Real Estate News
Missoula Median Home Prices Drop
By Robert Struckman, 6-11-08
Missoula home prices are following the national downturn, according to figures from the Missoula Organization of Realtors.
In both April and May, the median sales price of Missoula homes dropped. Also, the volume of sales has continued a two-year slowing trend. This is based on prices recorded by real estate agents.
In May, 78 homes sold in the Missoula market for a median price of $212,500, down from 114 single-family homes at $219,950 last May.
In April, the price drop was sharper: down from $207,850 a year ago to $194,900 this April. The year-to-date median price in 2008 is up slightly, about half of one percent, to $206,450 from $205,000 last year.
These numbers reflect existing home sales more than new construction, because many developers handle sales without real estate agents. Check out more detailed numbers and other statistics here.
[End of article]Can you please double check this story and make sure it is accurate? Thanks. I was told that Montana was different and that prices could not drop here, because we didn't see the price appreciation that California and Florida did. Surely the real estate professionals and Montana media would not mislead us.
Comment By Robert Stuckman, 6-12-08Hi Tim,
Click on the link above to see prices recorded by the Missoula Organization of Realtors in Missoula over the past few years. Montana is different, but that certainly doesn't mean prices will continually appreciate here. True, most of Montana missed the incredible inflation of other markets, but we in Missoula had some significant jumps, too -- $20,000 price increases per year, for instance -- and Bozeman and Kalispell even more so.
The bigger issue, though, is that you should never take for granted someone's prediction about a decision you're about to make, when your decision influences their paycheck now.
For more news on the real estate markets in the Mountain West, surf around New West. Pay particular attention to the magazine outlook stories. I don't think we're going to see any drastic drops, but we're not going to keep going up and up and up, either.
Bob
Thank you for your well-thought-out reply, Bob. I will remove my tongue from my cheek now. This line is so true: "you should never take for granted someone's prediction about a decision you're about to make, when your decision influences their paycheck now."
Comment By Kasey, 6-13-08Good point. So why not take the next step, and investigate whether it's really true that MT did not appreciate as fast as the rest of the country?!
According to MT economist Paul Polzin, that was not the case. In fact, in 2003 and 2004, Missoula's prices rose FASTER than the national average. Polzin also says the MT housing market during the boom years was totally tied into the national market. http://www.mtinbusiness.com/current/bus01.php