Despite an unprecedented recent influx of millions of dollars in federal aid, Helena and Lewis and Clark County governments have been unable to wrap its arms around the area’s housing crisis, and local religious organizations are stepping up to fill in the gaps.
Low housing inventory and high demand have driven up Helena’s median home sales price. It has more than doubled since 2015 to nearly a half million dollars.
The glut of that spike occurred within the last three years, with the median home sales price hovering around $317,000 in 2020, $399,859 in 2021 and $460,000 in 2022.
While a decade ago, prospective home buyers had about 500 Helena houses to choose from at any given time. Over the past few years, the stock of for-sale homes has shriveled to about 100, according to the 2022 Helena Area Real Estate Market Conditions Report prepared by residential appraisal firm True Footage Inc.