In my past few articles, I’ve reported on the increases seen in the Bozeman single family home market, but how have condos and townhouses faired?      Condo sales have followed suit and have increased drastically over the past year. In 2012, 223 condos sold between January 1 and November 1. During the same time period of 2013, 242 condos sold; marking an increase of 8.5%. The median sold price in 2012 was $144,750. This rose 13% to $163,950 in 2013. The average sold price in 2012 was $164,137, which rose 8.9% to $178,673 in 2013.

Looking at the number of sales through the recession, the worst year for condos in Bozeman was 2009 during which 132 units sold. The sales in 2013 mark an 83% increase over 2009. However, while sales of single family homes have outpaced previous peak years, the number of condos sold still hasn’t reached its peak, which was 2005 when 390 units sold.

Townhouse sales have also increased. 83 townhouses sold in 2013 at a median sold price of $193,900. This is compared to 78 sales in 2012 at a median sold price of $167,500.

This leads to a question I hear often — “What is the difference between a condo and a townhouse?” The answer lies in the ownership of the land. With a condo, the homeowner owns their unit and they own a percentage of the land along with all the other owners within that association. In the case of a townhouse, the owner owns the land beneath the home. A townhouse can be very similar to a single family home, except another home happens to be attached to it.

As usual, I have included data for the number of homes sold in Bozeman during the first 10 months of 2013. In addition to the 734 homes sold during this time period, another 108 homes are currently pending, or under contract, as of the date of writing this article.

The included data reflects sales of homes on less than and more than 1 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