It’s spring in Bozeman, that time of year where the weather changes every 5 minutes. The heat is usually on in the truck on the way to work and the air conditioning is often on for the drive home. The real estate market is also continuing to change rapidly. This month, let’s take a look at the condo and townhouse market.

Looking back a couple years, pricing for condos and townhomes in the Bozeman area didn’t change drastically during the first quarters of 2019 and 2020. In 2019, 86 condos and townhouses sold at a median sold price of $333,975. This compares to 107 similar homes sold in 2020 at a median sold price of $338,000. However, this year that number took a big jump. In the first quarter of 2021, 109 condos and townhouses have sold at a median sold price of $400,700, an 18.5% increase in median sold pricing.

Perhaps even more interesting than the increase in sold pricing is the decrease in time on market. Looking at the median days on market, for first quarter condo and townhouse sales in 2019, it was 20 days on market. That number rose significantly last year to 45, perhaps as we started to see the effects of the pandemic. For the first quarter of this year, the median days on market was only 3 days. Buyers that have been offering on condos and townhouses have likely felt that decrease in time on market.

Also interesting is the number of new listings during the same time period. Again, looking at the first quarter of 2019, 129 condos and townhouses were listed in and around Bozeman. In 2020, that number took a big jump to 206 new listings. This year, it decreased significantly from last year as we’ve seen 136 new listings in the first quarter, a 34% decrease in new listings from last year. In addition to the 107 units sold in the first quarter of this year, 179 condo and townhouse sales are currently pending, or under contract, as of the date of writing this.

First quarter sales are always interesting to look at, but viewing a 6-month period gives a larger sample. If we look at a rolling 6-month sample, so October 1st through the end of March for each year, we find that in October of 2018 through March of 2019, 206 condos and townhouses sold at a median sold price of $310,625. The median days on market was 20. In the same time period of 2019-2020, 228 units sold at a median sold price of $335,000, a 7.8% increase in pricing. The median days on market increased to 34. Looking at October of last year through end of March this year, 284 similar homes sold at a median sold price of $361,000, a 7.7% increase in pricing. However, the median days on market dropped to just 4.

Interest rates, while somewhat volatile, have remained low, still hovering around 3% as of the date of writing this. For buyers on the fence as to whether to buy now or wait, consider the difference in interest rates. On that median sold condo of $400,000, an increase of 1% on a 30-year mortgage could push the payment up by over $200 per month. An increase of 2%, would push it up by over $450 per month.

As usual, I have included data for the number of single-family homes sold during the first 3 months of 2021. In addition to the 171 single family homes sold during this time period, another 162 single family home sales 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 Big Sky Country MLS and does not include private party sales.