Columbia Falls home sales highest ever in 2015

Home sales in the City of Columbia Falls were robust in 2015, according to a report released recently by Jim Kelley, of Kelley Appraisals.

Kelley’s report documents a total of 90 homes sold in 2015, a 34.3 percent increase over 2014.

Kelley said this is the highest number of homes that have sever sold inside the city limits.

One of the reasons for the increase in sales here is because homes in Whitefish are increasingly becoming unaffordable. So buyers are shifting to Columbia Falls and Kalispell, where homes cost less.

The average home sale price in 2015 in Columbia Falls was $183,182 and the median price was $178,750. The average selling price peaked in 2008 when it was $198,519. But then the housing market crashed and by 2011, the average selling price was $106,385 as the number of foreclosed homes went up.

Since then, the average selling price has gradually increased in Columbia Falls with double-digit increases from 2012-14. Sales prices leveled off in 2015, increasing just 2.3 percent.

In contrast, the average Whitefish home in 2015 sold for $457,000 and the median price was $312,500, or 41 percent more than Columbia Falls.

Kelley noted that home sales will likely be good again in 2016, as the unemployment rate continues to improve, at about 4.4 percent. He said more importantly, the number of employed people is also good, with about 41,904 people countywide holding jobs. That’s similar to 2014, when 41,994 people countywide had jobs.

Countywide, home sales were up about 11 percent.