Bozeman July Market Update

It’s that time of summer where the fields and hills start turning golden and the feeling of seasons changing is in the air. As I’m sure many have felt, the local housing markets is also going through change.

While it is still a seller’s market, sales volume is coming down and inventory absorption rates are slowing down, which all indicates a market that is cooling off. What has contributed to the higher housing prices? A few factors include more inventory, increased interest rates, lower demand than July of last year, and economic uncertainty as well as global unrest.

However, do not be concerned right now. We are seeing sales that outpace the 2019 pre-COVID market. Montana’s unemployment rate is 2.6% and development is happening all around. There is still high demand paired with low personal debt. It is good for buyers that the market is cooling. Hopefully, it settles to a healthy pace of housing growth. The last two years saw runaway listing prices that are unmaintainable with housing prices jumping 30%+. We are still seeing multiple offers for appealing homes. Sellers are making more concessions to buyers. Generally speaking, the upper reaches of the market are still active; the $800K - $1.5 M listings are slowing; the market below $800K is picking up.

Sellers still have the ability to make a good profit, but it’s not possible to push prices to the heights of just a few months ago. There is still an aggressive market for a property that is priced right.

Buyers can potentially position themselves really well because the market is still in a period of settling. While we all become accustomed to the new normal, a lot of people are unsure of what’s happening, which leads many sellers to make concessions in price or offer up other incentives to buyers.

Recent Sales Trends