2020 REAL ESTATE SALES IN THE VALLEY WILL BREAK RECORDS
As we all started to hear a little bit, then a lot about COVID-19 in March and April. The US economy appeared to be in for a big fall. When local state and county - imposed lockdowns began to occur, real estate sales appeared to be doomed as well.
The lockdowns actually resulted in an unexpected result in local real estate. People all over the nation were either actually working from home or locked down with no ability to work. After talking with many of those that were working from home, they were learning that not only could they work effectively from home, but they also had greater productivity. Many employers observed this positive effect that was occurring. Employers could allow employees to work from home, reducing their expenses by reducing professional office spaces or storefronts.
During the lockdowns and continuing afterward, real estate website traffic and phone calls have increased dramatically. Real estate agents had to refine and expand their skill set – we became aware of the Blackfoot Communications internet speed website, Zoom video and FaceTime walk throughs of properties.
We are now frequently asked for home office space, distance to airports to fly out as necessary, Zoom rooms and most importantly, internet speeds for each particular property. Many people have recently moved to the valley, not only from other areas of Montana, but also Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado and Texas. Many have expressed frustration with fires, hurricanes, regulation, local unrest and crowds. Many properties have been sold either sight unseen, based on a Facetime or video tour or with a contingency to come view the property later.
All of this has resulted in real estate sales beginning a trend up in April and continuing through today. There is virtually no inventory and values have risen 5-25% thus far in 2020.
DOUBLE ARROW RANCH ACTIVITY
Thus far in 2020, there have been 28 homes and 39 vacant lots sold in the Double Arrow Ranch. This means that about one out of every 13 properties throughout the Double Arrow Ranch was sold thus far in 2020.
The highest price home to sell in Double Arrow was for $489,000, with most sales being in the high $200,000 ’s to $400,000. Currently, there are only six homes actively for sale with an average listing price of $472,500 and six homes are pending sale. There are currently only 21 lots for sale, this is dramatically reduced from prior reports.
SEELEY LAKE HOME SALES
Currently in Seeley Lake, there are only 13 homes for sale, compared to historic inventories that in 2016-2018 ran between 50-70 homes for sale. The 13 homes for sale are equal to two and half months of supply, an extremely low number. Of the 13 homes for sale, three of them are on Salmon Lake and one is on Big Sky Lake.
Inventories of homes have been running “very low”, with a very limited number of homes for sale over the past six months. To date in 2020, there have been 53 homes sold and another 15 are pending sale.
Home sales broke out as follows:
5 – less than $200,000
17 – $200,000 - $300,000
16 – $300,000 - $400,000
9 – $400,000 - $500,000
6 – $500,000 - $1,100,000
SEELEY LAKE LAND SALES
There have been 95 vacant land sales to date in 2020, plus another nine are pending sale. There are currently 43 land parcels for sale, this is a dramatic drop from prior reports. Land is going away fast as there are virtually no homes available for purchase. This means there is currently six months of land inventory for sale at the current sales pace.
CONDON - Swan Valley HOME SALES
This market is hot! To date in 2020, there have been 33 homes sold in Condon with another five homes pending sale. There are currently 16 homes active on the market, with the least expensive home being $385,000.
Home sales in 2020 are as follows:
4 – less than $200,000
8 – $200,000 - $300,000
3 – $300,000 - $400,000
6 – $400,000 - $500,000
6 – $500,000 - $1,000,000
4 – more than $1 million
CONDON - Swan Valley LAND SALES
There were 10 vacant land sales so far in 2020. There are currently 20 land parcels for sale. This means there is currently 24 months of land inventory for sale at the current sales pace.
Land sales in 2020 are as follows:
3 – $100,000 - $200,000
6 – $200,000 - $300,000
1 – more than $400,000
WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND TOWN?
The pandemic had effect on businesses in town, many in different ways. Businesses are all now open. Despite record tourism numbers, the lodging and restaurants reported their business were adversely affected by restrictions related to COVID. There are currently three businesses for sale.
There is a lot of activity happening at the Alpine Trails development, the trail- oriented community on the north end of town. There were 11 homesites offered in the initial phases, eight of those homesites have sold, and four new construction homes in the $290,000 to $380,000 range are under construction, with all of them pending sale.
Construction of roads and utilities to complete the remaining phases to complete the last 17 homesites is beginning now.
If you have questions about real estate, please contact a local real estate professional.
WHAT ABOUT COVID-19 AND REAL ESTATE GOING FORWARD?
COVID-19 has likely changed the way we live and also real estate for many years to come. Montana, and our valley, is considered to be safe, with a quality of life and surroundings not seen in many places. Buyers who have learned they can work remotely or simply seeking a better quality of life are continuing their barrage on every new listing that hits the market.
Buying a home is very competitive, with many homes selling over asking price to the most qualified buyers offering cash or armed with a bank letter of prequalification. With all of the buyer pressure, and only 10 non-lakefront homes actively for sale, values will continue to push upward and much of that interest will also deflect to land purchases as buyers often cannot find a home meeting their needs.
Many homeowners who were “considering selling” have been contacted by agents and many of them have sold their homes for more than they had anticipated. Anticipated house listings coming up are very few, so barring a big national economic setback, this market will continue to grow and appreciate for another summer season 2021.
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