Billings, Montana Housing Market

What stands out in Billings?

• Asking price per square foot is up 5.5% on the year: among the fastest-rising asking prices per square foot of 765 tracked cities. Sellers will price off recent gains. Comp carefully.

Are Billings price gains broad or limited to a few ZIP codes?

Asking price per square foot in Billings is up 5.5% over the last year. 2 of the 4 ZIP codes with at least 10 listings rose. 59101 led at up 12.7%, and 59105 trailed at down 1.0%. The gains are uneven. Price each ZIP on its own trend. Over five years the pace has been 3.6% a year. Underwrite closer to that than to the last twelve months.

Is now a good time to buy in Billings?

The median asking price is 12.4% below its Mar 2023 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 6.0% below the Mar 2026 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house. Billings prices have risen in 91 of the last 111 months. Drops here have been short and shallow. Buying in a slow month has rarely hurt a long hold.

This market is turning. Which way is not settled yet. Check the monthly numbers above before you commit.

How does Billings compare with other Montana markets?

Ranked among the 5 Montana markets we track:

• Asking price: 2nd cheapest of 5. Billings is at $436,917. Closest: Great Falls and Missoula.
• Buyer competition: 3rd most competitive of 5. Billings is at 0.33 buyers per home. Closest: Missoula and Big Sky.
• Time on market: 2nd shortest time on market of 5. Billings is at a median of 52 days on market. Closest: Great Falls and Bozeman.
• Price cuts: 2nd most price cuts of 5. Billings is at 20% of sellers cutting. Closest: Bozeman and Missoula.

When do Billings prices dip?

Across 9 full years, Billings asking prices ran lowest in January, about 4.0% below the year's average. They peaked in May. The most homes for sale show up in September, about 17% above the yearly average. Shop in September for choice, and expect the softest asking prices in January.

Who will rent from you in Billings?

In Billings, 32 out of every 100 households rent. Most own their home. The renter share is shrinking. Five years ago it was 33 in 100. Renter households average 1.9 people. Singles and couples rent here. Two bedrooms beat four.

Households grew 6% in five years. The housing stock grew 5%. The two are moving in step. Just 5.9% of homes sit empty. A well-priced rental fills fast here.

The median Billings household earns $78,134 a year. Incomes here have grown 5.1% a year since 2019. Incomes are rising faster than home prices. Affordability is improving. A typical home costs 5.6 times the median income. Most locals cannot buy. That keeps rental demand deep. It also caps the rent they can pay. At 30% of income, a tenant on the median income can pay about $1,953 a month.

To see what one Billings address would rent for and cash flow, run it through the app.

What numbers should you underwrite a Billings deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +3.6%/yr. Billings grew 6.4% a year over the decade. Ignore that rate. Most of it landed in the 2020 and 2021 boom. Without the boom, Billings grows about 3.6% a year. That is the number to type in. Prices rose 5.5% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.
• Comp on price per square foot — $213/sqft. The typical Billings listing shrank from 2,554 to 2,205 sqft since Jul 2016. So median price hides real growth: 83% per sqft versus 59% on the median. Comp on median price and you will overpay for small homes.
• Competition when you exit — +12%. Homes for sale in Billings are up 12% on last year, so your resale faces more competition than today's comps did.

Read cash flow versus appreciation and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.

What is the median home price in Billings?

The median asking price in Billings is about $437,000 as of Sep 2026, about the same as a year ago. The typical listing is 7% smaller than a year ago, and asking price per square foot is up 5.5%. So the size of homes on the market explains much of the rise. This is the asking price on homes listed for sale. Sites that report sold prices or estimated home values will show a different number. Our Billings figures cover the 9 ZIP codes with a Billings mailing address, which can reach past city limits.

Is Billings a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Neither side has the upper hand in Billings right now. We compare Billings with 2017–2019 at this time of year: there are 33 pending sales per 100 listings, against 43 then; 20% of sellers have cut their price, against 17% then; there are 8% fewer homes for sale.

Are Billings home prices going up or down?

The median asking price is 12.4% below its Mar 2023 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 6.0% below the Mar 2026 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house.

What price growth should I assume for Billings?

Assume +3.6% a year. Billings grew 6.4% a year over the decade. Ignore that rate. Most of it landed in the 2020 and 2021 boom. Without the boom, Billings grows about 3.6% a year. That is the number to type in. Prices rose 5.5% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.

What is the fair market rent in Billings?

HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for Yellowstone County is $1,417 a month for 2 bedrooms and $1,951 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.