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Missoula has quickly transformed to a place of haves and have nots. The rapid increase in housing prices is alarming. This is a complex issue, but here’s a story that illuminates one aspect of the problem.

A small house in my neighborhood was on the market this spring for $300,000. It sold for $405,000 in June 2021. The buyer said he was excited to live there.  But now, a few months later, it is back on the market for $525,000, and its short-term owner is running for Congress while expressing his supposed concern about affordable housing.

This could’ve been a way for someone to secure their first home but is now out of reach for Missoula wage earners.

Our elected officials are blamed for not doing more about housing, but what could they do to prevent opportunists from cashing in on this market?

I hope that all of us who are in the haves category, look ourselves in the mirror and ask if we are helping solve this very big problem or if we are just cashing in.

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