Highlights of the by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate:
Homes Sales:
❱ During the final quarter of 2019, 760 homes sold, a drop of 4.7% compared to the same period a year ago.
❱ Similar to last quarter, total sales activity was a mixed bag: there were increases in five counties and declines in four. The largest annual increase was in Broadwater County, where sales were up more than 45%, though the increase was only five units. The largest decline in sales was in Gallatin County.
❱ The number of homes for sale remains well below levels I would like to see, with an average of 1,149 listings in the fourth quarter within the counties contained in this report.
❱ I believe low inventory levels are holding sales back. I am optimistic that we will see some growth in listing inventory in the spring of 2020, but the market is still far from balanced.
Home Prices:
❱ Year-over-year home prices fell 4.6% compared to the same period a year ago to an average of $345,617.
❱ Average home prices dropped the most in Ravalli County, but I believe this is somewhat of an anomaly and would not be surprised to see prices pick back up in 2020.
❱ Even though the region as a whole saw prices drop, six counties experienced price growth. Madison, Lake, and Broadwater counties all saw significant price increases.
❱ The takeaway from this data is that, in aggregate, home prices continue to contract but not all markets are created equal.
Days on Market:
❱ The average number of days it took to sell a home rose 12 days compared to the fourth quarter of 2018.
❱ During the final quarter of 2019, it took an average of 103 days to sell a home in the region. This is down 15 days compared to the third quarter of 2019.
❱ Homes sold fastest in Gallatin County and slowest in Lake County. Ravalli and Missoula counties were the only markets where days on market dropped compared to the same period a year ago.
❱ The takeaway here is that, although aggregate market time declined modestly, this was due to a signi cant drop in days on market in only two areas, not an overall market trend.
