Sand Coulee, a small community in Montana, has experienced notable fluctuations in its housing market over the past decade. This analysis explores the trends in homeownership rates, average home prices, and average rent prices, providing insights into the local real estate dynamics. The homeownership rate in Sand Coulee has shown an overall increasing trend from 2013 to 2022. In 2013, the homeownership rate was 80%, which remained relatively stable until 2017 when it dipped to 69%. However, there was a significant rebound, with the rate climbing to 87% by 2022. This upward trend in homeownership coincided with a steady increase in average home prices. In 2014, the average home price was $124,983, and it rose consistently year over year, reaching $224,934 by 2022. This represents an 80% increase in average home values over eight years.

The relationship between federal interest rates and homeownership rates in Sand Coulee appears to follow the general economic principle that lower interest rates encourage homeownership. From 2013 to 2016, when interest rates were extremely low (ranging from 0.09% to 0.4%), the homeownership rate remained stable at around 80%. As interest rates began to rise more significantly from 2017 (1%) to 2019 (2.16%), there was a temporary dip in homeownership to 69% in 2017. However, the community seemed to adapt, and homeownership rates rebounded strongly, reaching 87% by 2022, despite interest rates climbing to 1.68% that year.

Renter percentages in Sand Coulee have generally mirrored the inverse of homeownership rates. The renter-occupied housing units decreased from 24% in 2015 to 13% in 2022. Interestingly, average rent prices did not show a consistent correlation with renter percentages. The average rent increased from $775 in 2013 to $926 in 2022, a 19.5% increase. However, this increase was not linear, with fluctuations observed throughout the years. For instance, average rent peaked at $875 in 2016 when the renter percentage was 20%, then decreased to $796 in 2018 when the renter percentage was 22%.