Its been a great summer in Bozeman, but summer is slowly making its way out. Tourist and construction traffic have been replaced with Montana State University students making their return to town.

While Bozeman is proud to have many varied industries and economic engines throughout the valley, there is no doubt that MSU’s contribution to the local economy is huge. According to MSU’s website, fall enrollment in 2014 was 15,421 students. Of these students, approximately 9000 students were from Montana, 5900 were from other states across the U.S., and just shy of 700 were from countries outside of the U.S.

In addition to the students, in 2014, Montana State University employed 3,092 permanent faculty and staff and another 649 graduate teaching and research assistants. Of permanent faculty and staff; 1,193 are faculty members and 1,899 are classified, professional and service staff members.

With the combination of faculty, staff, & students, MSU brings in nearly 19,000 people to our community, and naturally, these people need housing. Parents of MSU students have been buying up condos, townhouses, and even single family homes for their children to live in while attending MSU. And of course, the professors, janitors, and plumbers need homes too. Many Bozemanites are aware that the rental market has been extremely strong lately, no doubt fueled in part by MSU’s increasing enrollment. This strong rental market has even attracted investors from outside the state as is demonstrated by the construction of many large scale rental properties around town.

2015 sales to date, including those fueled by MSU and those that are not, have been extremely strong. More homes have sold in the first 7 months of 2015 than in the first 7 months of any other previous year. The median sales price of $357,500 is up 13% over the same time period last year and is up 5% from the previous high of $340,000 set in 2006.

Another great milestone is being set as you read this, congratulations to Bozeman Magazine on their 100th issue!
As usual, I have included data for the number of single family homes sold during the first seven months of 2015. In addition to the 583 homes sold during this time period, another 179 homes are currently pending, or under contract, as of the date of writing this article.

The included data reflects sales of homes 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.