Columbia Falls home sales hit an all-time high in 2016

Home sales in the city limits of Columbia Falls hit an all-time high in 2016, with 98 homes sold in 2016, according to an analysis by Jim Kelley of Kelley Appraisal.

The 2016 sales were 8.9 percent higher than in 2015, when 90 homes were sold here. Last year’s sales were the highest in the past 11 years. The average home price in the city rose to $188,251 and the median home price was $185,000.

The median home price is the highest since 2008, when it was $189,500.

The lowest median home price was during the Great Recession. In 2011, with a lot of foreclosed homes on the market, the median home price dropped to just over $100,000.

In January, there were 10 homes for sale in the city limits and turnover was quick — the average home was listed for just 37 days.

Home sales within 3.5 miles of Columbia Falls were actually down in 2016, with 168 units sold, according to Kelley. The average price was much higher, at $237,871 and the median price was higher as well, at $213,501.

“Subdivision activity continues near its all-time low,” Kelley noted in his annual report. “But as the inventory of bank-owned has mostly gone away. There is some new interest in development, but mostly within the city limits. There continues to be little interest in rural subdivision development.”

Housing pricing is outpacing what people can afford to pay, as interest rates have started to increase, Kelley notes.

Kelley also looked at the job market. He notes that in 2016 the average number of people employed countywide was 42,896, which is up 2.6 percent from 41,822 employed in 2015.

Whitefish led the county in sales. Inside the city limits, there were 194 units sold, with an average price of $454,838 and a median price of $325,000. Housing sales inside the city limits were up a whopping 40 percent.

In January, Whitefish had 126 homes listed, at an average price of more than $848,000 and a median price of $453,000.