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Kelley’s Market Trends: Lincoln County Real Estate

Lincoln County had a 10-year high in the number of sales in 2015

By Jim Kelley

Lincoln County had a 10-year high in the number of sales in 2015. There were 236 home sales reported, compared to 216 in 2014, representing a 9 percent increase. In the first four months of 2016, the number of home sales was up 4 percent over the same period in 2015.

The median price in 2015 was $159,000, which was 3.9 percent higher than the 2014 median of $153,100. The median home price in Lincoln County has steadily been increasing since its low of $133,500 in 2009. The high was in 2007 with a median of $184,750, so the 2015 median is still nearly 14 percent lower than what it was prior to the recent recession.

The median home price in Lincoln County has always been lower than the median in Flathead County. Over the last 10 years the median price differential has ranged from -21 percent in 2011 to -34.7 percent in 2006. Lincoln County’s 2015 median of $159,000 was 34.4 percent lower than the median in Flathead County.

The greater Libby area had a 2 percent increase in the number of sales in 2015 and a 5.7 percent increase in the median price. The greater Eureka area had a 23 percent increase in the number of sales, but the median home price did decline by 1.3 percent from its 2014 median. The greater Troy area had the same number of sales in 2015 as it did in 2014, however the median price was down from what it was in 2014.

There are currently 356 active residential listings, which represents approximately 18 months of inventory, in Lincoln County.

It is noted that the data for Lincoln County is a combination of data supplied by both the Montana Regional Realtors MLS Service as well as the Lincoln County Realtors MLS Service.

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.