“We need a broad variety of housing types, from the very top end of the market to affordable rental units,” he explained. He said the city is focused on land-use regulations to incentivize developers to create more diversity of housing in the coming years. “People are recognizing the benefits of living in Billings,” he said.Įven so, Cole doesn’t believe that home prices will necessarily continue to soar at their current rate. Citing the city’s low unemployment rate and relatively small size compared to other national metropolitan areas, he said it makes sense that people want to move to the area. “If this trend continues the way that it’s currently going, it’s just not sustainable for the average individual to be able to afford homeownership,” Leach said.īillings Mayor Bill Cole has overseen the city’s growth for the past three years. For house-hunters with an income between 80% and 120% of the median, or between $48,000 and $72,000, Leach said, a price between $240,000 and $320,000 would be considered affordable. That jump could affect many people who hope to own a home in Billings, where the median household income is just under $60,000, according to the most recent census data. “If this trend continues the way that it’s currently going, it’s just not sustainable for the average individual to be able to afford homeownership.” Billings real estate agent Bob Leach What else you need to know: Leach, Multiple Listing Service chair of the Billings Association of Realtors, said the average sale price for a single-family home in the Billings area jumped from approximately $294,000 in 2020 to $342,000 in 2021, an increase of more than 16%. In the summer of 2020, though, demand began to skyrocket, and prices followed.
While the housing market in Montana’s largest city is not yet as hot as Missoula’s, Bozeman’s or Kalispell’s, the trendline points to a simmering question: Is Billings next in line for a housing crisis?įrom 2012 through 2017, Billings had a steady increase in housing prices of 2% to 3% annually, according to Leach. Montana’s natural amenities and wide-open spaces are drawing an increasing number of new residents, causing shortages of workforce housing in several areas of the state and making some places unaffordable for many. “We’re shutting out a whole host of people from being able to afford housing,” he said. Over the past several years, and accelerating since the start of the pandemic, Leach said, home prices are surging as demand rapidly outpaces supply in the Billings area. According to the article, Billings’ rank was boosted in part by its appeal to remote workers and the city’s low unemployment rate, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics pegged at 3% in May. “The index identifies the top metro areas for home buyers seeking an appreciating housing market and appealing lifestyle amenities,” housing reporter Nicole Friedman wrote. The rankings, published July 20, analyzed economic data and housing metrics. 1 emerging housing market in the United States.
The Wall Street Journal recently named Billings as the No. Now Leach is living through another time of rapid change. He was there for the 2008 recession and remembers how the community was affected when home sales collapsed.
He was there in the 1980s when interest rates hit an all-time high of nearly 19% on a 30-year mortgage. In his 43 years selling real estate in Billings, Bob Leach has seen dramatic swings in the housing market.
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