In this post, I will try to explain where the market seems to be going from here using several different graphs.  I'll try to let the graphs do most of the talking.  Click on any graph to get a higher resolution version.

Inventory is the measure of the number of properties for sale in a given area.  High inventory may be an indicator of housing oversupply.  When inventory gets very high and sales drop substantially, lower prices across the board are the usual result.

Here's a look at total inventory (including all houses, farms, and land) in Billings in the last year.  You can see that we are running nearly 30% above last year, and so far have not seen a major seasonal reduction.




This next chart is interesting because it takes a look at the distribution of all that inventory.  You can see that the $200,000+ market has increased from 42% of the market in January to 50% of the market today.  The high end has seen the greatest increase in inventory.




Next up, here's a look at sales.  Realtors are quick to tout the complete Year to Date figure that shows us running ahead of 2005, but a look at August figures shows what may be the first signs of sales weakness.  So far I have not been able to get September sales figures.




Finally, what are all those properties selling for?  This next chart shows mean sales prices of all properties from summer 2005 and summer 2006.  September 2006 showed a price drop from August.  These are mean (average) figures, which are far from giving an accurate picture of everything going on.  For example, they may just be showing that more lower-priced houses are selling than higher-end ones.  But it's worth noting that it's the weakest showing in awhile.