lang said that Boulder, Colo.'s real estate is the second-fastest rebounding market in the United States.

"Our market has certainly been adversely affected by the economy, but we're seeing more showings," Lang said. "A vast improvement."

Joyce Mitchell, managing broker and owner of Mitchell and Associates Real Estate, said that the area is experiencing a surge right now.

"I am very confident we are going to have a better year this year than 2008," she said. "Sellers are more realistically pricing. When they get an offer, they'll make it work."

Mitchell also said that while not a single home sold on Flathead Lake in the first six months of 2009, many buyers wait until the warmer months to purchase.

"I have a contract under way for a Flathead Lake resident," she said. "We'll close in August."

Reporter K.J. Hascall may be reached at 758-4439 or by e-mail at kjhascall@dailyinterlake.com