COLUMBIA FALLS, Mont. — Monday night in Columbia Falls, City Council members discussed overcrowding, home prices and rent affordability.

City Council and Planning Board members reviewed a draft housing study.

The purpose of this study was to estimate housing needs in the 59912 Columbia Falls zip code.

They also discussed topics like cost burden and number of homes sold.

“Prices in Columbia Falls have actually, especially rentals, grown faster in price points than they have in the county overall,” said Wendy Sullivan, owner and housing consultant for WSW Consulting. “So basically you're closing that gap. You're no longer as much as affordable in the Flathead Valley as you used to be.”