Record year for waterfront sales

Sales of Flathead Lake waterfront real estate in 2018 broke all-time records for transactions and total volume.

According to a waterfront market report released by David Fetveit of PureWest Real Estate, 2018 saw 75 posted sales for just over $76 million in total volume.

The 2018 numbers include the December sale of Shelter Island estate on Flathead Lake, which featured a 22-acre island property, an 18,000-square-foot mansion and numerous outbuildings. It was listed for $78 million at one point. At the time of sale, the listing had dropped to $13.95 million but the final selling price was not disclosed.

The previous record year for waterfront sales around Flathead Lake was 2004, during which there were 71 transactions with just under $75 million in volume. That year there had been one $13.5 million sale.

Since 2004, the low mark in waterfront transactions was 2009, when total sales registered at around $20 million.

By area, Bigfork sales in dollar volume rose about two and a half times in one year, from $8.5 million in 2017 to more than $21 million in 2018. Property sales in the northwest area encompassing Lakeside, Somers and Rollings also more than doubled in dollar volume, from $14 million in 2017 to almost $31 million in 2018.

Dayton, Elmo and Big Arm experienced a leap in the number of transactions, from five in 2017 to 18 in 2018, with sales volume rising from just under $2.5 million to almost $10.3 million.

Polson was the only area around the lake to see a decrease in transactions and sales volume in 2018, down from almost $19 million to just under $14 million. Transactions fell from 28 in 2017 to 23 in 2018.

Average prices for Flathead Lake waterfront property rose 28 percent since 2017, when the average closing price was just over $732,000. The average waterfront sale in 2018 came in at just over $1 million. The current median price for waterfront listings is just under $1.6 million.

Condominiums on the water also moved at a brisk pace, with 31 units sold in 2018 for an average of just over $297,000. Of the 42 units on the market currently, prices range from $300,000 to $1.7 million, for an average of almost $590,000.

According to Fetveit, sales are expected to be strong into 2019, but due to a lending bubble, prices are not likely to spike as they did in the previous cycle.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4438 or hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com