Its been a great summer in Bozeman, but summer is slowly making its way out. As summer comes to an end, we are reminded there are many great seasons ahead of us.

Hunters are starting to get excited for fall, the skiers and snowboarders will be anticipating the first snow flakes, and of course, Montana State University students have made 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 2013 was 15,294 students. Of these students, approximately 9000 students were from Montana, 5600 were from other states across the U.S., and 500 were from countries outside of the U.S.

In addition to the students, in 2013, Montana State University employed 2,993 permanent faculty and staff and another 543 graduate teaching and research assistants. Of those, 1,154 are faculty members and 1,839 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.

2014 sales to date, including those fueled by MSU and those that are not, have been extremely strong. More homes have sold in the 7 months of 2014 than in the first 7 months of any other previous year. The median sales price of $314,000 is fast approaching the previous high of $340,000 set in 2006.

As usual, I have included data for the number of single family homes sold during the first seven months of 2014. In addition to the 512 homes sold during this time period, another 126 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.