Flathead Lake sales trending upward

A look back on Flathead Lake real estate sales in 2017 reveals a number of interesting trends that continued from the prior year, and some abrupt departures from the norm, according to a report from David Fetveit, a local Christie’s Realtor.

In 2017, more Flathead Lake waterfront properties sold than the year prior, by a tally of 60 to 53. The value of the all the properties sold in 2017 came to about $5 million more than all properties sold in 2016, according Fetveit’s report.

“Overall, I think it’s a healthy market,” Fetveit said.

The average value of a linear foot of lakeshore has refused to climb back to the pre-recession levels, and nearly a decade since the low point, Fetveit thinks the market is at a new normal.

“For so long people were making comparisons to the peak, but I don’t know that that is going to be our reality anytime in the near future,” Fetveit said. “That was a false market that is not going to happen again.”

The average value per linear foot of lakeshore was $4,267 in 2017, roughly half what it had reached years ago but about $200 more than last year. Fetveit said there are big market properties around the lake that fetch millions of dollars or properties with other extraordinary features that can drive up the average, but on the whole he thought this year’s number was fairly representative.

This year saw a glut of sales in the under $1 million range. Fetveit said that sets up an interesting situation for next year. A lot of the properties in that price range that drove sales this year simply won’t be available, which ought to push potential buyers toward properties with higher price points.

At the same time, people listing new properties for sale are putting them at list prices that would have been considered extremely high a short time ago.

“If you see that spike in the list prices, I’m really interested to see what is happening in the coming year,” Fetveit said. “All that inventory under a million bucks is sold, so it puts upward price pressure on the stuff that is out there.”

An improving national economy greases those skids and Fetveit said he expects the market to move positively again next year, but it’s a trend that can’t continue forever.

One of the stark differences between the last two years came in the distribution of sales around the lake. In 2016, more sales were recorded in the Dayton, Elmo and Big Arm area, whereas most other areas saw more sales in 2017, agreeing with the overall trend.

Data can provide a lot of new ideas, but Fetveit said some rules never change.

“If you can find a decent spot on the lake for under $1 million, it doesn’t last very long,” he said.

Peregrine Frissell can be reached at (406) 758-4438 or pfrissell@dailyinterlake.com.