HELENA — Anyone who’s been in Helena over the past few years has seen a real estate market atypical of the norm. MTN took a look at where Helena's home landscape has been, where it is, and where it could be headed in the future.
“Well, the market has looked very different the last five years than in any other period of time in the past, that's for sure. More transactions in general and higher prices on average, that's for sure,” says Rick Ahmann, Broker and Owner of Ahmann Brothers Real Estate.
Between 2021 and 2022 the median sale price for homes in the Helena area increased by almost 14%. And from 2020 to 2023 that price rose by almost 40%. That’s a huge jump compared to how the market has typically operated in the past, says Ahmann.
Ahmann says that it seems the market is returning to its normal rise in prices. For example, from 2022 to 2023 the annual median home sale price only increased by a little under 3%
“On the price increases, the market has normalized,” says Ahmann.
As of now, low inventory of homes available to the community and rising interest rates are causing fewer homes to sell in the Helena area.
“With mortgage rates well over 6%, if you have a great rate, you're really influenced to stay put. Therefore, you're not putting your house on the market,” says Ahmann.
Ahmann says that the National Association of Realtors’ settlement which will reform real estate fees may help decrease prices in the future. That settlement has taken away the obligation for a 6% commission, split between a seller’s broker and a buyer’s agent. Some critics have speculated that the 6% commission encouraged brokers to push clients towards more expensive properties. Ahmann says that truly predicting the market is anyone’s guess.
“After 33 years in the real estate business. One thing I know for sure is that it's really hard to predict where the market's going,” says Ahmann.
