Flathead Lake Real Estate Sales – Waterfront Sales
October in the Flathead was stunning this year, both visually and in waterfront sales. The mild weather pattern resulted in a prolonged season of changing foliage with the fall leave colors lasting long enough to match the vibrant yellow needles of the deciduous Western Larch in the area.
Waterfront real estate sales on Flathead Lake were also nothing short of spectacular with a dozen reported sales equaling over $12.6M in total sales volume for the month.
The year-to-date totals are at 62 transactions representing over $49M in total volume. We continue to meet and exceed the expectations of increased sales for the year, and expect the positive trend to continue. Current projections have 2018 yielding the strongest waterfront sales period in over 10 years, eclipsing every annual total as far back as 2007.
Significant Sale:
Sylvan Drive Estate $4.9M
This magnificent estate on Flathead Lake’s east shore in Bigfork closed in early October. The property included 370 feet of gravel beach frontage on over 3.8 acres. The 3,732 sf main home included all the modern features one would expect complemented with natural wood finishes and craftsmanship that translate into unique rustic elegance. A guest cabin sits right at the water’s edge and provides easy access to the state-of-the-art dock ready to accommodate all the water toys you need to enjoy a summer on Flathead Lake.
October 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. This year’s average had dropped below this mark earlier in the year, but has rebounded as expected to an adjusted average of $4,005 per linear foot of frontage.
Annual Sales Data:
Active Waterfront Listings
Residential waterfront listings for this month are up compared to the inventory at this time last year (113 listings vs 108). The number of land listings has decreased from 38 to 29. Total listings on the lake historically peak in August and bottom out between January and March.
With the increased activity in waterfront sales, more owners have decided it is the time to sell and are listing their properties. As a result, listing inventory for residential waterfront properties remains higher over last year even as it should be diminishing with increased sales.
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 in April due to new listings coming on the market. As the inventory of lower-priced properties continues to sell, the median price of active listings continues to rise. The current median price is just under $1.5M.
Median waterfront land prices also rose during the colder months to the $800k range due to the lower inventory and have settled back to just over $600k.
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 is maintaining compared to last year with 32 posted sales on the lake to date. With 47 active condo listings, we have approximately 15 months of inventory currently on the market. This is down from highs over the past few years where we saw as much as a three to four year inventory on the market.
Sold prices continue to move upwards, and listing prices downward to meet realistic market values. This has resulted in an increase of sales – especially in the Bigfork market.
