Winter 2017-2018 State
I
n the Southwestern portion of Montana,
specifically the Bozeman and Big Sky
area, real estate markets have shown an
extraordinary resilience over the last several
months. Activity levels in Bozeman are at an
all-time high, with new subdivisions,
housing starts, and advances in market
prices surprising even seasoned Real Estate
watchers. But, Big Sky is our main focus at
this moment, and it is no less extraordinary
what is taking place in this community.
The 2016/2017 winter season ended
positively, with anticipation for a continued
robust Summer and Fall market. What was,
perhaps, unanticipated was how dramatic
the decrease in inventory would be over the
course of the summer, while demand for
well-priced prime property continued apace.
While demand continues to outpace supply,
the lack of new inventory has had a dramatic
effect on our markets. Total available market
inventory in terms of listed value had
decreased from $569,307,218 in January,
2017 to $492,541,579 in October, 2017 in the
greater Big Sky Area (source MLS). So,
almost $77,000,000 in inventory was
absorbed in the past 10 months and not
replaced by new listings. Supporting this 14-
15% decline in available inventory, the
number of listed properties per month
declined from a 2017 high of 440 to 361 in
October, an 18% decline.
The gap between the closed price to list
price shrank from 94.7% to 95.7% reflecting
that Sellers and Buyers adjusted to the
current market valuations as Sellers priced
properties to sell and Buyers recognized that
the era of deep discounts from asking price
had passed.
The 2017 average monthly listing price in Big
Sky ranged from a low of $753,000 to a high
of $1,845,000however, closer to
$1,000,000 was the rolling 2017 average.
2017 BHH Affiliates, LLC. Real Estate Brokerage Services are offered through the network member franchisees of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Most franchisees are independently owned and
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of Real Estate
We started 2017 with a 25-month supply of
inventory and ended up in October with an
11-month supply, with 402 new listings, and
314 sales for a sales volume of $216,987,051
year to date. Interestingly, the average sales
price was $688,848, while the median sales
price was $421,500 (1/2 of all sales were
under $421,500). Another interesting metric
is that the average DOM (day on market) was
241 days, while the median DOM was 134,
which means that 1/2 of all sales closed in
under 5 months of the listing date.
Bozeman Yellowstone Field (BZN) continues
to grow and expand services, offering daily
flights to Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Ft. Worth,
Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. It
is Montanas busiest airport with over 1.1
million passengers passing through it last
year and a 9% increase in passenger activity
over 2016. In November, the airport will
open a new 5050 ft. long runway for smaller
aircraft to free up the main runway for the
increased number of faster moving
commercial passenger Jets.
Big Sky real estate opportunities continue to
offer an appealing and diverse selection.
Buyers recognize that the area is being
thoughtfully developed, and that services are
meeting demand. New buyers marvel at the
natural beauty of the Big Sky area, and many
current owners are taking the opportunity to
trade up or acquire property that is still
reasonably and favorably priced, especially
when compared to more developed markets
in Jackson, WY and the resort corridor along
the US I 70 in Colorado. For example: we
recently sold a spectacular 20-acre tract in
Big Sky area along the main access road, MT
64, (within a 10-minute drive from either the
Meadow or Mountain) for under $425,000,
and a deluxe 3BR/3BA 2,500 + / - sq. ft.
furnished condo for $650,000 (thats $260
a sq. ft.). On the higher end of the spectrum,
we sold a custom Meadow Village home,
with sweeping and commanding views of the
area, for under $1,500,000.
Land sales are the sleeper market. The listed
dollar value of land has been reduced by
close to $40,000,000 as the number of listed
parcels has decreased from 218 at the
beginning of the year, to 173 in October, with
over $34,000,000 year to date in land sales,
as compared to over $25,055,840 sales
volume in all of 2016.
Buyers are becoming comfortable with these
values and see that liquidity in the market
continues develop as it matures.
The demographics in Big Sky are
compelling, with buyers from New England,
Texas, California, Minnesota and the
Midwest as well as many other parts of the
country and world looking for and finding a
great mountain community with first class
services, medial facilities, schools, and, of
course summer and winter recreation.
Big Sky has an amazing community of
people and real estate offerings. It
truly is the last best place to live and
invest.
Eric & Stacy
Ossorio
E: 406.539.9553
S: 406.539.8553
Stacy and Eric Ossorio are brokers with
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
Montana Properties in Big Sky, and
previously were brokers with Cushman
& Wakefield of New York City. For more
information, contact Stacy at (406) 539-
8553 or stacy.ossorio@gmail.com, or
Eric at (406) 539-9553 or
eric.ossorio@gmail.com.