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Featured local agent — Montana
Sarah Mitchell
Compass Real Estate · Montana
“Your trusted relocation specialist since 2009. 350+ homes sold. Zero-pressure, data-first approach.”
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Montana housing market
Montana housing market summary
The typical home in Montana is worth $471,746, up 2.0% over the past year. Homes that actually closed went for a median of $528,600 after 69 days on market. On supply, pricing discipline, and speed of sale, Montana currently reads as a buyer's market at 5.2 months of supply. At today's 7.03% 30-year fixed rate, that typical home costs $2,518 a month in principal and interest with 20.0% down.
Sources: Zillow, August 2026 · Refreshes monthly · Redfin, through May 2026 · Freddie Mac via FRED, September 2026
Montana housing market at a glance
Every tile carries the provider and the month it was published
Typical home value
$471,746
+2.0% YoY · Zillow, August 2026
Median sale price
$528,600
Redfin, through May 2026
Typical asking rent
$1,698/mo
Median of 13 cities · Zillow, August 2026
30-yr fixed rate
7.03%
Freddie Mac via FRED, September 2026
Monthly P&I
$2,518
20.0% down, 30-yr fixed
Days on market
69
+4 days YoY
Active listings
6,011
-2.2% YoY
Median household income
$69,922
U.S. Census ACS, 2023
Typical home value is Zillow's ZHVI — the value of a typical home across the whole housing stock, not just the homes that sold. Median sale price is what actually closed. Redfin stopped publishing public market trackers in June 2026; latest available period is May 2026.
Where Montana home prices are heading
Montana's typical home value is $471,746, up 2.0% over 12 months. The two-year number matters more than the one-year number: it spans a full rate cycle rather than a single seasonal swing. Values are at or within a rounding error of their two-year high.
Against the national picture, Montana runs 27.9% above the U.S. typical home value of $368,697, and its 12-month move of +2.0% is outpacing the national pace of +1.2%.
What would have to change for Montana prices to fall. Prices fall when supply outruns demand for long enough that sellers compete on price rather than waiting. Montana is carrying 5.2 months of supply — inside the four-to-six-month band where neither side dictates terms. Active listings are -2.2% year over year and new listings -11.3%, which is close to flat. The other lever is the rate. At 7.03%, existing owners with cheaper mortgages have little reason to list, which is what has kept supply artificially low across most of the country. A sustained move down in rates unlocks those sellers and adds inventory; it also adds buyers. Which side moves first decides the direction.
Market trends
Statewide monthly series · Redfin, through May 2026 · No longer updating · Redfin stopped publishing public market trackers in June 2026; latest available period is May 2026.
What it costs to buy in Montana at today's rate
Down payment
$94,349
20.0% of value
Loan amount
$377,397
30-yr fixed
Monthly P&I
$2,518
at 7.03%
Income needed
$107,914
28.0% front-end ratio
A buyer purchasing the typical Montana home at $471,746 puts $94,349 down, finances $377,397, and pays $2,518 a month in principal and interest. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, and mortgage insurance sit on top of that and vary by county — budget for them separately rather than assuming the P&I figure is the payment.
Lenders typically want principal and interest under 28.0% of gross income, which puts the qualifying income for that purchase at roughly $107,914. Montana's median household earns $69,922 (Census ACS 2023) — a gap of $37,992 above what the median household brings in. Put differently, the median household would spend 43.2% of gross income on principal and interest alone — above the ratio most lenders underwrite to, which is why buyers here typically need a larger down payment, a co-borrower, or a cheaper city than the statewide typical home.
The value-to-income ratio in Montana is 6.7x. Anything above 5x means prices have run well ahead of local earnings; buyers are relying on dual incomes, prior equity, or outside capital rather than local wages. Model your own numbers in the affordability calculator or the mortgage calculator.
Figures are illustrative, not a quote or a pre-approval. Rate: Freddie Mac via FRED, September 2026 · Value: Zillow, August 2026 · Income: U.S. Census ACS, 2023
Buying in Montana in the next 12 months?
Tell us your timeline. We send the Montana market brief: the price ranges that are actually clearing, the cities where your budget goes furthest, and what to fix on your credit before you apply.
Rent or buy in Montana?
Zillow publishes its rent index per city rather than per state, so the honest statewide read is the median across the 13 largest Montana cities that carry it: $1,698 a month. Set against a typical home value of $471,746, that is a price-to-rent ratio of 23.1x.
Above 20x, the arithmetic favours renting over short horizons: the purchase premium takes years of appreciation to recover, and that appreciation is not guaranteed. Principal and interest on the typical home runs $820 more per month than that typical rent — and that is before taxes, insurance, and the roughly 1% of value a year most owners spend on maintenance.
For a second read on the same question, the Census ACS puts median gross rent across all Montana households — every unit type, not just what is currently listed — at $1,031 a month (2023), with 69.4% of Montana households owning rather than renting. Asking rents lead the ACS figure because they reflect today's new leases rather than the whole stock of existing ones.
Run the rent-vs-buy calculator with your own holding period and down payment — the statewide ratio is a starting point, not an answer.
Supply: what is on the market in Montana
| Measure | Latest | Year earlier | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active listings | 6,011 | 6,144 | -2.2% |
| New listings | 1,904 | 2,146 | -11.3% |
| Homes sold | 1,156 | 1,097 | +5.4% |
| Months of supply | 5.2 | 5.6 | -0.4 |
What these mean. Active listings is the shelf — everything a buyer could tour today. New listings is restock rate; when it falls faster than sales, the shelf empties. Months of supply is active inventory divided by homes sold per month: at the current sales pace, how many months it would take to sell every home currently listed. Under 4 months of supply tilts toward sellers, 4 to 5 months is the neutral band, and above 5 months tilts toward buyers — above 7 months is a glut. These are the same thresholds the market verdict on every city and ZIP page is scored against. Sale-to-list ratio is the discipline check — above 100% means homes are clearing over asking on average, below means sellers are conceding.
Redfin, through May 2026 · No longer updating — Redfin stopped publishing public market trackers in June 2026; latest available period is May 2026. Zillow's inventory and new-listing counts are published per city and appear on the individual city pages.
Where Montana home values are moving fastest
12-month change in typical home value · Zillow, August 2026
Rising fastest
- 1.Nye+18.1%
- 2.Fishtail+14.4%
- 3.Reed Point+11.7%
- 4.Absarokee+11.1%
- 5.Park City+9.4%
- 6.Fromberg+8.7%
- 7.Marion+8.7%
- 8.Gallatin Gateway+8.0%
Falling
- 1.Hungry Horse-2.3%
- 2.Essex-1.7%
- 3.Cardwell-1.2%
- 4.Walkerville-0.9%
- 5.Belgrade-0.3%
- 6.Polebridge-0.3%
- 7.Bozeman-0.2%
- 8.Missoula-0.0%
Computed from Zillow's typical home value for each city at August 2026 against the same month a year earlier, across the 136 largest Montana cities by population. Small markets swing hardest because a handful of transactions moves the index — read the city page before treating a large move as a trend.
The most and least expensive cities in Montana
Typical home value across the 136 largest cities · Zillow, August 2026
Most expensive
- 1.Big Sky$1.88M
- 2.Gallatin Gateway$1.16M
- 3.Lakeside$894,875
- 4.Whitefish$871,592
- 5.Bigfork$810,278
- 6.Marion$755,858
- 7.Kila$727,273
- 8.Bozeman$725,769
- 9.Huson$701,310
- 10.Somers$681,088
Most affordable
- 1.Walkerville$162,755
- 2.Black Eagle$245,449
- 3.Neihart$267,413
- 4.Sand Coulee$294,590
- 5.Great Falls$340,160
- 6.Monarch$342,617
- 7.Hungry Horse$343,776
- 8.Boulder$348,101
- 9.Broadview$364,297
- 10.Stockett$368,322
The spread between Big Sky and Walkerville is 11.6x — one reason a single statewide number is close to useless for a buyer with a fixed budget. Pick the city first, then the price band. Speed is a separate axis from price: Ulm was the quickest of these markets to clear at 22 days on market (Redfin, through May 2026).
How Montana compares
| Market | Typical value | 12-mo change | Median income | Value / income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | $471,746 | +2.0% | $69,922 | 6.7x |
| United States | $368,697 | +1.2% | — | — |
| Idaho | $478,744 | +2.0% | $74,636 | 6.4x |
| Wyoming | $371,854 | +1.4% | $74,815 | 5.0x |
| North Dakota | $292,293 | +5.2% | $75,949 | 3.8x |
The three states above are Montana's nearest land neighbours — the markets buyers most often price against when a move is still negotiable. Wyoming and North Dakota carry lower typical home value than Montana, which is what makes them the usual destination for equity-funded moves out of Montana.
Values and 12-month changes: Zillow, August 2026 · Refreshes monthly. Income: U.S. Census ACS, 2023. ACS publishes household income per state, not for the nation on the same basis, so the U.S. row shows home value only.
Montana housing markets by city
137 cities tracked — the 60 largest by population shown
Billings
$400,819
Missoula
$568,490
Great Falls
$340,160
Bozeman
$725,769
Butte-Silver Bow (balance)
Pop. 35K
Helena
$480,407
Kalispell
$562,374
Belgrade
$551,966
Helena Valley Southeast
Pop. 10K
Evergreen
Pop. 9K
Whitefish
$871,592
Helena Valley West Central
Pop. 8K
Lockwood
Pop. 7K
Laurel
$378,211
Four Corners
Pop. 6K
Columbia Falls
$610,243
Orchard Homes
Pop. 5K
Bigfork
$810,278
Helena Valley Northwest
Pop. 5K
Helena Valley Northeast
Pop. 4K
Lolo
$546,894
Montana City
Pop. 3K
Lakeside
$894,875
Red Lodge
$526,563
Big Sky
$1.88M
King Arthur Park
Pop. 2K
Manhattan
$676,851
East Missoula
Pop. 2K
Three Forks
$557,136
Columbus
$460,948
East Helena
$445,405
Clancy
$636,719
Frenchtown
$654,169
Helena West Side
Pop. 2K
Sun Prairie
Pop. 2K
West Yellowstone
$657,460
Bonner-West Riverside
Pop. 1K
Seeley Lake
$547,536
Boulder
$348,101
Wye
Pop. 1K
Somers
$681,088
Whitehall
$454,040
Marion
$755,858
Churchill
Pop. 1K
Gallatin Gateway
$1.16M
Helena Flats
Pop. 1K
Absarokee
$456,300
Vaughn
$387,445
Ponderosa Pines
Pop. 1K
Park City
$509,115
Clinton
$547,606
Lincoln
$369,646
Ulm
Pop. 1K
Batavia
Pop. 1K
Hungry Horse
$343,776
Walkerville
$162,755
Cascade
$408,640
Black Eagle
$245,449
South Hills
Pop. 1K
Joliet
$532,189
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What to do next in Montana
If you are buying
- Set the payment before the price. Start from what you can carry monthly, then work backwards with the affordability calculator — the typical Montana home is $2,518/mo in P&I today.
- Pick the city, not the state. Values across Montana run from $162,755 in Walkerville to $1.88M in Big Sky.
- Put two finalists head to head in the city comparison tool before you tour anything.
- Fix the credit file before you shop the rate. A better score moves the payment more than haggling over price does at 7.03%.
If you are selling
- Price against your city, not the statewide figure — the spread between Montana markets is wider than the year-over-year move in any of them.
- Read the supply table above. At 5.2 months of supply, neither side has leverage, so presentation and pricing accuracy decide the outcome.
- Watch days on market in your city, not the state. The statewide median was 69 days (Redfin, through May 2026); your city page carries its own.
- Time the listing against new-listing volume. New listings are -11.3% year over year — less competition than a year ago.
Montana housing market questions
What is the typical home value in Montana?
The typical home value in Montana is $471,746 (Zillow, August 2026). That is a +2.0% change over the past 12 months. The median price of homes that actually sold was $528,600 (Redfin, through May 2026); sale prices skew toward whatever segment is transacting, which is why they differ from the typical-value figure.
Are Montana home prices going up or down?
Montana home values are up 2.0% year over year (Zillow, August 2026). Values are at or near their highest reading in the past two years.
How much income do you need to buy a home in Montana?
At the current 30-year fixed rate of 7.03%, a $471,746 home with 20.0% down carries roughly $2,518 a month in principal and interest. Using the 28% front-end ratio most lenders underwrite to, that implies a household income of about $107,914 before taxes, insurance, HOA dues, or mortgage insurance are added. Montana's median household income is $69,922 (Census ACS, 2023), a gap of $37,992 above the median household. These figures are illustrative, not a quote or a pre-approval.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Montana?
Typical asking rent across the largest Montana cities Zillow publishes rent data for is $1,698 a month (median of 13 cities, Zillow, August 2026). Against a typical home value of $471,746, that is a price-to-rent ratio of 23.1x. Ratios under about 15x generally favour buying if you plan to stay put; above about 20x, renting and investing the difference tends to win over short horizons. Principal and interest alone runs $820 more than that typical rent each month, before taxes, insurance, and maintenance.
Which Montana cities are the most affordable?
Among the largest cities we track in Montana, the lowest typical home values are in Walkerville ($162,755), Black Eagle ($245,449), Neihart ($267,413), Sand Coulee ($294,590), Great Falls ($340,160). Values are Zillow's typical-home-value index for August 2026.
Which Montana cities are the most expensive?
The highest typical home values among the largest Montana cities are in Big Sky ($1.88M), Gallatin Gateway ($1.16M), Lakeside ($894,875), Whitefish ($871,592), Bigfork ($810,278). Price per square foot, inventory, and days on market for each are on the individual city pages.
Which Montana cities are appreciating the fastest?
Over the past 12 months the largest home-value gains among Montana cities we track were in Nye (+18.1%), Fishtail (+14.4%), Reed Point (+11.7%), Absarokee (+11.1%), Park City (+9.4%). Fast appreciation usually reflects constrained supply, in-migration, or a small transaction base — check the individual city page before reading it as a trend.
How long do homes take to sell in Montana?
Homes in Montana spent a median of 69 days on market in the last month Redfin published (Redfin, through May 2026). That is 4 days slower than the same month a year earlier. The quickest market among the state's largest cities was Ulm at 22 days. Redfin stopped publishing public market trackers in June 2026; latest available period is May 2026.
How does Montana compare to neighboring states?
Montana's typical home value of $471,746 compares with Idaho at $478,744, Wyoming at $371,854, North Dakota at $292,293. The U.S. typical home value is $368,697, putting Montana 27.9% above the national figure. Wyoming and North Dakota are cheaper on a typical-value basis.
Is now a good time to buy in Montana?
That depends on your timeline, not the headline. The measurable inputs today: a 30-year fixed rate of 7.03%, 5.2 months of supply statewide (Redfin, through May 2026), active listings -2.2% year over year, and home values +2.0% over the past year. Buyers with a five-year-plus horizon are mostly exposed to the payment, not the price, so the rate you can qualify for matters more than the month you buy. Properties Incorporated is an independent data platform, not a brokerage or lender — this is information, not advice.
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Neighboring state markets
- Idaho housing market — $478,744 typical value
- Wyoming housing market — $371,854 typical value
- North Dakota housing market — $292,293 typical value
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