Montana but renters’ median income is lower, reflecting the county’s substantial college student population. The Census Bureau computes so-called “poverty thresholds” each year—thresholds commonly known as the Federal Poverty Level. Poverty thresholds vary by The number of homes sold in various price ranges has demonstrated no discernible pattern over the past three years. the number of persons in the household and (for Comparative Trends than half the 700,000-per-year one and two-person houserate that economists equate in Home Prices holds) by age. The U.S. Department of with healthy markets. But a Almost 20% of Missoula Commerce reported that only pickup in sales at the end of households live under the Federal Poverty Level, compared with 15% 304,000 new homes were sold 2011 prompted some expert of Montana households. in 2011, the fewest on record forecasts that the housing mardating back to 1963, and less ket is starting to revive.
Homesteader 2012
According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), existing-home sales in 2011 numbered 4.26 million, a decline of 13% from 4.91 million existing homes sold in 2010. Median sales price of existing homes in 2011, NAR reported, was $166,000, a decline of 3% from 2010’s median of $172,000. The decline in home prices has been much steeper nationwide than in Missoula. While prices nationally have fallen by about 33% since their peak in 2006, Missoula median prices dropped by 7% from their peak in 2007 through 2011.
Missoula Independent
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