Montanas population boom fuels higher home prices and sends young, longtime residents packing
A population boom in Montana is driving up home prices there faster than in any other state in the nation, for good and for ill.The trend predates the wildly popular drama series “Yellowstone,” which debuted in 2018 and stars Kevin Costner as Montana rancher John Dutton.The series’ final episodes began airing earlier this month.From 2010 to 2020, Montana’s population grew by nearly 10%, but housing construction failed to keep pace, with the number of units increasing by just 7%.
The COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged the trend, with Montana’s population growing almost 5% more from 2020 to 2023, according to census data.“We have a ton of out-of-staters moving in and a lot of cash buyers,” says Kristen Campbell, a real estate agent with Homes of Big Sky in Bozeman, MT.Many of the newcomers are from high-priced areas on the West Coast, who are able to cash in on their equity and bid prices higher in Montana.Remote work has also boosted the migration trend, allowing many white-collar workers to bring their jobs along with them.The big draw is Montana’s vast and rugged natural beauty and the year-round outdoor activities close at hand, with skiing in the winter and hunting, fishing, and hiking in the warmer months.“It’s really a year-round travel destination.
It’s not just summer or just winter,” says Nick Zimmer, broker and owner of Crosscurrent Real Estate in Bozeman.In the past five years, median home listing prices in Montana have risen 85%, a sharper increase than in any other state in the nation.In October, the median listing price for Montana homes was $646,975, the fifth highest in the nation after Hawaii, California, New York, and Massachusetts.Montana’s median listing price of $318 per square foot is the eighth highest in the nation, and by far the highest of any landlocked state with no coastline.The explosive price growth isn’t limited to the Bozeman metro area, which includes Big Sky and West Yellowstone, and is one of the m...