2019 SALES FINISHED WITH THE HIGHEST SALES RECORDS SINCE 2005
In 2019, property sales in the valley finished substantially over the total sales records that were set in 2018. The housing markets in the Seeley- Swan Valley have become stronger than ever, resulting in inventories that are very limited as home sales continued to roll at a record pace perhaps until the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic set in– more on that later. The local markets are maintaining a great balance and generally they are not currently tipped in favor of either buyers or sellers being at a negotiating advantage.
In discussions with local builders, all remain very busy with new custom home construction and a few additions and remodels. Construction activities have been deemed as essential, so construction continues throughout the valley.
DOUBLE ARROW RANCH ACTIVITY
In 2019, there were 24 homes and 16 vacant lots sold in the Double Arrow Ranch. This means that about 1 out of every 20 properties throughout the Double Arrow Ranch was sold in 2019. The highest price home to sell in Double Arrow was for $540,000, with most sales being in the high $200,000 's to $400,000.
SEELEY LAKE HOME SALES
Currently in Seeley Lake, there are only 28 homes for sale, compared to historic inventories that in 2016-2018 ran between 50-70 homes for sale. Inventories of homes have been running "low", with a very limited number of homes for sale over the past twelve months. In 2019, there were 64 homes sold. Home sales broke out as follows:
19 – were below $200,000
18 – were in the $200,000 - $300,000
13 – were in the $300,000 - $400,000
7 - were in the $400,000 - $500,000
4 - were in the $500,000 - $600,000
3 - were over $600,000
There have been 7 home sales closed to date in 2020, with 5 more homes currently under contract to be sold. Those sales statistics are almost identical to last year at this time, so the market remains strong.
SEELEY LAKE LAND SALES
There were 33 vacant land sales in 2019. That equaled land sales from 2018. There are currently 82 land parcels for sale. This means there is currently 30 months of land inventory for sale at the current sales pace. In addition to 3 land parcels under contract to be sold presently, there have been 11 land sales closed thus far in 2020.
Land sales in 2019 broke out as follows:
22 – were under $100,000
8 - were in the $100,000 - $200,000
3 - were over $400,000
CONDON - Swan Valley HOME SALES
In 2019, there were 14 homes sold in Condon. This was down 33% from the record sales of 2018. Thus far in 2020, there have been 2 home sales closed and 5 homes are under contract to be sold. There are currently 21 homes active on the market.
Home sales in 2019 broke out as follows:
1 - was below $200,000
3 – were in the $200,000 - $300,000
2 – were in the $300,000 - $400,000
3 - were in the $400,000 - $500,000
5 - were over $500,000
CONDON - Swan Valley LAND SALES
There were 15 vacant land sales in 2019. That nearly doubled the land sales from 2018. There are currently 28 land parcels for sale. This means there is currently 22 months of land inventory for sale at the current sales pace. There has been 1 land sale closed thus far in 2020.
Land sales in 2019 broke out as follows:
2 – were under $100,000
4 - were in the $100,000 - $200,000
3 - were in the $200,000 - $300,000
3 - were in the $300,000 - $400,000
3 - were over $400,000
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM – WHAT ABOUT COVID-19 AND REAL ESTATE?
Coronavirus has changed the way we live, and I have received many questions about how it is affecting the real estate market. So far, the residential real estate market has kept moving. While very few transactions have canceled, the vast majority are moving forward. Lenders are lending, and interest rates are strong. We placed 2 homes in the Double Arrow Ranch under contract this past week.
The majority of people in the US are under stay at home orders, and many of them are home and on their computers online shopping and just searching things they probably always wanted to but didn't have the time. On the brokerage level, this is resulting in a dramatic increase and more responses and inquiries than we have ever experienced to online media, such as website, Zillow, MLS, Facebook and Instagram. The successful brokers at this time have substantially ramped up their online presence and spending to stay in the forefront of this anomaly. I believe it is likely that this will be a trend that may continue beyond this pandemic as consumers are creating many new habits- habits that they are becoming used to, and are comfortable with.
Real estate related activities have been deemed as essential. In an effort to dramatically restrict real estate activities requiring personal interaction of any kind, proactive agencies and agents are creating more than ever video tours of properties, 360 tours, drone footage, everything creating a virtual tour of the property without the consumer going at risk for a physical viewing of the property. Agents are even scheduling virtual open houses on Facebook and other mediums, where a time is scheduled and the agent conducts a narrated video tour of the home. We have found these video tours to be essential in promoting sales in this market, and it is working to accomplish sales – it's the new world.
I anticipate that sales will continue at a slightly reduced pace through the stay at home orders, but as we get control on the spread of the virus and eventually, the stay at home orders are lifted, there will be a lot of pent up buyers released and sales will resume a brisk level. If we can achieve lifting of restrictions by July 1, the economy will bounce back relatively quickly, and sales numbers for the year can approach those of the previous 2 years.
First American Title Co. and other closing companies have created innovative procedures for client safety, if necessary, to accommodate a drive up closing at their office locations. Montana is even approving provisions authorizing signatures on documents to be notarized online, so the near future will bring no need to visit a notary personally.
If you would like to discuss the local real estate market, please contact a local real estate agent.
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