After years in the gutter, home sales trending upwards

The Libby housing market is on a four-year upswing yet the scene remains decidedly in the buyer’s favor. Area real estate agents and brokers are happy to report that the housing market is the strongest it has been since the bubble burst in 2008. All told, 87 houses sold in Libby last year, up from 76 sales in 2012 and 71 in 2011. This year, 81 homes have sold during the last three quarters.

According to Jackie DeShazer, president of the Lincoln County Board of Realtors, there are accepted offers on another 12 houses that are yet to close. Essentially, 2014 is another year of increased sales.

“The low interest rates are so nice,” Alice Hayes, a broker with Loveless Realty, said. “I am seeing a lot of first-time homeowners, young couples. It is not just the flood of retirees moving in, it is a mixture.”

Hayes said houses in the city limits of Libby have been popular, particularly homes under $200,000. More expensive houses have been slow to move in recent years, but that too is changing. Last year, 32 houses sold for more than $200,000, up from 22 similarly priced houses in 2012. This year 30 houses have already sold for more than $200,000. Six houses, a four-year high, have sold this year for more than $300,000.

Lynn Ward, a broker for Northwest Montana Real Estate, said the market is approaching hibernation as potential sellers are hesitant to move in snowy winter weather.

“It starts to slow down at the end of hunting season,” Ward said. “Then April or May is when people start looking for new homes. The market has really come back in the last two years. I have great hopes it will continue.”

While houses in Libby are moving, the market it Troy is a little different. Sales jumped from 24 houses to in 2012 to 40 houses in 2013. The market cooled a bit this year with 28 houses sold so far.

Molly Kieran, a broker with Clearwater Montana Properties, said her company has been 40 percent busier than last year, measuring the number of listings, clients and showings. A few years ago a typical potential buyer viewed between four and six houses. Kieran said it is not unusual to now show as many as 15 houses.

“We are seeing some locals moving up and we still have the retirees,” Kieran said. “The number of second home owners buying properties on the water and in the woods had been down the last five or six years, but that is coming back too. I hear a lot of couples from the southern states concerned about water availability and taxes.”

Brokers say prices have remained down despite the increase in sales. Considering lessons learned during the market collapse, Ward said it was doubtful prices will ever return to the inflated days of the mid-2000s. That is a good thing, she said.

“Now is a good time to buy,” Ward said. “There are a lot of options, and the mortgage rates are good. Of course, we know rates can change in a blink of an eye.”

One way to improve the market, Hayes said, was for more buyers to get prequalified for a mortgage.

“Getting prequalified lets buyers know what they can afford,” Hayes said. “Quite often I see potential buyers who are not prequalified. I recommend it because you won’t fall in love with a house that is out of your budget. Or, on the other hand, look at houses that you think are the most you can afford, but really do not like.”