DAVID FETVEIT

Real Estate Broker

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Flathead Lake Real Estate Sales – February 2017

Flathead Lake Real Estate Sales
 
February Sales
Spring is just around the corner, but Old Man Winter has not yet agreed to go quietly.  There is still snow on the valley floors, and the ski resorts are enjoying the near-record snowfall for the year.
The ice on Flathead Lake that covered most of the north end (Somers Bay to Angel Point) and all of Polson Bay is beginning to break up.  Ice fisherman can still be seen in these areas where the ice is still over a foot thick.
There was one posted sale for February in the Polson area. Given the limitations of winter weather, January and February typically post the fewest sales of the year.
Pre-listing and showing activity has already begun to warm up ahead of the weather.  There are currently six waterfront properties under contract or pending around the lake that are expected to close within the next 30-45 days.
February Sales:
 
Prices based on a per-waterfront-foot has stabilized at just over $4,000/ft for the entire lake after adjusting for improvements in the past few years.  The two sales in the Lakeside area in January are contributing to the higher year-to-date average this year highlight the premium value of the Northwest region of the lake relative to the overall average.
Given the reduction in inventory, we expect to see some continued upward price pressure this year.
Annual Sales Data:

Active Waterfront Listings 

Residential waterfront listings for this month are down from the number of listings for this time last year at 86 listings, down from 96.  The number of land listings is up to 35 from 27.

Total listings on the lake historically peak in August and bottom out between January and March.  Not many land sales have been posted (only 6 out of 53 sales for last year), so land listings are holding steady while the number of residential listings are down more significantly.

Median list prices for residential listings ticked up to $1.1M for two months, and have settled back to just under the $1M mark.  With a higher percentage of properties under the $1M mark selling, the ratio of active listings above this price mark has shifted.

Median waterfront land prices have held relatively steady in the $550-$600k range.

 

 

 


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.

 

 

With the number of affordable single-family properties on the lake under $1M dropping, condos were a viable option for buyers last year.  More waterfront condos were sold last year than in each the past 3 years by an average of 25%.  We expect this trend to continue through 2017.