The pandemic brought several changes to everyday life, one of those being the great migration.

New data from the data ranks Montana as 13th for domestic migration in 2022.

New numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau shows a population increase of 1.5% totaling 16,003 people who moved to the treasure state.

“There's a lot of opportunities, there's great, great opportunities as far as raising families, there's a lot of job opportunities here as well, Montana has great places to go and recreate whether it be at the lake or skiing or hiking, Montana has a lot to offer,” said Missoula relator Paulette McMannis.

With a growing population of new and returning Montanans, housing supply is coming up short in many communities.

“I think (in) 2023, we're still going to be short on homes,” said McMannis.

As of this week, we found 221 homes on the market in Missoula, 260 in Kalispell, seven in Bozeman, and 45 in Butte.

McMannis said the volatility of the market is equalizing, as they’ve experienced fewer no-show buys and people offering way over asking price to even get a shot.

And she believes recent listing numbers show healthy, steady growth.

“It's nice that buyers can have an opportunity to walk through more than just one house, I mean, they can walk through 10 and if they wait long enough 20, I think we're in that stabilizing period, said McMannis. “I think it's good news, It's not bad news for sellers, because the prices are staying good, they're staying strong, but with buyers, things are leveling out.”

The Last Best Place has been discovered and McMannis said the housing supply needs to grow with it to keep up with demand.