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.
-
Roughly 250,000 homeowners and small businesses are projected to see a break on rising property taxes under two bills Gov. Greg Gianforte signed. -
Montana renters who apply for an apartment, but don’t get it, are now entitled to a refund of their rental application fee. That’s due to a new law signed this month by Gov. Greg Gianforte. -
The Missoula City Council last week approved a plan to build a large housing development for senior citizens. Councilors said affordable, senior-friendly housing was a need in the city and the state as a whole. -
Dozens of service providers from dentists and doctors to public defenders packed the Missoula Public Library earlier this month. They offered a one-stop-shop for residents in need as the city begins to close one of its homeless shelters. -
With HUD grants in limbo, Kalispell shelter breaks ground on affordable housing project. Opioid overdoses in Montana are rising. -
Gov. Greg Gianforte was in Butte Wednesday to tout his Administration's efforts to construct new affordable housing. He also called on lawmakers to allocate $100 million to build more homes.
