In 2015, nearly 22 percent of the residential sales were homes on 1- to 10-acre tracts in Flathead County. The average lot size for this class of residential property in 2015 was 3.5 acres and the median size was 2.5 acres.
This class of residential property had the highest number of sales in 2005, which is a year earlier than urban homes on small lots, which peaked in 2006. Both the median and average price reached their high in 2007, which is the same as it was for the overall housing market in Flathead County.
The pattern of price decline during the recession was higher for homes on small acreage than it was in the overall market. In 2008, this class saw its biggest decline of nearly 13 percent, as compared to around 4 percent in the overall market for that year. From the high in 2007 to the bottom in 2011, the median price of small acreage homes declined by nearly 35 percent, compared to 28 percent for the overall market.
Since the low in 2011, the median price has increased by 37 percent, compared to 35 percent in the overall market. Based on this recent history, it appears that homes on small acreage are making a strong comeback. If this pattern continues through 2016, it is very possible that these homes could have a near record year.
In 1981, Jim started Kelley Appraisal in Kalispell and has since built an extensive database of economic and real estate-related data on northwestern Montana. Over the last several years, he has published annual reports on the Flathead Real Estate Market and been a guest speaker on numerous occasions for various groups in the Flathead.