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Bozeman, MT Real Estate News

By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
Bozeman’s attempt to lay fiber optic wire in town to improve internet prices, speeds and reliability for local business received a big boost from eight local banks recently. Bozeman Fiber Inc, the non-profit put in charge of the fiber optic project by the City of Bozeman, announced it has successfully negotiated 3.85 million in private financing.The non-profit intends to develop an open-access network for private internet providers in Bozeman. They were put in charge of the project after the City of Bozeman moved away from earlier suggestions that would make the new cable public. Under the current plan, the project will provide the infrastructure and private internet providers can lease it at a certain price. Ideally, the project would help foster more competition as it would allow smal...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
This month, we will compare single-family home sales in the Bozeman area for the first three quarters of 2015. Third Quarter sales are through August 2015 and have been projected for the month of September. Here are a few stats for Bozeman area single-family residences: From Quarter 1 to Quarter 2, total home sales increased by 67.82% (174 sold in Quarter 1, 292 sold in Quarter 2) From Quarter 2 to Quarter 3, total home sales are projected to increase by 13.01% (292 sold in Quarter 2, 220 through August, projected to 330) From Quarter 1 to Quarter 3, total home sales are projected to increase by 89.66% From Quarter 1 to Quarter 2, dollar volume increased by 87.20% ($71,215,358 in Quarter 1, $133,314,567 in Quarter 2) From Quarter 2 to Quarter 3, dollar volume is projected to increase by...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
On November 3rd, voters will decide whether to expand the Sacajawea Middle School and Hawthorne Elementary School. School officials believe that with Bozeman’s growth over the past years, now is the time to expand these schools to better address the growing Bozeman population.School officials will put a proposal to expand the Sacajawea Middle School before voters, costing 16 million dollars. They had considered building a new school, but the costs could have been nearly double.The middle school has struggled with space issues. The school uses one gym for 700 students, its orchestra and band rooms are a little small and additional classrooms are needed as well. With the 16 million dollar bond, the school would build a new 8th grade wing, add classrooms to the 6th and 7th grade wings, add...
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By Coldwell Banker RCI Realty Bozeman, Montana, Bozeman's oldest real estate company
(Coldwell Banker RCI Realty)
Welcome to 5 West. A mixed use development in downtown Bozeman that will combine commercial space on the first level, offices on the second and condominiums on the top 3. The project is expcted to be completed in 2017 with the ground breaking and demolition taking place next week. Located on West Mendenall, just one block north of Bozeman's main street, 5 West will take the place of the Opportunity Bank building. There are 48 residential units which range in size from 640 sq.ft to 1,800 sq.ft. The prices range from $285,000 to $800,000. With over 20 units already sold, the 5 West residential units are proving to be in high demand. Click here for the full article. 
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
Just like last year and the year before, the smartest Montana High Schoolers are choosing Montana State University Bozeman.Montana awarded 204 scholarships to the state school of each high schooler’s choice. 134 chose Montana State, representing two thirds of those who accepted. 37% of those students will be entering engineering.In order to qualify, residents must have a 3.4 grade point average. After that, the state ranks them by their school ranking and ACT scores to differentiate the top students.Having top students continue to choose MSU is great news for the school as well as Bozeman. Attracting the best talent will help MSU grow its own reputation, attracting more students, more jobs and more money to the area. As students graduate, they might also choose to stay in Bozeman, givin...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
Bozeman’s new off leash dog park has been progressing well and should be have a full, walkable loop by the start of winter. The loop should be completed by Halloween. As Bozeman’s west side continues to grow, adding another dog park will help keep Bozeman dogs happy and healthy.Phase 1 of the park will consist of 13 acres. Run Dog Run, the non-proift heading the project broke ground in May and have been working on fundraising for the park since then. So far they have raised $30,000 for the park and received matching funds from the Land and Water Conservation fund.The park will include trails, water and varied terrain. Ponds are slowly filling as workers excavated areas around the park. Next, workers will continue their work on the trail, replanting vegetation and fencing the park (it is...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
I wanted to quickly apprise Bozeman locals and potential residents of the impending decision Bozeman Commissioners need to make regarding affordable housing. On Monday, Commissioners heard arguments from all sides on whether they should move forward with an inclusionary zoning proposal that would try to lower costs of home within Bozeman city limits.Commissioners received solid opposition from members in both the real estate and building industries.  Both the Gallatin Association of Realtors and the Southwest Montana Building Association raised concerns about the new proposal. These two groups worried the proposal would set back a rebounding Bozeman housing market while also encouraging sprawl outside of city limits to avoid the new laws.Even the HRDC, a proponent of inclusionary zoning...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
With tourism spending in Montana close to $4 billion, with 662 million of those dollars being spent in the Gallatin County, its no wonder Bozeman has looked to take advantage of growing tourism in the area. After reports that hotels had their weekends booked through summer before the end of May, it makes sense that new hotels might try to grab some of the growing tourism market. This coming week, Bozeman will welcome a new hotel to its downtown—the Element hotel.The Element will be 5 stories and have 104 rooms. It will be located on East Mendenhall, just a block from the vibrant downtown Bozeman district.The hotel is part of a branch called the Starwood Resort Chain and will be the first LEED certified sustainable hotel in the state. Its sustainability, part of where the Element name ca...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
In a great article by Eric Dietrich of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, he outlined the affordable housing proposal that commissioners will consider on September 21st as well as outlining the comments and concerns about the proposal from the two most prominent, opposing parties.The proposal was made in light of rising values in the for-sale housing market in Bozeman and whether it’s the local government’s responsibility to help keep a certain segment of homes at the affordable level. Currently, there is worry that some residents will need to move to outlying communities to keep their homes affordable. Bozeman has had experts, non profits, builders and anyone else with creative ideas offer their best suggestions to tackle affordability. Ideally, Bozeman commissioners will reach a decision ne...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
The City of Bozeman approved 447 new commercial construction projects—200 more permits than the previous year—highlighting Bozeman’s recent growth on the west end.City officials confirmed that the west side of town has been the fastest growing and seen the highest rate change in population growth. Bozeman gave out 639 single family home permits in the last two years, with many focused on the west side of town. Businesses have seen the same trends and their shift towards the west end is a smart attempt to attract a less touched market.As Bozeman’s downtown has become increasingly attractive to both residents and businesses, many other businesses have shifted their gaze to the developing west end of town. This was part of the reason why commercial permits were so high in the last year. Do...
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By Coldwell Banker RCI Realty Bozeman, Montana, Bozeman's oldest real estate company
(Coldwell Banker RCI Realty)
For the first time this year, the number of homes sold in Bozeman last month decreased, but only slightly! There were 99 homes sold within Bozeman city limits during the month of August, 9% less than the previous month. 58% of those homes sold were single family homes, 33% were condos and 9% were townhomes. The average sale price of a home in Bozeman increased 4% over the past month, coming in at $301,280. The average sale price of a single family home within Bozeman city limits during the month of August was $381,857, average sale price of a condo was $232,482 and average sale price of a townhome was $289,500. The average sale prices of both condos and townhomes increased during the month of August while the average sale price of a single family home actually decreased 1% compared to t...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
Developers and city officials broke ground last week on a new, awaited apartment complex designed to help add more rental inventory to the Bozeman market. The complex will now bring 48 new rental units to the Bozeman area to the previously planned 47.The project has been sponsored by the Montana Board of Housing to give low-income residents a chance to rent the new units alongside those who can already compete at full market value.  The MBH will give tax credits to the developers so they can in turn offer a few units to select families at up to 50% below market rent. The City of Bozeman continues to strive to have Bozeman be affordable to all residents and affordable housing projects like this, help keep people from being ‘priced out’ of their living arrangements.In addition to increasi...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
Tonight, the Bozeman School Board will vote on whether to raise local property taxes to approve the $72 million in spending budgeted for this school year in Bozeman. Approving $72 million in spending would be up 3.4% from last year.Enrollment for the Bozeman School District is expected to increase by 170 students, or 2.7 percent. The expected total will be 6,464 students—a new record for Bozeman school enrollment numbers. The new budget would add 10 new elementary teachers and 1 high school teacher to better address the growing student population. The school board will also increase their reserves to better tackle the proposed Sacajawea Middle School expansion and second High School. The district’s upgrade of Hawthorne Elementary, will use a TIF, and not raise taxes on those in the dist...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
By Fall of 2020, high school age students in Bozeman may not all be attending the same school for the first time in the town’s history. Starting this year, plans for a second high school will be taken on in earnest, and Bozeman School District officials hope to present a finalized plan to voters by November 2016.In order to have a finalized plan by then, school officials will need to put plans in place that work with their budget and local Bozemanites’ hopes for the school. This school year will be focused on open dialogue and communication between the district and the public to put together a high school that will satisfy all parties.The Bozeman School District plans on asking voters to approve a 60 to 80 million dollar project. The school has a soft deadline of 2020 to complete the sc...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
The walkability of cities and towns in the United States has become increasingly important for homebuyers – particularly its youngest generation. According to a new study released by the Transportation Research and Education Center at Portland State University, millenials show a strong preference to having a home that’s within walking distance of local amenities. These home buyers, those aged 18 to 34, preferred walking over driving by 12 percentage points.All age groups saw walkability as a major asset in choosing a home—so much so that 48% of all respondents wanted a small home and yard within walking distance of activities, rather than a large home and yard that required driving to get to events and destinations—assuming prices were similar. Home sellers should keep this in mind when...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
For anyone who loves the Cooking Channel, they will get to see a Bozeman restaurant featured on one of its national shows. The Western Café, a steadfast of downtown since the 1930’s, was selected to appear on the channel as a great mom and pop operation that also utilized local Bozeman ingredients.The café will appear on the Cooking Channel’s show, Pizza Masters. In this case, the Pizza Masters were apparently less interested in pizza, because they asked the café to show them how to make the café’s famous cinnamon rolls along with their biscuits and gravy. The Pizza Masters chose the location for its great food, décor and local atmosphere.For any non-local visitors to town, the Western Café can be a great place to enjoy some old-time western cooking. As Bozeman has grown, it has done a ...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
In late February, The Bozeman Public Library crafted plans to bring books to local residents who might not be able to make it to the library themselves. Now, with a 300,000 dollar donation, the library is 5/6 of the way to their fundraising goal. The donation came from a private person—really showing Bozeman’s community driven perspective in its essence.The bookmobile will need anywhere from 9 months to a year to become fully operational and library staff will still need to decide the size of the new mobile library. Current plans include having a wi-fi hotspot along with iPads and laptops to create a true library feel. Of course, the mobile library will also have lots of books that they can distribute to those who cannot make it to the library themselves. Seniors and children have been ...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
Bozeman City Commissioners will vote next Monday on whether to annex a piece of land of Stucky Road in order to zone it for apartment style residences. The commission has seen several bids to annex additional land into the city in the last year. Bozeman continues to find ways to add additional home inventory to keep home values reasonable.The land off Stucky is currently set for agricultural use and nearby farms are concerned about adding more residential lots on high quality, useable soil. Both farmers and developers made their pleas to the City Zoning Commission and though the zoning commission voted 2-1 against rezoning the parcel, the decision ultimately rests with City Commisioners.Bozeman continues to search for land and strategies to help keep the real estate in the Gallatin Vall...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
A new Mixed-Use Property is slated to be built to the North of Bozeman’s Main Street. The building will have both commercial and residential spaces and will span nearly a full city block. The building should help with Bozeman’s low home and rental inventory that has lead to high rental rates and home values.In order to build the new development, 8 older rental units will need to be demolished. Of the 8, three are uninhabitable during the winter while others have repair costs too high to make renting feasible.The building itself will be 5 stories with a ground floor reserved for new businesses. The other stories will house the 41 residential units. The building will be located on N Lamme between Grand and Third.This project, ideally, will help lower both apartment values and rental rates...
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By Hart Real Estate Solutions, Broker/Owner
(Hart Real Estate Solutions)
Tonight, Bozeman City Commissioners will consider creating the Cannery Annexation District to extend city water and sewer services to the growing commercial district.Cannery District was given its name for the pea cannery that did business there in the early 1900’s. Developers are fast at work creating a new commercial hub in Bozeman, where restaurants, coffee shops and breweries have already opened up shop. Creating an annexation district will make these businesses water and sewer utilities through the City of Bozeman, rather than through other sources.Locals will have seen the cannery building renovations that have taken place since March. Crews have been hard at work getting the building up to code. Tenants already include a barbershop, an architect, a physical therapy group and a ma...
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