Fall is in the air and the Real Estate market in Bozeman continues to gain steam as buyers look to take advantage of the low interest rates. Foreclosures and short sales are decreasing as an overall percentage of the Bozeman residential market. Year to date, foreclosures and short sales made up less than 14% of all sales, while they constituted over 20% of all sales for the same time period of 2011.

The median home price has ticked up slightly over the past 9 months. For the time period of January 1st through September 1st, it rose to $275,100, up from $250,000 for the same time period last year. This includes homes on both less than and greater than 1 acre and includes outlying areas such Four Corners, Gallatin Gateway and Bridger Canyon. If we restrict the data to homes on less than 1 acre inside the city limits, the median price for January 1st through September 1st of 2012 is $262,750, up from $237,500 for the same time period of 2011.

More and more buyers are finding that competition can be stiff as many homes that are priced to the market continue to attract multiple offers. Builders have been trying to answer the call for more inventory. New home construction is up around town and the new homes are selling quite well.

Condo sales are also up across Bozeman, with over 100 units sold year to date. Many condo buyers are parents of MSU students that are purchasing them for their children while they attend college.

Winter is just around the corner and this is a good time of the year for homeowners to remember to have their furnace checked and serviced. A good servicing and new filters will insure your furnace is operating at its most efficient level.
As usual, I have included data for the number of homes sold during the first 8 months of 2012. In addition to the 469 homes sold during this time period, another 133 homes are currently pending, or under contract, as of the date of writing this article.

The included data reflects sales of homes on both less than and more than one acre in the greater Bozeman area, including Four Corners, Gallatin Gateway, Bridger Canyon, and Bozeman city limits. The data includes home sales reported through the local Southwest Montana MLS, and does not include private party sales, Condominiums, or Townhouses.

Tim Ford is a Realtor ® with Vellinga Real Estate in Bozeman Montana. He can be contacted at 406-209-1214.