Realtor Says Missoula Market is in ‘a Moment of Dramatic Changes’

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - This week, I received an unsolicited email from ‘Miller Creek Alerts’, from a company called Neighborhood Alerts, operated by Home Media LLC, a company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, informing me that my home in the Miller Creek area had dropped in value.

The message read: ‘Your property value has decreased by $11,104, that’s down two percent.’

An email Message said my Home's Value had Decreased by over $11,000.

Intrigued, I contacted Jason Baker, who was on a hunting trip, so I called Brint Wahlberg with Windemere Real Estate, who has also been a trusted source of real estate information over the years.

As 2024 kicks off, Wahlberg described the current real estate market in Missoula as one facing ‘a moment of some dramatic changes’.

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Local Realtor says the Missoula market is facing some Dramatic Changes

“We are in a moment of some dramatic changes in our market as a whole,” began Wahlberg. “This is going on nationally as well to where we are coming off the crest of the highest interest rates we've experienced in multiple decades, coupled with ongoing challenges of supply, and then economic inflationary concerns. You blend all that together and it kind of has some weird impacts on housing.”

Wahlberg said it’s normal to see real estate values fall a bit during the winter months.

“When you move into the winter months in the Missoula market, your monthly average or median sales price on just a monthly basis goes down a bit,” he said. “You could anecdotally point to a lot of things, such as a top-end resort, or other nice places, that people might travel to the state to come look at and purchase. They're going to probably be doing that in warmer months rather than colder months. Our market is very cyclical, so sales activity slows down in the winter months, so there are fewer sales data and more activity closer to our median sales point.”

What's the current value of a Single Family Home in Missoula?

Wahlberg provided some solid numbers for current real estate values in Missoula this winter.

“A single-family home in Missoula for 2023 sits just under $585,000,” he said. “In summer last year it was $555,000. Moving forward, interest rates are projected to start going down which is going to be boosting buyer borrowing power, and that's going to help prices to hold firm or start going up again. In Missoula unfortunately, we just remain in this market of very low supply. I was talking to somebody today and we have less than 300 homes for sale in the city as a whole. In certain areas and spots, finding a home especially at or under the median sales price simply does not exist.”

A visit with a trusted realtor will help you better understand your own home’s value.