Print the FULL report: Missoula Market Report September 2017
Missoula Residential Real Estate – SEPTEMBER 2017
By The Numbers:
- Homes sold September: 148;YTD 1,093
- Average days on market September: 109; YTD 106
- List-to-sale price September: 99%; YTD: 99%
- Median sold price September: $261,750; YTD: $267,776
- % homes sold under $350,000 September: 75.7%
- Homes actively listed at end of September: 420
- Months of inventory at end of September: 2.8
Supply & Demand for Missoula Residential Real Estate
Demand for Missoula residential real estate continued to climb throughout the first nine months of the year and resulted in more sales in 2017 than during the same timeframe last year. At the end of September a total of 1,093 homes had been sold year-to-date, compared to 995 homes sold year-to-date last year.
A significant portion of the increase in home sales compared to last year was attributable to new construction or to-be-built homes. Of the 1,093 homes sold in the fist nine months of this year approximately 90 percent were existing home sales and 10 percent were new construction or to-be-built homes. As a comparison, in 2016 only about 3.3 percent of home sales in the first nine months were new construction or to-be-built homes. After subtracting new construction and to-be-built sales, there were 982 existing home sales through September 2017 versus 962 existing home sales through September 2016, which is an increase of 20 existing home sales, year-over-year.
The following chart shows Missoula residential real estate sales totals, by month, from 2014 through September 2017. The chart demonstrates the seasonality of home sales. Most sales happen during the summer months and the fewest sales happen in February of each year.
The vertical bars represent the number of homes under contract at the end of each month for the current year.
Absorption Rate
Absorption rate is a measure of how fast the homes are turning over in the market. According to the National Association of Realtors, six months of inventory (homes listed for sale) is considered to be a balanced market. Numbers over six represent a buyer’s market and those under six represent a seller’s market.
Overall, homes in Missoula were absorbed at a faster pace than in a normal, balanced market. Further, lower priced homes were absorbed (sold) at a much faster pace than higher priced homes. The inventory of homes for sale has not kept up with demand for the last couple of years. Ultimately, at the end of September most price ranges in Missoula had fewer than six months of inventory available.
The graph below shows how many months of inventory were available in Missoula by price range at the end of September.
New Construction
At the end of September there was a total of 183 new single-family construction permits issued in the city of Missoula on a year-to-date basis. Comparatively, the same number of single-family construction permits were issued in the first nine months of last year. Additionally, sixteen new duplex construction permits were issued and eighteen new permits were issued for multi-family residential properties (properties with more than three living units) with a total of 441 living units added so far in 2017.
Overall, new residential construction appears to be growing in terms of both single- and multi-family housing.
Short Term Outlook for Missoula Residential Real Estate
In conclusion, the Missoula residential real estate market has been and continues to be a seller’s market and is likely to remain a seller’s market throughout the rest of the year. Homes priced below $350,000 will continue to see the fastest pace of sales; some of the higher priced homes will likely pick up the pace compared to the last couple of years.
You can view our FULL report here in PDF format: Missoula Market Report September 2017
