Home and rental prices in Missoula have surged in recent years, driven by low supply and high demand. This year’s housing report from the Missoula Organization of Realtors shows a slight improvement in home affordability, but there's more to the story.
Home affordability for Missoula residents improved marginally over the last year, but that wasn’t driven by lower prices.
Realtor Brint Wahlberg said wage increases over the last year may have helped some Missoulians with a down payment.
“Challenges remain,” Wahlberg told MTPR. “We’re seeing a couple signs of some returned hope at some spots, but it shows that we’re not seeing some fast fixes, here.”
Among those hopeful signs is the addition of more than 400 new units reserved for low-income renters.
For the first time in five years, the supply of homes hitting the market recently tipped into a range the organization considers “normal.”
But, there’s a catch. Wahlberg said most of the excess supply is for homes priced $750,000 or more. The organization said about one-third of homebuyers last year paid cash, more than any year since it began tracking. And, two-thirds of real estate inquiries last year came from out-of-state buyers.
Meanwhile, residential permitting for new construction in Missoula declined for the second straight year. Wahlberg said it will be several years before data indicate whether or not a slate of housing policies passed by state lawmakers in 2023 will make a dent in the city’s red-hot market.
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Missoula’s white-hot housing market continued to cool in 2025. That’s according to a new report from local realtors. Housing affordability also improved, though it remains out of reach for many. -
Four Democrats competing for Montana’s western U.S. House seat met for their first public forum Tuesday. The candidates covered a wide range of topics, from housing costs to immigration policy. -
The Missoula City Council Monday approved sweeping new rules for residential development within the city. The major overhaul will allow developers to build more and larger apartment complexes, and loosen rules for how many housing units can sit on a single plot, among other changes. -
The state Board of Housing Wednesday announced nearly $40 million in federal tax benefits to build or rehabilitate affordable homes; The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission will hold its biannual season-setting meeting for big game species from elk to bison to mountain lions on December 4; Billings has a new representative in the state Legislature. -
A long-dormant property along the Clark Fork River in Missoula could soon be home to luxury apartments, restaurants, shops, a hotel and rooftop bar. The project’s developer is moving forward after his business partner was criminally charged for wire fraud. -
Most Montana homeowners should see a drop in property taxes after sweeping tax reforms go into effect this year. Renters, however, could see the cost of living rise after lawmakers made a mistake reforming property taxes.
