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Sold Waterfront Listings
Summer has officially arrived in the Flathead! After a record-setting wet and soggy June, the warm weather and blue skies are here. Long, hot days and cool nights. The lake temperature is now even warm enough to lure the summer visitors to take a quick dip (the locals have been swimming since May).
The 4th of July weekend typically marks the big kickoff to the summer season, and plenty of visitors and summer residents are in the area. However, the increase in activity has not translated to sales on the water. The relatively sluggish sales activity for the first quarter of the year has continued for Flathead Lake real estate sales with only 16 waterfront transactions compared to 29 at this time last year. Volume is also down nearly 40%. Flathead Lake real estate waterfront sales are on track to match 2011 numbers – the first year any noticeable recovery in this sector was recorded.
Market watchers are having a difficult time explaining the drop in sales for this year. It could be that the majority of pent-up demand for waterfront properties during the recession years has mostly run its course and we are now in a correction phase. Prices on the water have held steady relative to the past two years.
Flathead Lake Real Estate June Sales:
 Flathead Lake Real Estate Annual Sales Data to Date:
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Active Waterfront Listings
The slowdown in Flathead Lake real estate sales have translated into an increase in listings for the first half of this year. A combination of optimistic sellers based on the past few years of sales, and a slow start to sales for 2014 have resulted in an increased inventory of waterfront listings.
Median prices for homes and land have held relatively steady over the past 12 months – $600k range for land listings, and the $900-$1.0M range for homes. Residential listing prices dropped a bit for this month as more lower-priced listings have come on the market for the summer. I believe waterfront sellers are more realistic about the market value of their properties based on sufficient data provided by comparable sales.
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