Home sales top $250 million in three months

The Daily Inter Lake

Northwest Montana's real estate boom shows few signs of slowing down, with more than a quarter-billion dollars in residential sales alone during the second quarter of 2006.

Between April 1 and June 30, a total of 718 homes worth $251 million were sold in this region, according to figures from the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors.

The numbers include sales in Flathead County and portions of Lake and Lincoln counties.

The second-quarter sales were up substantially from the same period of 2005, when 629 homes worth $183 million were sold.

Whitefish and Columbia Falls had the largest year-over-year increases.

Home sales in Whitefish rose almost 50 percent, from 85 units last year to 127 this year. The dollar volume almost doubled, jumping from $39.8 million to $73 million.

In Columbia Falls, home sales increased by a third, going from 60 units in the second quarter of 2005 to 81 units during the same period of 2006. The dollar volume was up 16 percent, from $14.8 million to $17.2 million.

Home sales actually dropped slightly in the Somers/Lakeside area, from 29 units to 26. However, the combined value of this year's home sales was up almost 90 percent, from $10.1 million to $18.9 million.

The overall average sale price during the second quarter was $350,000, compared to $291,000 for the same period in 2005. The median price was $240,000.

A sharp increase in the residential inventory offered the only hint of a possible slow-down: There were 2,103 homes available for sale as of June 30, compared to 1,712 at the same time last year.

However, the average time on market - an indication of how long homes remain on the market before they're sold - was essentially unchanged. It went from 154 days in '05 to 156 days this year.

Total real estate sales - residential, commercial, land and agricultural properties - topped $356 million during the second quarter, up almost 30 percent from 2005.