Montana exceeds national averages for median home prices

Finding a place to live in Montana is still out of reach for many Montana residents, exceeding national averages for home prices and growing 105% since 2017, according to a Montana Department of Commerce data presented Wednesday.

Whether you’re looking to buy a house or rent, it’s going to cost a pretty penny in the Treasure State, and legislation aimed at helping the cause is tied up in the courts, which one representative said during Wednesday’s Local Government Interim Committee hearing was “disappointing.” The state issued an appeal in the case earlier this month.

The department said homeownership for middle- to low-income residents is a “near impossibility” given the spike in prices, high federal interest rates due to inflation and median household income that hasn’t kept up. And renters feel it too – with low vacancy rates as people struggle to buy their own homes, leading to residents with higher incomes still being in the rental market and, in part, leading to rent increases.