The Missoula area’s housing market continued to level out last year with a slight decrease in the median home price, but lower-priced homes remain elusive, according to the Missoula Organization of Realtors’ annual report.
In 2025, the median sale price of a Missoula-area home decreased 2.2% to $550,000, according to the 2026 Five Valleys Housing Report. That includes sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and manufactured homes on owned lots. The median sale price in Montana was $460,700 as of Dec. 31, 2025, according to Zillow.
The number of sales, 1,029, increased 4.6% from 2024, which was the first year of an increase since 2020, said Mandy Snook, broker and owner of Montana Home and Land Company, during the panel presentation at the Missoula Public Library Wednesday.
“We’re seeing a supply in a more normal range than we’ve seen in a long time,” she said. “Affordability looks a little better this year with a combination of lowering interest rates and, in some cases, lower property taxes. This gives buyers more choices and opportunities to secure housing. We continue to have a lack of usable inventory in the lowest price bands in our area. This leaves many people unable to afford a market-rate home.”
After “bottoming out” in 2020 and 2021, the Missoula area’s housing supply has increased and is within the healthy range of three to nine months, said Brint Wahlberg, a Realtor with Windermere Real Estate. However, supply varies based on housing type, price and neighborhood, with more townhomes and condos available than single-family homes, he said.
The Missoula area, including parts of the county, had about a 5-month supply at the end of 2025, Wahlberg said. Missoula is nearing an undersupply of homes at or below the median price, while there is a significant oversupply of homes listed for $1 million or more, Wahlberg said. Right now, 22% of active listings in Missoula are in that $1 million-plus range, he said.
RELATED
Report: Missoula housing market stabilizing, affordability remains a challenge
The Missoula area’s housing market appears to be stabilizing after years of declining sales and rising prices, but a low housing supply, particularly of lower-priced homes, remains a challenge, according to the Missoula Organization of Realtors’ annual report.
“We see this market where we’ve got heavy, tight activity at, around or below our medium price point, good balance a little bit above it and then once you really start to climb, you start to totally flip the script here,” Wahlberg said.
The city and county approved fewer subdivisions in 2025 than in 2024, said Paul Forsting, a planner with civil engineer firm IMEG. The city issued 587 building permits in 2025, down slightly from 599 in 2024, according to the report. Missoula County issued 12% more building permits in 2025, bringing the total to 337.
The numbers fall short of the 1,100 to 1,500 new housing units needed annually for the next 10 years to meet existing and new demand as identified in the Our Missoula 2045 Land Use Plan.
Missoula County’s housing affordability index score has improved, but still falls short of balanced cost and income, said Matt Gehr, a mortgage loan officer with PrimeLending. A score of 100 indicates that income and cost are aligned, while a lower score indicates that cost is higher. Missoula’s 2025 index score of 65 has improved from the low around 50 in 2022 due to an increase in median income, a decrease in median housing price and decreased and stable interest rates, Gehr said. The decrease in property taxes for most single-family primary residences in Missoula has also contributed to lower monthly mortgage payments, he said.
“We’re trending in the right direction,” Gehr said. “We’re not there yet, but we’re seeing, like I said, gradual improvement, steady improvement, greater stability and predictability.”
Households that receive federal housing choice vouchers are finding a place to live more quickly, said Julie Pavlish, operations and program director at Homeword, which provides homebuyer education and other services. The Missoula Housing Authority also recorded an increase in the number of households served through the program, she said.
“Shorter time to find a lease and an increased number of families being helped means a shorter time on the waitlist,” Pavlish said. “So that is a really positive change from the last few years that we’ve been able to see.”
RELATED
Missoula looks to increase housing with new zoning regulations
The new rules encourage a wider range of housing types across Missoula’s neighborhoods, marking a significant change for some areas that have been largely insulated from development in recent years.
Community land trust homes also provide a homeownership opportunity for people with lower incomes, Pavlish said. Last year, Front Step Community Land Trust sold three homes with a median price of $257,028. In April, 27 new community land trust homes will be available as part of the Scott Street-Ravara housing development, including 21 income-qualified condos.
“The interest in these homes is going to far outstrip the available number each year, but we look forward to this meaningful addition in 2026,” Pavlish said.
Last year, Missoula’s rental market saw increased rents for most unit types and a low overall vacancy rate by historical standards, said Josh Plum with Plum Property Management.
Two-bedroom apartments saw the largest increase in average rent, up 11.4% from $1,491 to $1,661, Plum said. Rents for one-bedroom apartments increased 5.4%. Rents for three-bedroom, single-family homes stabilized, he said.
Landlords are seeing more “price sensitivity,” with higher-end one and two-bedroom apartments in the $1,800 to $2,500 per month range leasing more slowly, he said. Units with rents under $1,500 have a low vacancy rate and are leased very quickly, Plum said.
“The larger amenity packages do not appear to outweigh pricing decisions, and tenants are often choosing the lower nominal rent even when higher rents include utilities and amenities and some additional creature comforts,” he said.
In-depth, independent reporting on the stories impacting your community from reporters who know your town.
LATEST STORIES
How Trump tariffs jolted Montana coffee roasters
The first year of President Donald Trump’s second term is giving Helena coffee roaster Steven Ladefoged the wrong kind of jitters.
Gianforte extends deadline for landlords to avoid second-home tax
Gov. Greg Gianforte that a “technical glitch” has spurred the state to extend an application deadline that thousands of Montana landlords need to meet in order to avoid the state’s new second-home tax. The deadline, which had been set for March 1, has now been pushed back to midnight on March 20.
Montana ranks 7th for U.S. Olympians per capita
Montana ranks seventh in the nation for the number of Olympic athletes by birthplace on a per-capita basis since 1924, placing the state behind Alaska and New Hampshire and ahead of New York and Rhode Island.