A Historical Perspective
Let’s take a look at how the high-end real estate market in Bozeman has evolved over the years. Back in 2007, only 24 homes sold for over $1 million in the area. The following year, in 2008, that number dipped slightly to 22 homes.

Fast forward to last year, and there were over 13 times that amount, with 288 homes surpassing the million-dollar mark sold in 2023. This year, the trend remains robust, with 283 homes already sold above that threshold as of November 15th, plus another 51 pending sales. These figures include all types of residential properties—condos, single-family homes, and townhouses—both inside and outside Bozeman city limits.

With the median home price hovering near $800k for homes inside city limits, and north of $900k when including homes outside city limits, what exactly defines the Luxury Market in Bozeman?

Breaking Down Sales by Price Segment
To better understand market dynamics, I segmented residential sales into $500,000 price bands. For consistency, only sales from the first 10.5 months of each year are included to allow an accurate comparison for 2024 data. These again include all types of residential properties in the greater Bozeman area:

Growth in the Luxury Segment
The influx of out-of-state buyers in 2020 drove significant growth in the high-end market. By mid-November of that year, 119 homes had sold for over $1 million—an increase of more than 50% compared to 2019. The momentum continued into 2021, where sales more than doubled, reaching 243 homes sold in the same timeframe. Although the overall number of transactions has slowed the past three years, as prices have continued to climb, sales above $1 million have also increased, or held steady. Two hundred sixty-two homes sold above $1 million in the first 10.5 months of 2022, 257 sold last year, and 283 homes have been sold to date this year.

The market for homes above $2 million has also continued to expand, nearly doubling from 29 sales in the first 10.5 months of 2020 to 53 in 2022. Last year saw a small dip to 44 sales, but this year it’s up again significantly, with 75 sales closed to date north of $2m. Notably, the price segment between $2m and $2.5m has increased significantly this year.

Cash Transactions Amid Rising Interest Rates
Despite the increase in mortgage rates over the past few years, the proportion of cash purchases for homes above $1 million has remained relatively stable. The peak was in 2018, with 65% of luxury sales being all-cash deals. In 2019, nearly half (46%) of these transactions were cash. That figure held around 53% in 2020 and dipped slightly, to 48%, in 2021. In 2022, it dipped again, to 43%. This year and last year were up, and nearly identical, with just over 50% of the sales of homes above $1 million bought in all cash.

Big Sky’s High-End Market Insights
Big Sky has also seen notable activity in the ultra-luxury market. In 2021, 39 properties sold for over $4 million, with prices per square foot exceeding $1,000 on average. The numbers were similar in 2022, with 36 sales in this range. However, last year saw an uptick, with 45 transactions, and this year, despite a general slowdown in overall sales, the ultra-luxury market in Big Sky surged, with 55 properties sold year-to-date above $4 million. These figures do not include sales within the Yellowstone Club, nor custom-built residences.

Current Market Snapshot
Finally, let’s look at the latest real estate statistics for single family home sales in the greater Bozeman area, including Four Corners, Gallatin Gateway, Bridger Canyon, and within Bozeman city limits. As of now, the total number of closed transactions is down slightly from last year—569 this year compared to 603 at the same point last year. Additionally, there are currently 78 pending sales, nearly on par with the 82 pending at this time last year.

Note: The data includes only sales reported through the Big Sky Country MLS, and excludes private party sales.