Flathead Lake Real Estate – June 2019 Sales
We are enjoying a beautiful Montana Summer in the Flathead! While it is a bit cooler and wetter than the last few summers, we are spending long days outside enjoying smoke-free skies and cool evenings. Living at 48 degrees north, the long hours of daylight usually outshine the short-lived thunderstorms. Some days that means that boating weather starts in the evening!
Flathead Lake waterfront sales experienced a short lull in April-May, likely due to the late winter, but sales in June came roaring back. With 11 total reported sales on the lake representing over $12M in volume, it was one of the more significant sales months in recent history.
The strong June brought the 2019 year-to-date activity back in line with last year’s record numbers. In fact, this year is $6M in sales ahead of last year to date with two fewer transactions. Through June of 2018 there were 26 reported sales with a volume of $17.6M compared to this year’s first six months of $24.1M in volume from 24 transactions.
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.
June 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 June have pushed the average to over $5,000/ft on an adjusted basis.
Annual Sales Data:
Active Waterfront Listings
Residential waterfront listings for this month are down compared to the inventory at this time last year (114 vs 129). The number of land listings has decreased from 38 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 dipped to just under $1.2M.
Median waterfront land prices held steady for most of 2018, showing a $150k spike for the past three 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 56 active condo listings, we have approximately 21 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.
