People are incredulous that an ordinary house in rural Montana is on the market for over $1 million

•  A modest, 69-year-old home is up for sale in Whitefish, Montana, for $1.1 million. 
• A real-estate agent posted a video of the home, and thousands of people left incredulous comments.
• The seller said the asking price is due to Whitefish's growing appeal to wealthy out-of-staters.

A modest Montana house is turning heads not for its grandeur or uniqueness, but for its price tag: $1.1 million.

The three-bedroom home in Whitefish — a city of about 9,000 people that is the gateway to scenic Glacier National Park — doesn't look like anything special. It has white paneling, a two-toned grass lawn, and a fence out back.

But after it listed for sale on February 8, Whitefish real-estate agent Kirk Rossiter posted a video of the property — and its comparably outsize price tag — on Instagram. Some 3.2 million views, 33,5000 likes, and 8,214 comments later, users have expressed disbelief at the listed price of the home relative to its humble appearance, while others have debated what secrets could possibly justify its high price tag.

"Is there $900,000 piled up in the basement?" one commenter wrote. Another said, "Is this satire?"

Heather Reddig, an agent from RE/MAX Home Again Realty representing the home's seller, Gary Hanson, told Business Insider the home's seemingly exorbitant asking price can be chalked up to two factors: its prime location and Hanson's rebellious optimism.

Whitefish, a hot spot for skiing, hiking, and golf set in landscape of mountains and lakes just an hour south of the Canadian border, is one of the most pricey areas in Montana. It's attracted wealthy Californians, including billionaire Michael Goguen, formerly of venture-capital firm Sequoia Capital. As deep-pocketed homebuyers flood into town, home prices have shot up, driven by the uptick in luxury real estate developments.

Hanson, who inherited the property last year when his father died, wants to take advantage of the demand — hence the $1.1 million sales price.

"It's about the 'location, location, location,'" Reddig, the listing broker, said. "That's what he feels the home is worth," adding that "there's a little piece of rebellion" in asking so much.

The housing market in Whitefish, Montana, is booming — but maybe not as much as the seller hopes

Like numerous smaller towns across the US, Whitefish experienced a pandemic-induced homebuying boom.

The influx of urbanites with higher incomes, attracted by the town's relatively lower-priced homes and outdoor amenities — like hiking trails and ski mountains — intensified competition and drove up housing prices in many neighborhoods.

According to Redfin, the median sale price in Whitefish reached $750,000 in January, more than double the median price of $369,990 in January 2020.

The home, located at 428 O'Brien Avenue, is one of the few older homes remaining on the block, Reddig said.

Hanson expects the new deeper-pocketed residents the town is attracting to splash out on a prime piece of land near Whitefish Lake.

Reddig said an eventual buyer could tear down the current house and replace it with two new homes.

"The town that the owner grew up in has completely changed," Reddig said. "He's like, 'Somebody who has this much money can go and build their high rise right here.'"

The home apparently has 'treasures' inside from the seller's late father, an avid collector

Though Reddig hasn't yet received any offers for the home, Hanson is actually considering increasing the property's price.

"A friend of mine from California said, 'You're too low,'" Hanson told BI. "'Put it up for $2.3 million and it will sell.'"

Hanson said he believes that the home is worth every penny. He has sweetened the deal by including what he called a trove of his father's "treasures" in the sale.

Though Hanson evaded describing exactly what "treasures" lie within, and there are no interior photos of the house in the listing, he did say his "father collected everything just in case he needed something."

"The house is stuffed full of stuff," Hanson said. "Someone said, "Boy, you got everything in there but the kitchen sink.' I told him, 'Well, that's in there, too.'"