After a summer with the number of sales below 2015 levels, the August and September sales exceeded the number in August and September of 2015. By the end of September, there were 1,256 residential sales, compared to 1,290 sales in 2015. The total number of sales is still down 2.6 percent over last year at this time.
Mortgage interest rates continue at record lows with the average 15-year rate at around 2.98 percent and the average 30-year rate at around 3.58 percent .
In the first nine months, 53 percent of residential sales were on small urban or suburban lots, 23.4 percent were on half-acre to three-acre lots and 14.4 percent were on 3- to 20-acre tracts. There were also 49 waterfront home sales, representing 3.9 percent of the market.
The median sales price for the first nine months of this year was $258,750, compared to $235,250 for the same period in 2015. The nine-month median of $258,750 is 2.4 percent higher than the eight-month median, which was $252,750. The median home price of the 177 homes sold in September of this year was $290,000.
The current overall inventory is substantially lower than what is was a year ago as well as being lower than what it was a month ago. Currently there are 1,178 residential listings, compared to 1,463 at this time last year. Of the 1,178 active residential listings in Flathead County, only 227 (19.3 percent) are priced below the median sold price of $258,750.
In the first nine months, there were 58 bank-owned or distressed sales, compared to 108 in 2015. Non-distressed sales represent 95.4 percent of the market, compared to 91.5 percent for the same period in 2015.