2025 Helena Market Update: What Property Owners Need to Know
As your property management team, our goal is to keep you informed about market changes that impact your investment. Montana’s housing market is entering a more balanced phase, and for owners, this means adapting strategies to protect profitability and minimize vacancy.
Population Growth Slows, Supply Ramps Up
Montana added about 6,000 new residents in 2024, bringing the state’s population to 1.14 million — a 0.5% growth rate, down from 0.9% in 2023. In Helena, population growth was modest at +360 residents year-over-year (1.0% increase).
At the same time, Helena’s housing supply is expanding quickly:
Habitat for Humanity’s Rose Hills Development plans up to 1,500 new homes, that will include 25-30 Habitat homes, 70 apartment homes, and another 84-90 market-rate homes.
Dick Anderson Construction is adding 300+ rental units, around 90 rental units will hit the market by the end of this year.
Summerville Flats brought 133 units online at the beginning of 2025.
Additional projects, not yet widely publicized, are also planned — meaning even more new inventory could hit the market in the coming years.
With more housing starts on the way, competition for qualified tenants will increase, creating pressure on both rental pricing and vacancy rates. As supply goes up and demand either base lines or goes down, existing rental owners are going to feel the impact.
Rental Rates & Vacancy: The Balancing Act
As new developments come online, we expect rental rates to flatten — and in some cases, decline. At the same time, vacancy rates are trending upward and could rise further as supply outpaces demand.
For owners, it’s important to remember:
Vacancy is one of the most expensive losses a property can incur.
While reducing rent to meet market pricing can feel counterintuitive, staying competitive often results in lower turnover and steadier cash flow. In this market, eliminating vacancy can protect your bottom line more effectively than holding out for top-dollar rents.
Example: If you push for $2,300/month but accept one month of vacancy, you’ll collect about $25,300/year — only $100 more than pricing at $2,100/month with no vacancy. However, that small gain comes with higher risks: extra carrying costs like utility charges, potential turnover expenses like depreciable maintenance costs (ex. New paint or carpets), and the chance the unit sits vacant even longer as sometimes units “grow stale” or go overlooked from a marketing perspective. In today’s market, pricing competitively to secure a tenant quickly typically maximizes cash flow and reduces financial risk.
How We’re Protecting Your Investment
As your property managers, we’re focused on keeping your units profitable by:
Closely monitoring local pricing trends
Adjusting rental strategies proactively to stay competitive
Maximizing tenant retention to reduce costly turnovers
Marketing aggressively to minimize days on market
Our goal is to help you navigate shifting market conditions while protecting your returns.
Bottom Line
Montana’s market is shifting from a pandemic-driven boom into a steadier, more competitive environment. Helena’s rental market is evolving: slower population growth, more housing starts, and rising vacancy risk mean property owners need to stay flexible. We’ll continue to analyze trends, adjust pricing strategies, and market your properties aggressively to keep your investment performing in 2025.
If you want to discuss this further, please reach out to us. One of the values we bring to our clients is strategizing on how to maximize return, whether that be with their existing property or through transitioning to something that may be more profitable. Specifically if your margins are razor thin, the next phase of Helena’s rental market may be challenging, so looking ahead now and making a plan for how to navigate negative cash flow would be a prudent next step and we are here to help.
