This week let’s take another look at how Flathead County’s home price trend relates to other counties in Western Montana. At the peak of the market in 2007, Flathead County had the highest median home price of any of the surrounding counties. Flathead’s median was 13 percent higher than Missoula County, 4 percent higher than Lake County, 13 percent higher than Ravalli County, 35 percent higher than Lincoln County and 45 percent higher than Sanders County.
Over the last 12 years, Flathead County’s median home price has averaged 4.4 percent higher than Lake County, 44.8 percent higher than Lincoln County, 43.2 percent higher than Sanders County, 4.8 percent higher than Ravalli County and 1.6 percent higher than Missoula County.
In the first eight months of 2017, Flathead County’s median was the 14.6 percent higher than Lake County, 73.8 percent higher than Lincoln County, 50.9 percent higher than Sanders County, 3.8 percent higher than Ravalli County and 1.9 percent higher than Missoula County.
Of these six counties, Flathead County had a 7.8 percent increase in the median home price in 2017, which is higher than any of the surrounding counties. Lake County has had a 5.9 percent decline, Lincoln County has had a 12.3 percent decline, Sanders County had a 2.1 percent increase, Ravalli County has had a 6.6 percent increase, and Missoula County has had a 5.2 percent increase.