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March Sales
Winter is having the last word this year as a potent spring storm dropped several inches of snow around Flathead Lake the first week of April. The brief cold snap has not hindered determined lakefront buyers from staking their claim on the shores of Flathead.
The busier than usual winter traffic along with an improving economy appear to be contributing to a good start to the Flathead Lake real estate market for 2018.
There were three reported sales on Flathead Lake for the month; one residential sale in Bigfork, and two additional vacant land sales.
Significant Sale:
Waterfront Equestrian Property
$2.0 million
This 23 acre property on the East shore of Flathead Lake boasted over 350 feet of wooded waterfront with pastures and equestrian facilities above. The property also included a ranch home, caretaker cottage, and several outbuildings.
 March Sales:
 Prices based on a per-waterfront-foot have continued to increase to over $4,000/ft for the entire lake after adjusting for improvements in the past few years. We expect to see this trend continue as we move through the year.
Given the reduction in inventory, we also expect to see continued upward price pressure.
Annual Sales Data:
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Active Waterfront Listings
Residential waterfront listings for this month are nearly identical to the inventory at this time last year (87 listings vs 88). The number of land listings is also relatively unchanged from April of 2017 at 32, up one from 31. Total listings on the lake historically peak in August and bottom out between January and March.
Median list prices for residential listings rose dramatically over the winter months fueled by a record low inventory. Prices peaked at $1.45M in February, dropping back below $1.3M this month due to new listings coming on the market.
Median waterfront land prices had held relatively steady in the $550-$600k range for the earlier part of last year, increasing steadily starting in August. The new normal seems to have settled in just under $800k. The increase in lower-priced land sales has depleted the inventory and the remaining, higher priced listings have resulted in an increased median price trend.
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