These interesting times in Bozeman continue to remain interesting. The rise in interest rates has certainly affected the market, but the market remains strong. With the uptick in interest rates, it is a perfect time to look at cash purchases in Bozeman. The percentage of cash purchases in Bozeman is down just slightly from last year, but continues to remain on the higher end of years past.

Looking at cash-only transactions for sales of single-family homes in all of Bozeman between January 1st and June 1st; back in 2019, the percentage was around 25.7%, or 88 out of the 343 sales. In 2020, it dipped a bit to just shy of 20%, or 62 of 311 sales. In 2021, it was up significantly with 103 of 341, or just over 30% of sales. Last year was the highest percentage since I’ve been tracking it at 39% or 105 of 268 sales. This year, that percentage was down slightly at 32.2%, or 82 out of the 254 closed transactions.

In the past, even though the percentage moved slightly up and down over the years, it has generally been fairly consistent, in the low 20% range. In 2015, 85 of the 371 sales during the first five months were cash, or 22.9%. In 2014, it was 70 of the 318 sales, or 22%, and in 2013, 61 of the 276 sales, or 22.1% were cash purchases.

The highest percentage of cash sales is often in the area around downtown Bozeman. This year, that core area saw similar trends; the percentage was down from last year but higher than in all of Bozeman. Looking at the time period of January 1st through June 1st; in 2019, 18 of the 56 homes sold were purchased with cash, roughly 32%. In 2020, that number was up to 39%, or 20 of 51 homes sold. It rose again in 2021 to 22 of 50 homes, or 44%. Last year was again the highest percentage since I have been tracking it—45%, or 19 of the 42 sales. This year the percentage was down slightly with 34%, or 13 of the 38 single family home sales in downtown Bozeman having closed with cash.

Drilling down a little deeper and looking at condos downtown, in 2018, 16 out of 33 sales, or 48% were cash purchases. In 2019, 12 out of 33, or 36% were cash purchases. In 2020 it rose slightly to 37.5%, or nine of 24 condos. In 2021, it was actually down slightly, with 33%, or 10 of the 30 condo sales. Last year, it rose to 44%, or 17 of the 39 sales. This year, although the total number of sales was down at 29 closed transactions, the percentage was way up, with 18, or 62% of those purchases being made in all cash.

As usual, I have included data for the number of single-family homes sold during the first five months of 2023. In addition to the 254 single family homes sold during this time period, another 121 home sales are currently pending as of the date of writing. This compares to 116 home sales pending at this same time last year.

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, condominiums, or townhouses.