2020 Flathead Valley Real Estate Buying Frenzy

2020 Flathead Valley Real Estate Buying Frenzy

At the beginning of 2020, the Flathead Valley real estate market was pretty uneventful. All indications were showing that 2020 would continue the trends from 2019 (See 2019 Market Report). When March gets here and Covid-19 sets in, the real estate market takes a pause, or so it seemed like. Sports and festivals are canceled, schools and businesses are closed, and the stock market is tanking. During that month, only 159 homes went under contract. Since that time, the economy has opened back up and as of July 31, there are 678 homes under contract!! What's even crazier is there are only 562 homes available that aren't under contract. 2019 set the all-time record for total sales, and from April 1st through June 30th, 630 homes went under contract. This year, however, that number has jumped to 740 homes under contract during that period; a 17% increase! Inventory is extremely low and prices are shooting up rapidly. What is causing this flurry of activity? People seeking refuge? Pent up demand? Or is it just a continuation of the trends we have seen for the last 4 years?

Let's take a deeper look at the recent trends.

Looking at the Flathead Valley real estate market on a monthly basis shows that sales quantities faltered in April and May, but have started to rebound in June.

The monthly sales price for homes and land hasn't really changed dramatically over the first 6 months of the year.

Real estate transactions can take months to close, therefore gaining insight into realtime trends is difficult. One reliable method is to look at the number of homes and land under contract. The following graphs show the current market conditions perfectly. The data between June and July is extrapolated from current numbers as of July 17th.

Every real estate segment in the Flathead Valley is going to break all-time records, but over $1m is unbelievable right now. On average, there are 8.8 homes under contract over $1m on any given day. As of July 31st, there were 67 homes under contract in this price segment!! Between $500k - $1m is similar, where an average of 29 homes are under contract at any one time. Right now, there are 159!

If you are a Flathead Valley homeowner and have always wanted to move away or build a brand new home, now is the time! Selling your home at record highs and buying land at relatively low prices is not going to last forever.

About the Author

REALTOR® Tory Baughan is a fortune 500 engineering wiz-kid turned real estate agent.  His education and experience steer him towards a statistical and logical approach to real estate sales and marketing.