Welcome to Missoula Real Estate Meetup
The Missoula Real Estate Meetup has three main goals:
1. Learn more about the Missoula Market
2. Make authentic connections
3. Share strategies and information
As always, there will be no selling of any products or services, and it's always free to attend.
We meet the third Tuesday of every month at the Highlander, at 6:00 PM. We usually have 20-30 attendees.
If you're interested, enter your email below, and we'll send you an invite.
Upcoming Speakers
We always start with a guest speaker that has been recommended by a member as an experienced and connected member of the Missoula Real Estate industry (Ex. property manager, developer, agent, title insurance, lawyer, home insurance, etc.). There is usually between 15-30 minutes of a presentation, then some question and answer time. We spend the rest of the time making friends, drinking beer, discussing deals, and potential partnerships. Our upcoming speakers are below:
Ryan Frey- April 21st at 6 PM at Highlander
Upslope Group and Saddle Mountain Construction
Ryan Frey is a Missoula-based real estate developer who has spent more than a 26 years turning overlooked parcels into beautiful homes and thriving communities. His work spans infill housing, industrial buildings, and large-scale residential developments, including factory-built home communities designed to expand attainable homeownership.
Ryan recently authored Real Estate Development From the Ground Up (Link is here), a practical guide that walks through the full development process, from evaluating raw land to delivering finished homes. The book blends step-by-step frameworks with real stories from projects that worked, and a few that didn’t.
In this talk, Ryan will pull back the curtain on how development actually happens. He will cover the fundamentals of evaluating land, navigating zoning, assembling a team, raising capital, and managing risk across a project’s lifecycle.
Attendees will also hear lessons from real projects, including how small zoning insights created major opportunities and how early mistakes shaped better development decisions.
Whether you are considering your first project or looking to scale from small deals into larger developments, this presentation will provide a practical roadmap for turning an idea into a completed project.
Alyssa Peterman and Kristen Ingman- May 19th at 6:00 at Highlander
Mofi
Alyssa and Kristen work with MoFi, a community development lender that provides capital to small businesses and community projects across Montana and the region. Their work focuses primarily on small business lending, helping entrepreneurs and local businesses access financing that can be difficult to find through traditional banks.
They’ll share how their lending programs work, how they support businesses in communities like ours, and give a high level overview of the New Markets Tax Credit program.
Sam Oliver- June 16th at 6:00 at Highlander
Missoula Housing Authority
Sam works with the Missoula Housing Authority, an organization that plays a key role in bringing housing projects to life in Missoula. Their work spans several approaches to creating and preserving housing for a wide range of residents.
Sam will share how the Missoula Housing Authority approaches housing production, the different tools they use to create housing for a wide range of Missoula residents, and what developers and investors should understand about how these projects come together.
John Brauer- July 21st at 6:00 at Highlander
Windermere Real Estate
John is a third-generation Montanan and longtime leader in the Missoula real estate community. He began his career in 1990 and founded Windermere Real Estate in 2004, growing it into one of the most recognized brokerages in the region.
Over the past three decades, he has served in key leadership roles, including President of the Missoula Organization of Realtors, and has been widely recognized for both professional excellence and community involvement.
John has seen multiple real estate cycles play out in Missoula, from periods of rapid growth to market slowdowns, giving him a rare long-term perspective on how the market actually behaves.
In this session, John will share what 30 years of market cycles can teach investors, how and why deals fall apart, and what can be done to prevent it. He will also cover trends he is seeing today in Missoula land and development, along with lessons from deals he has been involved in over the years.
This is a practical look at risk, timing, and decision-making from someone who has been through it all.
Kody Swartz- August 22nd at 6:00 at Highlander
Woith Engineering
Kody Swartz is a licensed Professional Engineer and Professional Land Surveyor with deep experience in civil infrastructure, site design, and land development. He has worked across the full lifecycle of projects, from surveying and feasibility to permitting and construction administration, giving him a clear view of what actually works on the ground.
Kody specializes in identifying site constraints early to evaluate how a project will perform before construction begins.
In this session, Kody will walk through the site issues that catch developers and investors off guard. He will cover utilities, grading, drainage, and infrastructure limitations, and how these factors impact cost, timelines, and overall feasibility.
This is a practical look at what to evaluate before you buy land, and how to avoid costly surprises during development.
Rob Fleming September 15th at 6:00 at Highlander
Synergy One Lending
Rob Fleming is a longtime mortgage professional and Branch Manager with Synergy One Lending in Missoula. He has helped finance hundreds of home purchases across Montana and works daily with buyers, investors, and real estate professionals navigating today’s lending environment.
Because Rob is directly involved in active deals, he has a clear view of how interest rates, lending standards, and affordability pressures are shaping the local housing market. His experience gives him a practical perspective on what is actually happening with buyers and financing right now.
At this meetup, Rob will share insights on where mortgage rates may be headed, how lenders are evaluating borrowers today, and what investors and buyers should understand about financing in the current market.
Dylan Shultz- November 17th at 6:00 at Highlander
Main Street Realty
Dylan Shultz is a Missoula-based realtor and active investor with a direct view into what is happening in today’s market. He works closely with buyers and sellers across Western Montana and understands what is moving, what is stalling, and how current conditions are shaping deals.
Alongside his brokerage work, Dylan is involved in small-scale development. He recently completed an ADU project where he condo'd the ADU and sold it separately. In this session, Dylan will break down his ADU deal and highlights how adding units in existing neighborhoods can create both strong returns and more housing supply. He'll finish by giving a clear update on what he is seeing in the Missoula market today.
The Missoula Real Estate Meetup Team
Dedicated to building a stronger Missoula Real Estate Community
Keith Miller: President
Founding Partner at the Upslope Group. The Upslope Group LLC is a Missoula based Development Company that uses off-site construction to build attainably-priced homes. Our mission is to build entry level housing to allow our buyers to gain future equity, appreciation, and an opportunity to control their housing costs. Our success is built upon our development experience in the Missoula Valley, and a relentless focus on learning and executing the best practices in the Off-Site Construction Industry. Check us out at www.UpslopeGroup.com
I'm a former Middle School Teacher and 5th generation Montanan, and was born and raised in Missoula. I am passionate about building more housing for Montana in a sustainable way to solve our housing crisis. I'm sharing what I'm doing openly so that more Montana can build housing, and we can together solve this housing crisis in a sustainable way, building a walkable, bike-able Montana.
I donate more than 6 percent of my income to causes that improve the health of children, pregnant mothers, and families in low income communities. I am increasing my charitable contributions by 1% every year after that.
Learn more here.
Brady Potts: Vice President
Focused on small-multifamily and branching into larger buildings, he currently has 6 units and several projects underway. Believing in a holistic approach, Brady looks to meld the concepts of sustainability, profit, and community wellness into all his ventures. He's currently focused on multifamily acquisitions and sustainably-built development.
Ryan Frey
Senior Advisor
Ryan is a Founding Partner of the Upslope Group, as well as the experience owner of Saddle Mountain Construction. Ryan has been a General Contractor for over 24 years. Ryan has a wealth of experience in the building industry, and has won MBIA's Builder of the year. He is currently focused on building entry level housing to allow our buyers to gain future equity, appreciation, and an opportunity to control their housing costs. You can learn more at www.Upslopegroup.com.