2019 SALES WILL FINISH WITH THE HIGHEST SALES RECORDS SINCE 2005
The finish of the summer and fall selling season is now upon us. Since June, home sales have taken a dramatic upturn in sales numbers. The local market in the Seeley-Swan and Blackfoot Valleys have become stronger than ever, resulting in inventories becoming very limited as home sales continue to roll at a record pace. In our June article, we noted that the local market was maintaining a great balance and generally is not tipped in favor of either buyers or sellers being at a negotiating advantage. Since that time, the market has begun to tip in the favor of sellers as available inventory of homes for sale has dropped nearly 35 percent in five months.
New home construction continues throughout the valley. A drive through the roads of Double Arrow Ranch, Salmon Lake, Placid Lake and roads off of the highway in Condon will discover several homes under construction. Most all of the general building contractors are booked well in advance to build custom homes. There are two new spec homes in the high $200’s currently under construction in the Double Arrow Ranch and another spec home is completed and for sale in The Meadows Golf Course in the mid $300’s.
DOUBLE ARROW RANCH ACTIVITY
The Double Arrow Ranch is the largest development of private land holding, making that area a large part of the market – a look around the Double Arrow shows a lot of construction activity going on. So far in 2019, the Double Arrow Ranch has approved plans for six new construction homes, 16 outbuildings, five temporary RV’s, as well as five new driveway installations. There have been 30 properties sold in the Double Arrow Ranch in 2019, with seven more under contract to be sold. This means that about one out of every 20 properties throughout the Double Arrow Ranch has sold this year.
SEELEY LAKE HOME SALES
Currently in Seeley Lake, there are only 29 homes for sale, compared to 48 that were available just this past June. There are 12 more homes that are currently under contract to be sold. Of the homes currently for sale, nine are under a $300,000 listing price and only four are priced between $300,000 and $345,000, while 12 homes are listed over $345,000.
Compared to 29 homes available in June in the Double Arrow Ranch, now there are only 14 homes available that are ranging in price between $155,000 and $559,000. Inventory of homes currently for sale has been rapidly decreasing resulting from the number of sales that are dramatically up over past year’s sales. Seeley Lake number of homes sold is on pace to increase 27 percent over 2018. The average list price of a home has increased nearly 11 percent since June. One sector of the market has improved substantially, and that is homes over $450,000, with 10 homes sold this year to date.
A further breakdown of sales this year shows 21 homes sold in Double Arrow Ranch, two in The Meadows Golf Community, and three lakefront homes.
Median List Price - $325,000
Median Sale Price - $310,000
Days on Market - 288
SEELEY LAKE LAND SALES
The number of vacant land sales in 2019 are on pace to match the 36 parcels sold in 2018. There are currently 92 land parcels for sale. This means there is currently 40 months of land inventory for sale at the current sales pace. In addition to 12 land parcels under contract to be sold presently, there have been 27 land sales closed thus far in 2019: 15 - Double Arrow Ranch; 2 - The Meadows Golf Course; 10 - Seeley Lake and other areas.
Median List Price - $250,000
Median Sale Price - $85,000
Days on Market - 243
CONDON - Swan Valley HOME SALES
The number of home sales in the Swan Valley is on pace with last year’s sales, with 10 homes sold, plus three under contract to be sold thus far in 2019, compared to the 16 homes sold in 2018. There are currently 29 homes on the market.
Median List Price - $634,000
Median Sale Price - $439,000
Days on Market - 214
CONDON - Swan Valley LAND SALES
The number of land sales in the Swan Valley are nearly double in 2019 compared to 2018. This dramatic increase in momentum in the Swan land business has been since 2008 in coming, as sales have been slow since that time …. until now! There are currently 28 land parcels for sale. That is equal to less than two years inventory of land currently for sale.
Median List Price - $250,850
Median Sale Price - $85,000
Days on Market - 243
OVANDO LAND SALES
Currently, there is only one land parcel listed for sale in Ovando, with another land parcel under contract to be sold. Only one land parcel has sold in 2019. This is attributable to a very limited supply of inventory. We receive many calls wanting land in Ovando but have very little available to offer.
OVANDO HOME SALES
There have been four homes sold thus far in 2019 in the Ovando area. There are currently four properties listed for sale including, a home in town for $145,000, a home on the North Fork of the Blackfoot, as well as The Sundance Ranch.
HOME LOAN INTEREST RATES
In the past six months, home mortgage interest rates have gone down nearly 1.25 percent. Rates are currently around 3.75 percent for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage and 3.5 percent for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage. A loan of $200,000 at 3.75 percent would result in a monthly principle and interest payment of $926. These lower rates may present an opportunity to refinance your existing mortgage, possibly saving hundreds of dollars per month or to consider a move up in your housing.
THE LOCAL RENTAL MARKET
The local rental market continues to be very tight, with available housing being very difficult to find. The difficulty is partially that owners are not motivated to offer often under-used homes for rent, as the market rent for a $300,000 home is often only $800 to $1,200. Affordable housing in Seeley Lake may never be a reality as Missoula County continues to place onerous and costly restrictions and requirements on land and building developments.
If you have any questions regarding the local real estate market or the purchase or listing of property, please contact your local real estate professional.
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