Montanans want a place to call home

Montana hit another low: the National Association of Realtors ranks Montana the most expensive state to live in based on household income relative to home prices. That ranking means our Montana communities are growing further away from being homes for families, and increasingly becoming playgrounds for the rich.

We can change this. Housing is not a partisan issue. Our county, local, state and federal elected representatives must work together to solve this acute problem. I commit to doing that work.

In Kalispell, the moment the Junegrass housing project broke ground, more than 400 people were on the interest list, most of whom are working families looking for a place to give their kids a bed at night. Many of these families are not eligible for new housing because their income is slightly above the qualifying area median income (AMI). In Missoula the AMI for a family of four is $80,200, in Bozeman it’s $104,700. These families are mechanics who fix our cars, nurses who care for us, construction workers maintaining and building the places we live and work in. These working families are the heart of our communities.