MISSOULA, Mont. - As the housing market continues to get tougher for Missoulians, one team of realtors and developers are finding a way to help buyers out with a new subdivision.
The first 19 homes of this new development, Hellgate Villages, aren't going to the highest bidder. Instead, it's taking a bit of luck for qualified buyers. The owners are chosen by random drawing.
The subdivision is being built by Edgell Building and Hoyt Homes. It's located just south of Pleasant View in the Hellgate Elementary District. The entire neighborhood will have 86 new homes.
Gillian Fetz Edgell, a broker at Glacier Sotheby's International Realty, is part of the team. She said the goal for these units is to provide more workforce housing for Missoulians specifically. However, with such a frenetic housing market, they knew the prices would bid up quickly. So, rather than releasing these homes on a Multiple Listing Service, a database for real estate brokers, they decided to host a drawing and sell the homes at asking price.
"In Missoula, we need to take care of our own," Fetz Edgell said. "We need to make sure that people who are trying to become homeowners, can become homeowners. It's really important for the economy, as well as just the attachment to place and connection to our town."
Over 50 applicants entered the drawing for the 19 homes. Kristen Guidoni and her husband were one of the applicants to be selected. She said they'd looked at over 20 houses since getting married in November. She shared what it felt like when she got the call.
"Oh my gosh, [I was] like in shock," Guidoni said. "Where you're like, oh my gosh, is this really happening? We have a house. It just felt amazing. With how the market is and how much we'd been looking, it was just this huge relief off our shoulders. Also, just joy and happiness.
Of the 19 homes that were part of the first drawing, 17 are now under contract. Two are still available.
Looking ahead, Fetz Edgell said they aren't sure if they'll do another drawing in the future. It's a fluid process.