This week’s graph takes a look at how we have fared compared with the rest of the nation over the years. 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 May, the national median had increased to $237,980 and Flathead County’s median had increased to $266,500, making it 12 percent higher than the national median. In 2016 the national median increased 5.1 percent, while homes in the Flathead increased 8.5 percent. In the first five months of 2017, the national median increased another 1.8 percent, while the Flathead County median increased 4.5 percent.