Around 47 percent of home sales are on small lots that are less than a half acre and do not have water frontage. These homes have gone through the same economic cycle that the overall housing market has, but the changes have not been quite as extreme as the overall market and they have been more resilient in their price recovery.
In 2005 when the overall median price increased by 18 percent, homes on small lots only increased by 14.6 percent. As the market declined from 2007 through 2011 the prices in the overall housing market declined by nearly 34 percent, however the median home price on small lots only declined by around 31 percent.
The housing market has recovered since the beginning of 2012 and over the last six years the overall median home price has increased by around 53 percent. Over that same period the median home price of homes on small lots has increased by nearly 56 percent.
When we consider that around 47 percent of all residential sales are homes on small lots and the fact that they have seen the fastest price increases, it is evident that homes on small lots are the strongest segment of the Flathead housing market. (Note: 2017 is based on nine months of data.)