What One Kind of Home Is Becoming More Common?

What One Kind of Home Is Becoming More Common?

Today I’m bringing you the latest news from our Western Montana real estate market. 

Across Missoula County, there are a total of 601 homes for sale right now. Of those, 340 are currently under contract. This means that the market is doing fairly well. However, the numbers are down slightly from last year due to limited inventory. 

In Missoula County year-to-date, meaning from January 1st until today, 1,190 homes have sold so far. Our average sales price, which is $271,000, is up from last year. This is something sellers love to hear, of course. 

But, what is going to happen next year? No one knows, exactly. We’re just going to have to play it by ear. One thing we’ll be keeping a close watch on is whether interest rates are going to rise. This could have an effect on affordability. 

For now, let’s narrow in on the city of Missoula, itself. First of all, 1,292 homes sold in Missoula in 2016. Currently, there are 384 residential homes in the town for sale. Also, there are 277 homes under contract. 976 homes have closed so far this year at a $270,000 average sale price. This average is slightly lower than the average for the county, since homes outside of the city tend to have larger acreages. 

"With such a major influx of higher-end homes, sellers need to get very competitive."

Things are slightly different in Bitterroot Valley. I do a lot of business in that area, which is really split between upper and lower Bitterroot. In the upper Bitterroot towns of Florence and Stevensville, we have a $378,000 average list price. So far this year, 182 homes have sold at a median sales price of about $284,900. 

Looking at these numbers, it isn’t hard to see that there’s a big gap between the average list price and median sales price. The highest sale I could find in this area using the regional Multiple Listing Service (or MLS) was $775,000.

However, over half of the active homes for sale in these two towns are listed above $400,000. With such a major influx of higher-end homes, sellers need to get very competitive. This is especially true since fewer homes have sold now year-to-date in 2017 than was the case last year.

From what we’ve seen so far this year compared to where we were at this time last year, there’s about a 15 home difference in the number of closings. Personally, I attribute this difference to limited inventory. Nevertheless, the Florence and Stevensville markets are ultimately doing well. 

In the lower Bitterroot towns of Corvallis and Hamilton, there are 211 active listings. Even though this is more than there are in upper Bitterroot, these two towns only have 50 pending homes. This is a very low number considering the number of listings, but it is up from last year. 

This isn’t the only low number we’re seeing. The average pending price is just $244,000 in lower Bitterroot. As I look at this, I notice a disturbing trend for the higher-end homes on the market. 110 of the 211 listings are higher-end homes over $400,000. The highest pending home I could find in lower Bitterroot was $535,000. As is the case in upper Bitterroot, sellers in lower Bitterroot’s higher-end market should be expecting a lot of high competition. 

There is one factor, though, that has been affecting the entire county. Recent fires have been impacting home sales across the area, especially in areas where people are struggling to get insurance.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.