Flathead Lake Real Estate – July 2019 Sales
We are enjoying a beautiful Montana Summer in the Flathead! The cooler, wetter weather patterns have kept the fires away. The morning air is clean, crisp, and free of smoke, giving way to sunny afternoons to be on the water.
Flathead Lake waterfront sales continue to post solid gains over previous years. Although there were only three sales in July, two were over the $1M mark, bringing year to date sales up to nearly $28M and 27 transactions. At this time last year, total volume of waterfront sales was $21M and 30 transactions.
The driving factor for increased sales volume this year is directly related to a higher number of $1M plus sales earlier in the year. There have been 11 such sales posted this year; while last year saw 14 sales over the $1M mark for the entire year.
A secondary factor in the higher priced sales is the fact that 65% of the sales in 2019 have been in the northern areas of the lake, including the communities of Bigfork, Somers, Lakeside, and Rollins which generally sell at higher price points. With interest rates staying low and a national economy that continues to grow, we expect we may see another record sales year for the Flathead Lake real estate market.
July Sales:
Prices based on a per-waterfront-foot have continued to increase to around $4,000/ft for the entire lake after adjusting for improvements in the past few years. The strong sales in the northern end of the lake in June and July have pushed the average to over $5,000/ft on an adjusted basis for the year.
Annual Sales Data:
Active Waterfront Listings
Residential waterfront listings for this month are down compared to the inventory at this time last year (117 vs 132). The number of land listings has decreased from 39 to 33. Total listings on the lake historically peak in August and bottom out between January and March.
The market carried a higher number of residential units through the winter this year compared to previous years, and inventories overall are down a modest 12% compared to last year.
Median list prices for residential listings rose steadily throughout 2018. Prices peaked at $1.6M at the end of the year as inventory dropped with increased sales. The increased inventory of lower-priced properties over the first 6 months of the year combined with the sales of several higher-priced properties have put list prices on a downward trend. Median home prices for July and August dipped to just under $1.2M.
Median waterfront land prices held steady for the last half of 2018, showing a $150k spike for the past five months due to a few high priced listings and reduced inventory.
Flathead Lake Condominium Market
With over a dozen waterfront condominium communities around Flathead Lake, there are plenty of options for buyers who want the waterfront lifestyle without having to worry about maintaining a lake home. Below is a list of all of the current condo listings for the various communities around the lake, along with a report of total sold units and average prices since the first of the year.
The waterfront condo market posted 31 sales on the lake last year. With 51 active condo listings, we have approximately 20 months of inventory currently on the market. This is an increase from last year when we carried a lower inventory.
Condo sales overall have slowed this year as the list prices and inventory of single family homes on the lake have been competitive with the condo offerings. Once single family prices begin to rise with a decrease in inventory, we can expect an increased demand for waterfront condominiums.
