Many of our clients ask, “What is the market like?” Today, I’d like to share some information that recently came in for the entire state of Montana. We’ll compare the the market from 2015 and 2016 and explore why the numbers are what they are.

Let’s start with Billings. From 2015 to 2016, the number of sales dropped by 7%. That’s probably because of the oil patch slowing down. The good news is that the sales price hasn’t changed. So, although the market has some strength, there are fewer transactions.

Livingston saw no changes in the number of transactions or in sales price, so that market has held steady for the last two years.

Now, Bozeman is the hotbed as far as market activity goes. They have a good number of transactions and the average sales price is $400,000, which is the highest in the state!

Great Falls saw no increase in the number of transactions or the average sales price. Helena didn’t have any changes in the number of transactions, but they did see a 9% increase in the average sales price. Why? All of the bank repossessions are gone and entry-level housing has been bought up. New construction has not replaced that inventory yet, so there is more demand in Helena than there is supply.

Missoula held steady from 2015 to 2016, with the same number of home sales and the same average sales price. On the other hand, Flathead Valley’s sales went down 10% in 2016. However, the average sales price did go up 4%.

Sometimes, when we get out of area customers that are in strong markets, like Chicago, Denver, and Seattle, they are coming from a much more competitive market. Those markets have larger population bases that can fuel supply and demand. It can be difficult for those customers to come to Montana and transition out of a market where people are fighting for homes with multiple offers over asking price.

Montana has a lower population base to drive the market.

Montana has a lower population base and a limited economic base that does not fuel the market in the same way, so we really depend on those outside resources to come in. Lately, those outside resources have been lagging a bit. We’ll see what will happen in 2017.

If you have any other questions about our current market or if you would like to learn more about other real estate topics, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!