06/03/2024
“Helena This Week” is reported and written By JoVonne Wagner. Send your Helena news and tips to jwagner@montanafreepress.org.
Real estate experts say that Helena’s housing market shows signs of stabilizing this spring but still faces challenges.
The Helena Association of Realtors maintains housing market statistics for Helena, Lewis and Clark County, and the surrounding counties. The median sale price for Lewis and Clark County in April was about $435,700, compared to a median of $425,000 a year ago.
As of April, Helena’s median sales price was $427,500, up from $405,200 last year, or about a 5.5% increase.
While the median sales prices are increasing, local Realtors said the growth has slowed.
“We saw a 2.5% increase [in the county] over the last year, which was down significantly from almost 12% increase we saw the year before,” Helena Association of Realtors executive Desirae Lindquist told Montana Free Press. “So prices are definitely cooling as indicated by the drop in appreciation, essentially.”
With the slight increase in median home costs, the market is also seeing an increase in housing inventory. That means there is a bigger housing pool for buyers, which Lindquist and the association’s president, Jessica Moore, credit to the market beginning to stabilize.
However, having a bigger selection of houses on the market doesn’t equate to cheaper prices. The higher inventory comes at a time of higher interest rates, which, according to Moore, hinders some people’s ability to purchase a home.
Still, the Realtors said that this is still a good time for people to buy and encouraged them not to wait to see if the interest rates drop.
“I think a lot of buyers are waiting and have been waiting for years now to buy because they’ve been waiting for rates to drop,” Lindquist said. “And we haven’t seen that. Instead, prices just continue to go up. If rates were to drop, you’re going to have more buyers entering the market. So it’s almost like you choose which battle to fight.”
Public Notice
Electric vehicle charging fees: The city commission will consider establishing fees to use city-owned, electric-vehicle charging stations, discussing the issue during the next commission meeting on Monday, June 3, at the City-County Building, 316 N Park Ave., at 6 p.m. According to city officials, the proposed fees, $4.35 per hour, are needed to support equipment purchases and the operational and maintenance costs of the stations. In addition, the city will also charge a time-use fee of $1.20 per hour. If the commission approves the resolution, a public hearing will be set for June 17.
Composting and food waste reduction grant: During the Monday meeting, the city commission will formally accept a $66,317 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The city plans to use the funds to help pay for two main projects: One focuses on utilizing backyard chickens to eat food scraps, helping to control waste. Between five and 10 Helena and Lewis and Clark County residents will be selected to receive four chickens. The other project provides collection bins for food waste around the community. The city expects to implement the projects this July.
5 Things to Know in Helena
Habitat for Humanity grant for East Helena: The Helena Area Habitat for Humanity recently received a $100,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines and Wells Fargo. The funds will go toward the organization’s ongoing subdivision housing project in East Helena.
“These dollars will be put to work immediately in the planning process to design a world-class neighborhood to serve working families,” Helena Area Habitat for Humanity executive director Jacob Kuntz said in a press release.
The East Helena project is estimated to have 1,500 homes built on 250 acres and could potentially include a neighborhood community center, a school and other service facilities, according to the release.
Helena Planning Commission: The city of Helena will hold an initial meeting of its recently established planning commission on Wednesday, June 5. The commission was created out of the passage of Senate Bill 382, also titled the Montana Land Use Planning Act, and will be responsible for handling land use and development in the Helena area. The commission will also fill the traditional roles of the city’s zoning commission and board of adjustment, which will ultimately be dissolved. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in room 330 at the City-County Building at 316 N. Park Ave. For more information, visit the city’s website.
Live on the Gulch: Ten Mile Creek Brewery, 48 N. Last Chance Gulch, will host a free concert each Saturday through August 31. The next show will be June 8 and will feature the local band Darkhorse from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. For the full list of shows and dates, visit the brewery’s website.
Run, governor, run: Helena will host its 50th annual Governor’s Cup, put on by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, on June 7 and 8. Competitors can sign up for a mile, 5k, 10k, half or full marathon races. Started in 1974, the cup is the main fundraiser for the Caring Foundation of Montana. Participation requires prior registration. Visit the Governor’s Cup website for more information on registration costs and race categories.
Be bear aware: Registration is open for a Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks’ bear awareness training session on Monday, June 10. The class will be held at Montana WILD, 2668 Broadwater Ave, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The session will aim to educate those who recreate in the outdoors about the presence of grizzly bears in the region, what safety products to carry and what defense strategies to know. Registration is open to ages 12 and up and can be found on the FWP website.
3 Questions For
Summer is right around the corner and with the warmer weather comes tourist season. Many local businesses and organizations are either preparing for or have begun holding events geared toward summer entertainment and community involvement. Callie Aschim is the president of the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce and spoke with MTFP about the chamber’s role in supporting businesses, collaboration and how the local economy benefits. Her comments have been edited for length and clarity.
MTFP: What are the roles of the chamber and why is it important to support local businesses?
Aschim: The Helena Area Chamber of Commerce was actually born out of the Board of Trades back in the late 1800s, so we’re one of the oldest chambers in Montana. We have about 580 members. Those members receive benefits whether it’s advertising, advocacy and recognition by being a member of the chamber. The other piece of the chamber is that we do a lot of programming. When I took over, one of the things that was super important to me was finding out how we provide value for those memberships. We’re completely self-sustaining. We’re funded through memberships and through sponsorships, so it’s really important to us that we’re providing value back so that folks continue to be members of the chamber and we can continue to be able to employ the amazing people we do.
You can’t be everything for everyone, but we have a lot of incredible people and smart people here in the community that we can partner with who do know what to do in different situations. So we’ve really worked with the folks down at the Montana Business Assistance Connection, the Downtown Business Improvement District, Visit Helena, both the city of Helena and the city of East Helena, to work together because at the end of the day, we’re all on the same team. In order for businesses to succeed, Helena needs to succeed. In order for Helena to succeed, businesses need to succeed. Everybody wants the same thing. So really getting on the same page and supporting each other and leaning into each other’s expertise has really been where we’ve been able to expand our programming, expand that value for membership, but then also be able to do some really good community work.
MTFP: What are some events that local businesses have planned this summer?
Aschim: We want folks who want to come in and enjoy Helena like we do. I mean, those are the visitors you want. You want folks who are interested in our history and our culture and our art scene. We have a thriving arts and culture scene here in Helena. The work that Riley Tubbs at Ten Mile [Creek Brewery], and Colleen down at the Hawthorne, the folks at the Rialto, they’ve all really kind of re-energized that space in front of them. They’re gonna be doing the Saturday Night Music on the Gulch, which will be super cool. The Park Avenue group is also going to be doing kind of a fun block party. The 400 block of Last Chance Gulch is going to be doing a block party. Alive at Five — thank you to the folks at Lewis and Clark [Brewing Co.] for really taking that on and bringing that back. That’ll be on every other Wednesday downtown, but also at Lewis and Clark.
When you look at some of the stuff that the 6th Ward is doing, how incredible is that? You have a maker’s mart and you have all these different things happening in all these different corners of town that really allow folks to experience Helena on all levels. I always tell people the best place to go is the VisitHelenaMT.com website. Everybody’s posting the events there. If you’re not, you should be.
MTFP: How does Helena’s economy benefit from these events and businesses?
Aschim: I think what’s beautiful about Helena is that we have such an entrepreneurial spirit. When you look around town and you look at the businesses, whether they’re large businesses or small businesses, most of them were started by someone in this town who believed in something and saw a vision and was able to really bring it to life and with that also comes a lot of local community support.
We talk about shopping locally, but that includes big box stores too. Those folks employ our local residents and they have local managers. We want to make sure that we’re keeping the economy strong by supporting each other, but more than that, keeping our morale strong. We have a beautiful downtown that is doing great things to attract visitors and cater to locals. So we just need to really find ways that we can lift each other up now more than ever. I think communities that are strong are going to see the benefit in the coming years, especially with growth.
Might Be Fun
The comedic improvised skit show “Whose Live Anyway,” based on the television series of a similar name, will stop in Helena during its tour on Wednesday, June 5, at the Helena Civic Center. Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $71. For more information on the show and to purchase tickets, visit the civic center’s website.
Helena History
