Land activity in the Billings area continues to be dominated by retail and food uses. The majority of new retail and food uses have centered around redevelopment within the city along Grand Avenue and Main Street. Office land development continues to lag as it did all throughout 2016. This can still be attributed to the increased vacancy rates in the existing office building market. Industrial land use sales were solid compared to 2015, but we did not see an increase in interest. Apartment construction continues to be very active. Increased oil activity in the Bakken could possibly help Billings area land sales, but that may not be until 2018. We do not expect an increase in land prices for the first half of the year.
