This week’s graph is an updated look at how we have faired with the rest of the nation since 2000. In 2000, home values in the Flathead were around 16 percent below the national median at $120,000 compared to $143,600 nationally. The Flathead was a relatively good deal over the next five years with our median home price averaging around 16 percent lower than the national median home price. In 2005 our prices matched the national median at around $220,000 and since then we have been higher than the national median by an average of 11 percent .
At the end of November, the national median had increased to $245,870 and Flathead County’s median had increased to $275,000, making it 11.8 percent higher than the national median. In 2016 the national median increase 5.1 percent, while homes in the Flathead increased 8.5 percent. In the first eleven months of 2017, the national median increased another 5.2 percent, while the Flathead County median increased 7.8 percent .