Malta, a small city in Montana with a rich Native American history and proximity to the Little Rocky Mountains, has experienced fluctuating population and housing dynamics over the past decade. From 2013 to 2022, Malta's homeownership rate fluctuated but remained relatively high. It started at 80% in 2013, dipped to a low of 71% in 2016, and then rebounded to 76% by 2022. During this same period, average home prices showed a consistent upward trend. In 2016, the average home price was $134,835, which steadily increased to $250,198 by 2022, representing an 85.6% increase over six years.

The relationship between federal interest rates and homeownership rates in Malta shows some correlation. When interest rates were at historic lows between 2013 and 2016 (ranging from 0.09% to 0.4%), homeownership rates experienced a slight decline from 80% to 71%. However, as interest rates began to rise from 2017 onwards, homeownership rates stabilized and even increased slightly, reaching 76% by 2022 when the federal interest rate was 1.68%.

Renter percentages in Malta have shown an inverse relationship to homeownership rates, naturally. The percentage of renters increased from 20% in 2013 to a peak of 29% in 2016, before decreasing to 24% in 2022. Average rent prices have generally trended upwards during this period, rising from $480 in 2013 to $552 in 2022, an increase of 15%. However, there were some fluctuations, with the highest average rent of $581 recorded in 2018 when the renter percentage was at a relatively low 22%.