Montana Homes For Sale

Depending on who you talk to, there's a housing crash on the horizon in Montana.

For folks looking to purchase a home, that might be welcome news. However, according to new data from the MLS (multiple listing services), the rumors of that crash might just be a little premature. In fact, there might not be a crash on the horizon at all.

In the last few years, Montana, and particularly popular locations in the state like Whitefish, Missoula, and Bozeman, have seen record-setting housing costs. People in the Treasure State are paying more than they ever have for rentals and homes.

Get our free mobile app

Of course, the argument is that lifelong Montanans can no longer afford to live in their own state. During COVID, Montana was the number one state people were moving to, and that did nothing but drive the prices higher. Now, that's a great deal if you plan on selling your home and moving elsewhere, but if you're a normal, everyday Montanan looking to buy a home in your state, it's rough.

Let's look at a couple of things, shall we?

First, the median sales price. In Bozeman, the median sales price right now is 725,000 dollars which are up 19 percent from last year. Well, ok, that's Bozeman and we all know it's more expensive to live there, right? Expect, when you look at the rest of Montana, the median sales price is 555,875 which is up 23.5 percent from last year.

Photo by Dillon Kydd on Unsplash

So even though the rest of Montana is cheaper than Bozeman, the percentage over last year is higher.

So what about the average sales price? In Bozeman, the average sales price for a home is 899,090 which is up 18.4 percent from last year. For the rest of Montana, the average price is 765,633 which is up 18 percent from last year.

So why do houses keep increasing in price if there is such doubt about the economy?

Part of the problem is low inventory. Both Bozeman and Montana have 10 percent fewer houses for sale this year compared to last year. It's that whole supply and demand thing, the less you have, the more you can charge. Of course, the solution to the problem won't be popular with most Montanans. How do you get prices to drop?

Well, you build a whole lot more houses.

Beautiful Montana Cabin For Under $300k? Yep, But There's A Catch

This cute cabin set in the highly desired Hyalite Canyon is listed at $243,000 is a steal of a deal, BUT it does have some stipulations. This remote cabin is a Forest Service cabin and has apparently been standing strong since the early 1900s and is rumored to have been built as a retreat for nurses in 1911.

You will find that this cabin comes with power, phone service, gravity-fed spring water, AND a strongly built outhouse.

So what are the kickers? Unfortunately, Forest Service Residents CAN NOT be full-time. So what does that mean? Basically, you can live here part-time even though you would own the home. You can not make a profit off the house, either personally or commercially, so for the time you are not living there, you also can not rent it out and make some extra income off of it.

There is no financing available for this purchase, as the cabin doesn't qualify for it, you must be a cash buyer.

Lastly, you must be able to obtain an "FS Special Use Permit". This is required because, although you would own the cabin, you WOULD NOT own the land the cabin is on. The land will still belong to the USFS.

Private Montana Island Listed For 72 Million Dollars

The largest private island west of the Mississippi River is located on Flathead Lake in Montana. The island which is well over 300 acres comes with two "villas" The main villa and the guest villa. The main villa is over 45 thousand square feet and has an underground shooting range.