The 2019 housing market was fueled by the overall strength of the economy across most of the country. The stock markets reached new highs throughout the year, improving the asset bases of millions of Americans. Unemployment rates fell to 50-year lows, while wages increased, creating new home buyers. Mortgage rates also declined significantly from 2018, helping to offset affordability stresses caused by continued price appreciation nationally. It is helpful to analyze these national trends alongside our localized 2019 Big Sky Real Estate Market Report below, which reveals a continued growth in the market.
With a strong economy and low mortgage rates, buyer activity has been strong. However, most markets are being constrained by inventory levels that are still below historical norms. With supply and demand continuing to favor sellers, prices continue to rise. With 10 years having now passed since the Great Recession, the U.S. has been on the longest period of continued economic expansion on record. The housing market has been along for much of the ride and continues to benefit greatly from the overall health of the economy. However, hot economies eventually cool and with that, hot housing markets move more towards balance.
Greater Big Sky 2019 Real Estate Trends
2019 has seen steady growth throughout Big Sky, which has been very visible especially in Big Sky Town Center and at Big Sky Resort. The completion of the Wilson Hotel and a number of other restaurant and retail business has really made Town Center feel like it’s buzzing with activity. On the mountain, Big Sky Resort has unveiled the completion of a number of stellar upgrades including the fully renovated base area lodge. Read more about the Big Sky Resort Winter 2020 Updates.
Discover all the real estate trends in our comprehensive 2019 Big Sky Real Estate Market Report below.
Single Family Homes
2018 median price: $1,450,000
2019 median price: $1,775,000
Increase of +21%
117 new listings
155 average days on market
Condos & Townhomes
2018 median price: $450,500
2019 median price: $487,000
Increase of +8.1%
254 new listings
88 average days on market
Gallatin County 2019 Real Estate Trends
Sales: Pending sales increased 2.5 percent, finishing 2019 at 2,492. Closed sales were down 1.4 percent to end the year at 2,456.
Listings: Comparing 2019 to the prior year, the number of homes available for sale was higher by 2.7 percent. There were 637 active listings at the end of 2019. New listings increased by 5.3 percent to finish the year at 3,097.
New Construction: Nationally, builder activity grew in 2019 versus levels seen in 2018, though the total units being built remains lower than needed for long-term supply. New Construction homes have seen months of supply increase from 4.4 to 5.1 months over the last five years, while Previously Owned supply has dropped from 4.5 to 2.5 months.
Prices: Home prices were up compared to last year. The overall median sales price increased 6.2 percent to $397,750 for the year. Single Family home prices were up 5.1 percent compared to last year, and Townhouse-Condo home prices were up 8.0 percent.
List Price Received: Sellers received, on average, 98.4 percent of their original list price at sale, year-over-year original list price at sale was relatively unchanged.
The housing market continues to remain healthy nationwide with price gains and limited inventory being the most common threads across markets. Tight inventory continues to constrain buyer activity in part of the country, while some areas are seeing increased seller inventory starting to improve buyers’ choices. New construction activity continues to improve, but is still below levels required to fully supply the market’s needs.
As we look at 2020, we see continued low mortgage rates and a healthy economy giving a great start to housing in the new year. But in election years, we sometimes see a softening of activity that may temper the market in the second half of the year.
** All sales as reported in Big Sky MLS – sales outside of Big Sky MLS region (i.e. west of Continental Divide) are excluded. Source of all data in this report is provided by the Big Sky County MLS and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This 2019 Big Sky Real Estate Market Report is presented by Amelia and Greg Smith of Smith & Co. Real Estate for the benefit of our clients