Billings, Montana Real Estate Market 2026: Score 6, Demand Score 78, 50% Overvalued

Billings, Montana scores 6 out of 100 on the PropertyIQ index as of February 2026.

A score of 6 places Billings near the bottom of the PropertyIQ universe. Fewer than 6% of the 400-plus markets in the database score lower. That is a notable position for Montana's largest city, a regional hub with a 3.1% unemployment rate and a demand score of 78.6.

PropertyIQ scores Billings a 6 out of 100 as of February 28, 2026. Scores are updated monthly using Zillow, Census, and Realtor.com data.

The Billings Contradiction: Strong Demand, Score of 6

The most striking feature of the Billings data is the gap between the demand score and the overall PropertyIQ Score.

The demand score is 78.6 out of 100 as of February 2026. Buyers are active. Homes are moving. The hotness score is 67.6, reflecting above-average market velocity relative to the broader PropertyIQ dataset.

The PropertyIQ Score is 6.

The gap between demand activity and overall score is explained by one factor: overvaluation.

Billings home prices are 50.3% above what local income fundamentals can support as of February 2026. The Zillow home value is $397,167 as of January 31, 2026. The metro median household income is $74,599 as of 2023 Census data. The calculated affordable home price based on that income is $280,663. The income required to purchase at the Zillow home value is $126,253.

The income gap is $51,654. A Billings buyer needs to earn 69% more than the metro median to purchase the typical home without being cost-burdened. That affordability barrier is the structural weight that pulls the PropertyIQ Score toward the bottom of the database even as demand activity remains elevated.

Billings Montana Housing Market: The New Listings Surge

The second factor driving Billings toward a score of 6 is the supply-side shift. New listings increased 34.57% year over year to 218 units in February 2026.

A 34% surge in new listing volume is a significant supply development. In a market of Billings's size, 218 new listings per month represents a substantial increase in available inventory relative to what buyers have been absorbing. Total active inventory is 600 homes as of February 2026, up 2.92% year over year.

The combination of surging new supply and extreme overvaluation is what compresses the PropertyIQ Score to 6 even as demand signals remain strong. Buyers are active, but the new supply flood and the valuation ceiling are creating a structural imbalance that the score reflects.

The price-cut rate is 11.58% as of February 2026. More than 11% of active listings have been reduced, which is an early signal of sellers recognizing that prices have outrun the buyer pool's capacity. The sale-to-list ratio is 98.85%, meaning most transactions are still closing near asking price, but the direction of change (price cuts increasing) bears watching.

Billings MT Housing Market: Price and Affordability Data

The median listing price in Billings is $475,000 as of February 2026. The price per square foot is $229. Days on market is 63 as of February 2026, which is lower than many of the low-score markets in this batch, reflecting the active demand.

The pending ratio is 0.40 as of February 2026. For every dollar of active inventory, 40 cents is under contract. That is a healthy conversion rate compared to markets with demand scores in the single digits.

The year-over-year change in listing prices is +2.44% as of February 2026. Prices are still rising in Billings, which makes the score of 6 harder to interpret at first glance. Rising prices combined with a score of 6 means the market is still increasing in value but the structural conditions, overvaluation and supply surge, are deteriorating faster than the price appreciation is repairing them.

The five-year appreciation rate is 16.94% as of February 2026. Billings has appreciated modestly over five years relative to many Sun Belt and Mountain West markets. The more aggressive appreciation happened in nearby Bozeman, Montana, which has seen tech and remote worker migration push prices to extreme levels. Billings's lower appreciation trajectory reflects its regional service economy character.

The Zillow one-year price forecast is 3.3% as of December 2025. Zillow's model sees continued positive appreciation, which is consistent with the strong demand score and low unemployment. The forecast does not anticipate a price correction in the near term, but that projection was made before the full impact of the new listings surge is visible in the annual data.

Billings Montana: Economic and Employment Context

The unemployment rate in Billings is 3.1% as of November 2025. That is among the lowest readings in this batch of five markets. Billings serves as the regional hub for eastern Montana, with a diversified economy across healthcare, energy, agriculture services, and retail trade.

The metro population is 187,269 as of 2023 Census data, making Billings a small metro by national standards but Montana's largest city. The median age is 39.7 and the homeownership rate is 70.17%, both near national averages.

The 3.1% unemployment and 70.17% homeownership rate are characteristics associated with market stability. The people who own homes in Billings are employed and are not rushing to sell. That seller stability is part of why prices have not corrected despite the 50.3% overvaluation reading.

Billings Real Estate: Rent Data and Investment Analysis

The Zillow rent index for Billings is $1,356 per month as of December 2025. At a Zillow home value of $397,167, the gross rent multiplier is approximately 24.4.

A GRM of 24.4 is on the higher end for a small western market. Cash flow investment at Billings's current price level is structurally difficult. Monthly rent does not cover enough of the carrying cost at a $397,000 value to generate positive returns without significant appreciation assumptions.

The rent-for-houses percentile is 34 out of 100, indicating Billings rents are in the lower half of the dataset but not at the absolute bottom. The income required to afford Billings rents without cost burden is approximately $54,246 per year against a metro median of $74,599. Renters are not cost-burdened, which supports rental demand stability.

New construction sales were 18 units per month as of November 2025. The low new construction figure for a regional hub of this size reflects the land and construction cost constraints specific to the Montana market.

How Billings Compares to Other Mountain West Markets

Bozeman, Montana scored at the time of that post and represents the higher end of the Montana market story, driven by tech migration and outdoor lifestyle appeal. [Missoula] is not covered in the PropertyIQ dataset at metro level. [Cheyenne, Wyoming] and [Rapid City, South Dakota] are comparable regional hub markets in the broader Northern Plains region.

Among Western markets, Bend, Oregon scores 27 and provides a comparison point for markets where outdoor lifestyle appeal has driven prices above income fundamentals. Billings at 6 is scoring even lower than Bend despite having a stronger employment base, primarily because the new listings surge and 50.3% overvaluation are more severe on a scoring basis than Bend's metrics.

The 78.6 demand score in Billings is the strongest demand reading in this batch. In a market with better valuation alignment, a demand score of 78.6 would support a score in the 70-90 range. The distance between 78.6 demand and a 6 overall score is a direct measure of how far Billings prices have overrun its income base.

PropertyIQ score as of February 28, 2026. Listing and inventory data as of February 1, 2026. Zillow home value data as of January 31, 2026. Sale-to-list data as of November 30, 2025. Forecast data as of December 2025. Census data as of 2023. Economic data as of November 2025. All data for informational purposes only.