With the national media hinting at a housing recovery, it seems Billings might be heading the other way.  But, not in the way you might think.  Prices are rising and inventory levels are plummeting.  Billings may soon be out of houses to buy!

The average sold price of a single family home in Billings for November 2012 was 218,998.00 compared to 210,581.00 at the same time last year.  That’s an increase of $8,417.  Looking back a little further to July, August and September there are significant price increases over the previous year as well:

Ok, so, Prices are going up. How does that cause a “crisis”? The rising prices aren’t as concerning as the dramatic plummet in inventory levels. It’s one thing to have to pay more for a house, it’s an entirely different thing to not have any houses to buy.

For example, in January 2012, there were almost 7 months of inventory left on the market.  This is figured by the average consumption rate and how many houses are currently on the market.  Fast forward to November 2012 and there are less than one month worth of inventory left on the market.  Contrast that with November 2011 and you can see that the trend is alarming.  November 2011, there were still just over 4 months of inventory left.

How many homes are we talking here?  November 2011 saw 558 active listings with 130 homes sold.  November 2012, 130 active listings, and 142 homes sold.  That is an alarming difference.

In my opinion, we are heading for a serious housing shortage and lots of new construction.  What do you think?

All of these statistics were compiled from the Billings Association of REALTORS MLS system used by the majority of local real estate agents.  It doesn’t not necessarily include data on FSBO(For Sale by Owner).  Data is current as of 12/1/12.