Alright, lets get these neighborhood-specific reports going for year-end activity.  I've been awfully busy these last few weeks so that's kept me from getting these up sooner.  Over the next few weeks I will post more areas/neighborhoods - also I'll provide numbers from the Bitterroot Valley as well.

So lets start with an area near and dear to my heart, where I grew up, the University Area.  The U-district experienced an explosion of sales compared to 2011.  Sales volume actually doubled (and then some), there were 24 sales in 2011 and in 2012 we saw 52 sales!  That represents an increase of 117%!  The median sales price in 2012 was $325,000 where the median original list price was $339,950 which suggests that on average sellers were selling for about 95.5% of their original list price.  Looking back in 2011 the median sales price was $332,500.  

It's not a huge surprise to me that with many more sales we've seen a slight median sales price adjustment.  One could argue the 2011 numbers with just 24 sales does not represent the most accurate picture of overall market activity since it's such a small sample size. 

The encouraging news for the U-district is in the volume here, we're seeing numbers that exceed the "pre-bubble" numbers as you'll see in the volume chart below which starts for Missoula's peak volume year in 2007.  The median sales price holding pretty firm while seeing more than double in sales is also encouraging, it shows that despite much heavier activity the amount of sales at the same price points are continuing.  

The University area is home to a wide array of older houses full of character and charm.  It's a neighborhood that's blended with long-time Missoula residents, families, and students attending school.  It's actually the area I grew up in, so it holds a special place for me.  The slant streets, aptly named b/c they "slant" at an angle off Higgins avenue neighbor the University area and feature a similar mix of homes but also blends in more houses built in the 50's, 60's, and 70's as well.  Both neighborhoods largely feature boulevard areas with maple trees that can be found on the historic register in town, many are now over 100 years old!

Starting with 2010 I'm pulling 82 residential sales in this area with a median sales price of $228,500.  Of these 82 sales their average time on market was 111 days.  The median list price was $237,200 which shows that homes in this area which sold were getting exactly 96% of their original list price when selling.  In 2010 there were just 3 foreclosure sales in this area.

Jumping forward to 2011 there were 72 residential sales in the area with a median of $226,750.  The houses that sold spent an average time on market of 109 days.  The median list price was $234,450 showing that the homes which sold were getting 97% of their original list price.  Foreclosure sales jumped up a bit to 8 in 2011.

These numbers don't come as a big surprise to me mostly because the "top end" of Missoula's market has been battered for at least 3 years now and the University Area itself has traditionally been one of the more expensive places to buy.  Anyone who lives in this area can attest that finding an 80+ year old home in the U-area for under even $300,000 is still an incredibly difficult task.  The sales reported followed the trend most of Missoula has seen, the lower priced homes (more found in the slant streets and the further southern end of the university area) has pushed the median down.  Volume is slightly down, the median is just a hair lower, this area is almost totally built out and has been for a while so both of those numbers make good sense.   The amount of foreclosures is a slight surprise to me, even though it's just 11% of the total sales in this area that's higher than other parts of town which are considered lower income in general per the latest census data.

Pulling the 2011 absorption rates I'm seeing a 12-month trend of 7.33 months of inventory currently listed for sale in this area.  I expect in the next 2 to 3 months that will rise into double-digit figures as the anticipated "spring market" will see many more houses come up for sale in this area.

Looking forward I'm not seeing a lot of changes happening in these areas, the "top end" will continue to struggle and the lower priced homes will move well in a decent time-frame if priced accordingly.  It will be interesting to see if foreclosures keep rising, right now just over 1 in 10 sales in this area are foreclosures, if that rises over 20% then they'll begin to be a real big factor in this area's values

Missoula's University of Montana was cited as "The most beautiful campus in America," by Rolling Stone Magazine.

This sentiment was also expressed in Kaplan's "Unofficial, Unbiased Guide to the 328 Most Interesting Colleges." where it states that UM is among the top "schools with the most beautiful campus in an urban setting."

And it's located in Missoula Montana that has been called the  "Rocky Mountain Berkeley ... the kind of place many people hate to leave." -by Martin Nemko, "How to Get an Ivy League Education at a State University"

Kevin and I have both attended the University of Montana and loved our time there. We go back at every opportunity for the Arts, Grizzly Athletics, or just to check out what's going on at the University Center "the UC".

The campus is beautiful, the people are friendly, and the school boasts some of the best academic programs in the country. The University of Montana has become know for its Nobel Prize Winners and Rhoades Scholars.

For more information on the University of Montana, you can visit their website at www.umt.edu.

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