Median price for a home in Whitefish tops $300,000

The median price for a home in Whitefish has crested the $300,000 mark for the first time since the housing market crashed.

The median price for homes sold in Whitefish during the first half of this year is $307,450, according to a mid-year report from Jim Kelley of Kelley Appraisal in Kalispell. That’s up a whopping 16 percent compared to the same time frame last year, and an 8 percent increase when compared to the entirety of 2014.

The last time the median price was above $300,000 came in 2008.

Kelley says the 16 percent increase in the mid-year report is slightly skewed because of a sluggish start to sales last year.

“The market really started to take off in the second half of 2014,” he said.

That trend appears to be continuing, he added.

120 homes in Whitefish have sold through July, slightly up over last year through the same time.

Whitefish has the highest median home price of all sub-markets in the Flathead Valley.

Kalispell’s median price in the mid-year report is at $203,500. Columbia Falls is $205,000, Bigfork is $269,000, and Lakeside is $240,000.

All of the sub-markets are up in price compared to the 2014 mid-point except for Lakeside, which declined in price by 9.4 percent.

Three lakefront homes or condominiums have sold on Whitefish Lake so far this year at a median price of $1.15 million. That’s down slightly from the $1.4 million median during the first half of 2014.

The median home price for the entire county at the mid-point is $235,500, which falls in line with historic affordability trends, meaning that home prices remain affordable.

“It’s the upper end of affordable, but if you take into consideration interest rates and wages, it’s close,” Kelley said. “But that could change if interest rates jump up.”

Kelley says a bright point in the market is the declining number of bank-owned and short-sale properties and an increase in non-distressed sales.

“That’s a real positive,” he said, “and also is reflected in the increased prices.”

Another highlight is the volume of sales in the county — up 15.2 percent compared to the first half of 2014.