Bozeman is Booming

It seems it wasn’t that long ago when distressed properties (bank owned and short sales) made up a significant percentage of the market and there was ‘value’ everywhere.   I put value in quotes as no one really knew how to evaluate value other than to define it as properties that were significantly off their peak value.  I had one particularly wise investor that was purchasing very simple, straightforward investments (condos and townhomes priced under $80,000.00) with the goal of a 10 – 12% return on a cash investment.   He already owned many multi-families but he saw value and also ease of resale in purchasing individual units – he has doubled his investment in most cases.

So much has changed since then.   Without sounding like a glorified cheerleader, here are some quick stats & interesting facts about Bozeman and the surrounding areas, including Big Sky, Gallatin Gateway, Manhattan, Belgrade, and Livingston.

• Our local university, Montana State University….
  • Had yet another year of record enrollment.  This year enrollment climbed above 16,000 students.  This is the tenth time in the last eleven years that MSU has set an enrollment record.  This makes MSU Montana’s largest university.
  • Montana State is among the top 3% of colleges and universities in the nation for research expenditures and typically exceeds $100 Million per year – are you kidding me?  This makes MSU the largest research and development entity of any kind in the state.
• Tech companies are booming in Bozeman
  • A few years ago, in 2011, a boot strapped tech company named Right Now Technologies was purchased by Oracle for $1.5 billion
  • According to Oracle’s founder, Greg Gianforte, in a recent speech he gave, Bozeman is now home to 82 tech companies
  • We are seeing tech companies come here for a myriad of reasons – quality of life, affordable housing as compared to Silicon Valley and other hot beds of tech, a talented work force and more.
• Montana ranked first in start-ups in the entire US for the fourth straight year
• The Bozeman Yellowstone International airport is the busiest in the state – 2015 saw over 1,000,000 passengers – a record for the state and the first time this many passengers were accommodated ever
• Yellowstone Park is just down the road – an absolute jewel in the US
• The Big Sky ski area also saw record guests at 440,000 visits in 2015 – Big Sky also announced a 10-year plan to invest $150,000,000.00 in improvements to the mountain to accommodate over 650,000 annual visits projected by the year 2025.
• Bozeman population grew at 4.5% from 2014 to 2015 – standing at 43,400 residents according to the US Census Bureau

I am only scratching the surface – more to come in future letters. There is no better time to join us in Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley!