Is Missoula the New San Francisco With Little Affordable Housing?
The Missoula housing market has been a hot topic for the last two years. Our small mountain town is facing an affordable housing crisis. Gone are the days of only having to work one job to afford a mortgage. Now Missoulians are facing the choice of either paying higher prices for homes or moving somewhere more affordable. For some people, the thought of having to relocate from their hometown is heartbreaking. There is an obvious fear among some about where the Missoula market is heading. So, what is next?
San Francisco experienced a similar problem to Missoula.
According to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Missoula housing market is eerily similar to the San Francisco market. Underbuilding led to home prices skyrocketing, not to mention the severe lack of inventory. Using Zillow data, the San Francisco Chronicle wanted to see what areas of the US were experiencing a similar market.
Missoula housing market ranked highest on the list of being 'the next San Francisco.'
According to San Francisco Chronicle, Missoula is next:
From Jan. 2020 to Jan. 2022, housing inventory in the metro declined 58% with about 1.4 homes per 1,000 people on average. Home values shot up 57% during the pandemic. The median single-family home price increased about 45% from the end of 2019 to the end of 2021.
Missoula tops the list with a home value increase of 57.5% and an inventory change of −58.0%.
Other metro areas on the list include multiple Washington, Utah, and California towns, as well as our state capitol, Helena, with Helena rounding out the top 10 markets with a 40.2% home value increase and -43% inventory change. Surprisingly, the Bozeman market did not make the list, as they too are feeling the affordable housing crunch.
Check out the full story from the San Francisco Chronicle here.