DAVID FETVEIT

Real Estate Broker

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Flathead Lake Real Estate Sales – March 2017

Flathead Lake Real Estate Sales
 
March Sales
Allegedly we are several weeks into spring, but the weather is not cooperating yet in Northwest Montana.  The winter turned out to be one of the coldest and snowiest on record, and we are still feeling the effects.  We can hope that the additional moisture and snow pack will keep fires out of the forecast for the coming summer season.
There were four sales posted for the month of March, representing the entire lake with sales in Polson, Somers, and Bigfork.  It is pleasing to see the market starting to warm up for the season.  Our year-to-date sales numbers are comparable to the past three years, and we expect sales to continue to pick up as we move towards summer.
March Sales:
 
Prices based on a per-waterfront-foot have stabilized at just over $4,000/ft for the entire lake after adjusting for improvements in the past few years.  The three sales in the Lakeside/Somers this year 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 88 listings, down from 113.  The number of land listings is also down to 31 from 39.

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.  The snow cover and colder temperatures have delayed our spring inventory, and our current April numbers are more typical of what we see in March.

Median list prices for residential listings ticked up to $1.1M.  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.