BOZEMAN IS RENOWNED FOR ITS OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

 

We are blessed with a multitude of year round outdoor recreation opportunities in the Gallatin Valley:

• Fly Fishing
• Rafting
• National Forest
• National Parks
• Hiking Trails
• Mountain Biking
• Cross Country Skiing
• Downhill Skiing
• Snowshoeing
• And more!

There are no lack of reasons to get you outside and in the fun!

Please visit our Interactive Map and click on, Skiing, Rivers, National Parks, and Mountains to learn more about our fantastic outdoors!

Let’s Share & Connect

We’d like to share some information with you about Bozeman, Montana and our schools, hospitals, skiing and great places to stay. We also have a very interactive map on our website that will provide you with much more detailed information and possibly answer some of your questions.

You can always reach us via phone, email or fax.

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Our Schools

Living in such a beautiful area has some real benefits where schools are concerned. As a result of the high amount of competition to live and teach here, our School district has the opportunity to really get the best teachers, and our kids reap the benefits.

Some quick Bozeman School district facts:

We have six K-6 public elementary schools, two 6-8 public middle schools, a 9-12 public high school, four private high schools and an alternative high school. The rural public elementary schools include Anderson, LaMotte, Monforton, Gallatin Gateway, Cottonwood, Malmborg and Ophir in Big Sky.

Look here for a complete listing of all Bozeman Elementary Schools at
Great Schools.com

Look here for a complete listing of all Bozeman High Schools at
Great Schools.com

Bozeman High School has an average enrollment of 1,957. The school was twice named as one of the Outstanding Schools in America by the U.S. Department of Education, and is accredited by the Northwest Accrediting Association and the Montana office of Public Instruction.

Bozeman Senior High has two Diploma Programs. A General Diploma requiring 21 credits and a College Prep, requiring a total of 23 credits. Most students choose the College Prep diploma and approximately 78% go on to college. BHS students have gone on to participate in many successful careers as adults including playing in the NFL, Rhodes Scholars and news anchors for national television.

BHS has exemplary music and arts programs! Our marching band performed in the 1999 Tournament of Roses Parade. We also have a very well equiped art department as well as an active and dynamic theater program.

Bozeman Students Score High in there SAT tests:

• The average national SAT verbal score for girls was 505 – in Bozeman the average score was 582.
• The average national SAT verbal score for boys was 508 – in Bozeman the average score was 549.
• Bozeman Girls and boys had the average of 565 in verbal SAT scores over the Montana average of 540.
• Average national SAT math score for girls was 504 – in Bozeman the average was 570.
• Average national SAT math score for boys was 520 – in Bozeman the average 569.
• Bozeman Girls and boys had the average of 569 in verbal SAT scores over the Montana average of 540.

Source: Bozeman Public Schools District Profile 2005-2006

Quotes from kids and parent’s

(July 2006) As a current student at bozeman high, I have enjoyed the experience and have found areas to work in that almost every student finds. This isn’t just for the academic or athletic, as there are so many classes and activities that anyone can find something. These classes range from computers to art to music to sports to language. It is a large school, yes, but it is being improved. The teachers are second to none, and even though one person talks about low rates of SAT and higher learning, we are always encouraged to do more and go on in life. Our counselors are awesome and are always there for us. The entire community is extremely supportive of the school. Overall it is a wonderful place that almost all students enjoy.

(March 2006) School has very high acheivement scores compared to CA schools. The difference is that MT schools work hard to include all students. It is not a ‘turn out only the best and the h—- with the rest’ type of school. The teachers are excellent as is the adminisration. Overall, I would rank this school very high in all areas.

(January 2006) These are some of the single best public schools you will ever find. Students rank quite high on national and state tests and the courses are quite diverse. We have some of the most remarkable teachers. These people are good at what they do and do it because they enjoy it (they have to for the low amount they are paid). The student counselors are very impressive. I’ve never seen better. Very good schools, very nice community.

Source: GreatSchools.com

Bozeman School District Home Page

Local Private Schools

Bozeman Christian – K-12 1935 Nelson Road Bozeman, MT 406-586-8061	Heritage Christian – K-8 4310 Durston Rd. Bozeman, MT 406-587-9311	Petra Academy – 4-12 100 Discovery Dr. Bozeman, MT 406-582-8165	Great Beginnings Montessori 5860 Springhill Lane Bozeman, MT 59715 406-587-0132 (fax, 406-586-5794) E-mail: greatbegin@montanadsl.net
Learning Circle Montessori Elementary Schoool 3001 West Villard Street Bozeman, MT 59718 406-585-3778 (fax, 406-522-9477) E-mail: LCM@in-tch.com	Headwaters Academy – 6-12 418 W. Garfield St. Bozeman, MT 406-585-9997	Mount Ellis Academy – 9-12 3641 Bozeman Trail Rd Bozeman, MT 406-587-5178	Highland Montessori School 111 Highland Boulevard Bozeman, MT 59715 406-585-0171 E-mail: vbthompson@hotmail.com
Learning Circle Montessori School 516 West Cleveland Bozeman, MT 59715-9354 406-587-2672 (fax, 406-587-2672) E-mail:LCM@in-tch.com

 

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Our Hospital

Bozeman Deaconess Hospital offers a comprehensive list of services in the heart of the Gallatin Valley. This team of dedicated healthcare professionals provides health care of the highest quality with the greatest compassion. Below is a list of services provided.

• Cancer Center
• Cardiac Services
• Diabetes
• Diagnostic Imaging / Radiology
• Diet & Nutrition Services
• Emergency Services
• Gynecology
• Hospice
• Internal Medicine
• Interventional Radiology
• Laboratory Services
• Lifeline Personal Response System
• Palliative Medicine
• Perioperative Services
• Pharmacy Services
• Rehabilitation Services
• Respiratory Services
• Sleep/Wake Disorders
• Surgical Services
• Women’s Services
• Worksite Wellness
• Wound Clinic

Bozeman Deaconess Hospital Website

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Hotels in Bozeman

Many of our clients contact us before visiting Bozeman to request information on lodging in the area. We can suggest a few local places. Some choices are better than others, so feel free to contact us at your convenience to discuss which of these area hotels and motels will be most accessible and convenient for you and your family as you investigate the unique qualities of Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley.

The following is a list of local lodging places that Stuart and Sally created for the times when we are simply unable to host friends or family in our own homes. Whenever possible, we’ve included both toll-free phone numbers and easy links to each location’s website.

C’Mon Inn
www.CmonInn.com
Toll Free: 866-782-2717 or (406) 587-3555

Gallatin River Lodge
www.glodge.com
(406) 388-0148

Hilton Garden Inn
www.bozeman.stayhgi.com
(406) 582-9900

Voss Inn Bed & Breakfast
(406) 587-4995

Wingate Inn
(406) 582-4995

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Skiing

Bridger Bowl – http://www.bridgerbowl.com/

Bridger Bowl is flanked by two large bowls to the North and South.  Most of the ski area offers wide open terrain with a variety of landscapes including long slopes, glades, chutes, gullies in addition to other smaller bowls.

Bridger Bowl offers a very diverse ski experience with the following ratings: 25% beginner, 35% intermediate, 30% advanced and 10% extreme. Incredible expert only skiing is available on Bridger’s renowned “Ridge”. Skiers and snowboarders who wish to access this terrain must hike up 400 vertical feet above the Bridger lift. Ridge skiing requires expert ability, an avalanche transceiver (457 khz), shovel, partner and knowledge of the terrain. The ridge has steep chutes, rock cliffs, and snowfields, providing some of the most challenging skiing found within any ski area boundary.

 

Big Sky – http://www.bigskyresort.com/

Big Sky Resort in Montana offers you three mountains graced by over 400 inches of annual snowfall to delights skiers and snowboarders. The signature Lone Peak rises to a lofty 11,166 feet in elevation with European-style expert terrain accessed by the Lone Peak Tram. Andesite Mountain has some of the resort’s most notable intermediate trails, some comfortable south-facing beginner trails, several expert tree runs and a giant half-pipe and terrain park with rail slides. Flat Iron Mountain is on the eastern shoulder of Andesite and offers even more variety.

Big Sky has a total of 3,812 expansive acres, 4,350 jaw-dropping vertical feet and over 150 named trails. The reputation for short or non-existent lift lines makes this truly a place all your own.  Now with the option of the Line Peak Pass, the combined total with Moonlight is 5,512 acres.

Tickets are now available at the ERA Landmark Downtown office for a $5.00 discount. You can purchase your tickets now and use them any time during the 2007 Ski Season. Call 556-5013 for more information.

 

Moonlight Basin – http://www.moonlightbasin.com/home/

Moonlight Basin is a beautiful new addition to the skiing experience at Lone Mountain. Located on the Northern Slopes of Lone Peak, Moonlight Basin boasts 7 lifts, 1,900 skiable acres, with a 4,150 vertical drop.  Fast becoming a favorite for the locals and conveniently  located right next to Big Sky Ski Resort, Moonlight Basin is a short drive through the beautiful Gallatin Canyon away from Bozeman.

 

Bohart Ranch – http://www.bohartranchxcski.com/

Bohart Ranch Cross Country Ski Center is 16 miles northeast of Bozeman just up Bridger Canyon Road, with a 27km trail system located on private and Forest Service lands. The terrain is well suited to all ability levels and are professionally groomed for both classic and skate skiing.

There is a Biathalon Range that offers year-round training and  competition, as well as the Kiddy Kilometer Trail which is a signed interpretative trail popular with families and younger skiers. Bohart Ranch was the local location for the 2002 National Olympic Qualifier competition. 

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Let’s Connect!

Call us at: 406-556-5013

Fax: 406-586-4946

e-mail: contact@stuartandsally.com

Meet Stuart Tilt & Sally Uhlmann!

Meet Stuart Tilt…

Since graduating from Duke in 1978, Stuart’s career has focused on communications, sales and marketing, beginning with her work at New York City’s Wells Rich and Greene Advertising. This led to many years in advertising sales for several publishing companies including Cahners Publishing. As an account executive for the noted Ketchum Advertising Agency, Stuart’s clients included the AT&T Bell Companies.

Stuart’s career took a different path while raising her two children in Washington D.C. As the owner of her own interior decorating firm, she successfully facilitated both residential and commercial clients to find their own distinctive visual styles.

In 2001, Stuart moved to Bozeman and turned her skills in sales, marketing and interior design in a different direction – real estate. Her background has been instrumental in her success as real estate agent specializing in the high end market.

Always involved in her community, Stuart is currently a member of the board of directors for the Gallatin Valley Land Trust and has served on the Museum Ball Committee for two years and the Heart of the Valley Humane Society Board. She looks forward to continued community service in the area she now calls home. Stuart loves to entertain, fly fish, ski and move to a new “project” house every three years or so all with the help of her husband Whitney.

 

 

Stuart fishing on the Big Horn River

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Meet Sally Uhlmann…

While still a teenager, Sally began designing and creating clothing for performers and major recording artists in her home town of San Francisco. She attended Antioch College before moving to Ibiza, Spain. By the age of 24, Sally had built her own fashion business as the founder and president of Salaminder, a designer clothing company. When she sold Salaminder in 1990, the firm had over 1,200 active retail accounts including the prestigious Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue stores as well as Harrods’s in London.

During this time, newspapers from around the world did stories on this dynamic young entrepreneur who would roller skate from one end of her factory to the other.

Sally “retired” to raise and train 3-Day event horses on her ranch in Kansas. Her interest in this field led directly to her role as one of the three founders of Ariat International, now the leading equestrian boot company in the world. Utilizing her own sales and public relations background as the CEO of a clothing design firm, Sally concentrated on setting up the marketing and product introduction for the Ariat line.

As one of Kansas City’s best-known home chefs, Sally’s passion for cooking established her credentials as a writer and editor; Sally was the food editor of Kansas City Magazine and the entertaining editor for Home Design Magazine for five years.

Sally’s wide range of interests has led her to travel all over the world. It was a conference for one of her international projects that first brought her to Bozeman in 2002 and she immediately fell in love with the region and permanently moved her family to Montana the following year.

Sally has served on many civic boards and as an enthusiastic Bozeman resident, she has chaired the Museum of the Rockies Wine Classic for 2006 and 2007. The 2006 Wine Classic was the most financially successful gala in the history of Montana.

Money Changes Everything…

By SCOTT McMILLION Chronicle Staff Writer

EDITOR’S NOTE: The economy in the Gallatin County area has boomed in recent years, in large part because wealthy people have built homes here. That trend has spread a lot of money around. This week the Chronicle takes an in-depth look at this new economy. Staff Writer Scott McMillion looks at business, philanthropy, agriculture, the environment and the people driving the new economy. Opinions differ as to whether the new wealth is a godsend or an affliction. Either way, the effects are both profound and critical to the region’s future.

ERIK PETERSEN/CHRONICLE Yellowstone Club owner Tim Blixseth stands in front of the 120,000-square-foot Warren Miller Lodge at the club. “That’s your basic $100 million lodge,” Blixseth said. Robert Redford and Tim Blixseth don’t have much in common, aside from their big impact on Montana’s landscape.

One is a Hollywood actor, movie producer and liberal environmental activist. The other is a jet-setting billionaire who wheels and deals in luxury real estate.

But they both changed Montana. Between them, they’ve helped shoulder the state into a new economy, one increasingly based on real estate, construction and recreation. It’s what economists call an “amenity” economy, one that relies on scenic views, pleasing lifestyles and portable money.

Redford, with his beautifully produced and photographed 1992 movie “A River Runs Through It,” made a movie star of both Brad Pitt and Montana’s scenery. The film generated tons of glowing publicity about the state, ignited a new craze for fly fishing and started a population influx and demographic shift that the Montana Department of Commerce has dubbed “A River Runs Through It Syndrome.”

 

Click Here to Read More…

Montana, Gallatin Valley Economic Growth – The Growing Valley

THE GROWING VALLEY 

IN THE GALLATIN VALLEY, ECONOMIC GROWTH WAS ONCE AGAIN THE STORY OF THE YEAR; CONSTRUCTION BOOM IN 2007 MAKES AREA ONE OF THE STATE’S HOTTEST SPOTS

By GAIL SCHONTZLER

Chronicle Staff Writer
     Growth was again Gallatin County’s biggest economic story of the year, making this area one of the brightest spots in a year of general prosperity for Montana.
     Construction – the engine that put the local economy into overdrive for the past few years – had definitely downshifted in 2006 from the record-setting years of 2004 and 2005. In Bozeman, construction revved up again in 2007, making it the third-busiest year in history for builders. But construction could be slowing as we head into 2008.
     ”All in all it was a good year,” said Shawn Cote, government affairs director for the Southwest Montana Building Industry Association.
     ”If you look at the building permit numbers by themselves, you’d say 2007 was a fantastic year,” Cote said. But for some builders the market started to soften in the fall, he aid.
     ”The amount of inventory is indicative there could be a correction in 2008,” Cote said. “We’ve never had an inventory glut like we have now.”
     Superheated housing prices also cooled some in 2007. Instead of houses jumping in value by 10 or 15 percent annually as they had the past few years, the median price for a single-family home sold in Bozeman actually slipped 3 percent in 2007. The median price went up 1 percent in Belgrade and dropped 13 percent in Big Sky.
     Some saw 2007 as the first time in 20 years that it’s been more of a buyer’s market than a seller’s market.
     ”We’ve seen a real steady, stable market in Bozeman,” said Tricia Bailey, 2007 president of the Gallatin Association of Realtors and broker-owner of 45th Parallel Realty. “We have seen the real crazy appreciation (of the past) stabilize, because the amount of inventory has slightly increased over demand. But you’re really seeing a balance. You’re not seeing prices tumble… . There’s still steady demand and amble supple.”
     Bozeman’s status as a regional retail center grew in 2007 with the opening of several multi-million-dollar stores.
     ”I bet we’re going to do 600,000 square feet in new commercial” space in 2007, said Andy Epple, Bozeman city planning director. Epple said that’s equivalent to adding two new Gallatin Valley Malls in one year.
     Growth brought with it a string of related problems – a high cost of living, a labor shortage, a shortage of affordable housing, closure of trailer parks and workers complaining that their wages aren’t keeping up with high housing prices.
     Still, local voters said yes to several costly projects needed to keep up with growth – approving millions of dollars in bonds for new schools in Bozeman and Big Sky, and higher taxes to pay for police and fire services in Bozeman.
     Bozeman was again blessed in 2007 with a well-diversified economy. Montana State University and Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, the area’s two biggest employers (with 3,000 and 1,000 employees, respectively), served as steady anchors. Tourism, agriculture and the high-tech industry also contributed to the local economy.
     ”Our economy remains a real bright spot in Montana,” said Bob Hietala, chief executive officer of the nonprofit Prospera Business Network. “We continue to have about the highest growth of any Montana county.”

THE TOP ECONOMIC NEWS
STORIES FOR 2007 ARE:
Even though numbers are available only through November, the year 2007 is already the third-biggest in Bozeman history for the construction of new homes (733 permits issued for houses, condos, apartments and townhouse dwellings). It also was the third-biggest year in Bozeman history for the total number of building permits issued, 855 permits for everything from new businesses to home remodels.
     And 2007 was the No. 1 year ever for the estimated value of construction – $231 million, though that record partly reflects rapid inflation in construction costs.
     Putting 2007 into perspective, Epple said when he first moved to the sleepy university town of Bozeman to be a city planner 20 years ago, the city issued a grand total of 47 permits for new homes. This year the number was 16 times greater. If some people accuse him of having a “no growth” policy, Epple joked, it’s been quite a failure.
     For Gallatin County in 2007, the number of septic permits issued to homes and businesses continued a steady decline (from 656 in 2004 to 445 this year). Tim Roark, county environmental health director, said part of the decline is due to a steady increase in public sewer systems, like that at Big Sky. Still, Roark said, 10 or 15 years ago, the county was issuing only 200 to 300 permits a year.
     Shawn Cote, government affairs director for the Southwest Montana Building Industry Association, said in the fall of 2007, things started to tighten up for builders.
     ”I’ve talked to some builders who are as busy as they’ve ever been, and some are slowing down,” Cote said.
“I think there’s less work, particularly in Big Sky.”
     Where in recent years builders would put help-wanted ads in the paper and no one would answer, Cote said, now there are 15 to 20 people who call looking for work.
     ”The consensus is the first half of 2008 will be pretty soft,” Cote said. “I think there’s a general nervousness.”

2. Retail rocked in 2007, creating hundreds of jobs.
     On North 19th Avenue, Bozeman saw the opening of the new $11.8 million Lowe’s Home Improvement store, the $3.9 million Sportsman’s Warehouse, the $1.3 million World Market and other new stores. The $5 million Rosauer’s Supermarket opened on Huffine Lane in the new Bozeman Gateway development.

1. Construction remained strong in 2007, according to Bozeman city building permits.

3. Housing prices – For the first time in several years, home prices in Bozeman actually slipped slightly, instead of making spectacular gains.
     Montana appeared to escape the worst of the subprime loan meltdown that has home prices falling in much of the nation. Realtors and builders attributed the softening of prices more to local supply getting a bit ahead of demand.
     The changing market has meant good news for homebuyers. Buyers have more places to choose from, and a little better chance to negotiate on price.
     ”You’re no longer competing with five offers on every single home,” said Tricia Bailey, 2007 president of the Gallatin Association of Realtors. “You’re still seeing Bozeman homes selling for 97 percent of the asking price. In 2005, a really crazy, crazy year, we were seeing 100 to 101 percent of the asking price.
     ”You can pick and choose the house you’re interested in without it disappearing overnight.”
     While the changing market has been good for buyers, it’s been bad for speculators. In 2007, investors couldn’t use real estate as short-term way to make big profits, Bailey said.

4. Gallatin County banks posted a record of $1.635 billion in deposits as of June 30, 2007.
     It shows just how much the county has changed, as bank deposits have increased by nearly $1 billion in seven years. The 2007 total was also $80 million more than the year before.
     Only Yellowstone County, with $2.3 billion in deposits, had more money in the bank than Gallatin County, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
     Other counties with fast-growing populations, like Flathead and Missoula counties, also have seen large increases in deposits, but none has grown as quickly as Gallatin County.
     ”The money that comes into our area banks can be turned around and lended out to local businesses and construction projects,” First Security Bank President Ron Farmer said in October.

5. Paying for growth was hotly debated in 2007.
     After Gallatin County commissioners heard from dozens of unhappy real-estate brokers, builders and business owners, they approved in November an increase in road impact fees for new homes but not businesses.
     A Florida consultant recommended that Bozeman triple its impact fees on new developments to pay for streets, but commissioners voted in December to increase the fees on a single-family home by $858 to $3,238.
     Monforton School made a pitch to charge impact fees for schools, to ease the tax burden on property owners and pay for school expansion to provide room for children from all the new subdivisions coming to its area.
     Bozeman voters passed special mill levies to pay for expanding police and fire services, and a $17 million bond issue to build a seventh elementary school.

6. Big Sky flexed its economic (and political) muscles in 2007.
     In January, the state Department of Commerce reported that the booming resort had a huge economic impact on the state – producing 7,600 jobs and $478 million in spending – bigger than Montana State University’s $385 million annual spending. Local residents sought the report to demonstrate the area’s economic clout and to help persuade the 2007 Legislature to let Big Sky have its own high school.
     Big Sky may have only 2,000 year-round residents, but they’re intent on making it a real community. The Big Sky Chamber of Commerce formed a Community and Infrastructure Solution group, which recommended that Big Sky consider incorporating as a town.

7. Downsides of growth made news in 2007.
     The cost of living in Bozeman rose again, to 7 percent above the national average, the Prospera Business Network reported. Housing costs were the main reason, running 22 percent above the national average.
     The high cost of living made it harder to recruit employees, and harder for employers to fill vacancies. Montana State University had to raise wages for custodians, and fast-food places in Bozeman advertised they were paying up to $13 an hour.
     Gallatin County’s unemployment rate was 2.7 percent in November, lower than state’s 3.3 percent.

8. Downtown Bozeman’s down time seemed never ending.
     Main Street was closed for six months while crews resurfaced the street, replaced water pipes, improved crosswalks with bricklike surfaces and installed new traffic lights with better pedestrian crossing signals.
     Businesses were hurt, but in November downtown celebrated with a grand “reopening.” Downtown’s future should get a boost from the long-planned, $9.2 million parking garage, which finally began construction.

9. High tech remained strong.
     Montana State University reported $102 million in research spending for the year ended in June, the first time the total had slipped from the year-before total of $103 million, but still a significant contributor to the local economy.
     The state awarded a $200,000 job training grant to CDI-Aerospace to start up its Bozeman engineering design center for Sikorsky Aircraft, expected to hire and train more than 40 employees.

Gallatin Valley growth in 2007 remained strong in both residential and commercial construction. New retail space near
North 19th Avenue and Oak Street is being added adjacent to recently completed stores.

DEIRDRE EITEL/CHRONICLE

Bozeman & Missoula, Montana Named “Best Fishing Towns in America”

Field & Stream Magazine has named Bozeman & Missoula, Montana two of their “Best Fishing Towns in America“.

Others on the list:

1. Glenwood Spring, Colo. The Hub of Colorado Fishing
2. Mountain Home, Ark. The Big-Fish, Easy-Living Town
3. Traverse City, Mich. A Freshwater Wonderland
4. Bozeman, Mont. Montana’s Fly Capital
5. Minocqua, Wis. The Town Where Everybody Fishes
6. Apalachicola, Fla. The Way Florida Used to Be
7. Nantucket, Mass. The Original Fishing Town
8. Bend, Ore. The In-Place for the Outdoors Crowd
9. Guntersville, Ala. The Bass Fishing Mecca
10. Morehead City, N.C. A Perfect Blend of Fresh and Salt
11. Missoula, Mont. The Town that Popularized Flyfishing
12. Ely, Minn. The Gateway to the Boundary Waters
13. Page, Ariz. A High-Desert Angling Community
14. Driggs, Idaho The Flyfishing Hot Spot
15. Jasper, Texas The Texas Bass Hub 
16. Tahlequah, Okla. The Multi-Species Southern Municipality
17. Beaufort, S.C. A Saltwater Paradise
18. Eufaula, Ala. The Bass Lake Town
19. Redding, Calif. Cali’s Trout Capital
20. Montauk, N.Y. The Town Built on Striper Fishing

Congrats to Bozeman & Missoula for their Fly Fishing Greatness!

And as always: Thanks to Field & Stream Magazine!

Falling Market? Injured Economy?

You can never say enough good things about Bozeman.

I know consumers can’t help but listening to the never-ending media hype about the falling market and injured economy. But we’re here to tell you that is NOT the case here in Bozeman. We are one of the luckiest cities in the country, we continue to boom, bang and awe not only our annual visitors but our locals as well. Bozeman is one of the best places to live, retire, go to school, start a family and thrive. People come to Bozeman for ONE reason, because they WANT TO! That makes my job, and everyone elses job, so much nicer!

We love Bozeman, Montana and you should too! I’ve been collecting articles and publications on Bozeman and what a great city it has always been and will continue to be. Below are a few more articles that you REALLY should read.

• The Aging West – Forget Retiring to Florida, Arizona – More Boomers are Heading to the Rockies!
• All Alone in ‘the last best place’ – Even cowboys like soft pillows!

When you finally decide to come up and visit, don’t forget to give us a call and we can give you tons of information on the best places to stay, eat and have a blast! There is no end to the amount of fun and relaxation you can find in our great city. We have an amazing hiking system, unbelievable fly-fishing, great skiing & snowboarding, don’t forget snow-mobiling, Yellowstone National Park is only 88 miles from Bozeman, the hunting is fantastic and the people are warm and welcoming.

You’ll love it here!

Second Home Paradise

Published in the Bozeman Chronicle, August, 2007.

Most people who follow the real estate market are well aware that housing sales in 2006 slowed down nationally after a phenomenal pace for five years. And while it holds true that the second home market as a whole witnessed a decline, the bright spot that emerged was a record-breaking year for the purchase of vacation homes.

The National Association of Realtors recently published the results of the 2006 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey. Results show that the second home market slipped from 40% of residential sales in 2005 to 36% in 2006. To break that figure down further, investment home sales dropped by over 28%, yet vacation home sales rose 4.7% to a record 1.07 million. Additionally, vacation homes accounted for 14% of last year’s total residential purchases, which was up from 12% in 2005.

Real estate analysts were not particularly surprised by these numbers due to the fact that many of those involved in speculative real estate left the market in 2006. Therefore, investment sales dropped at a faster pace than the general residential market. Those buyers in the vacation home market are in a strong demographic group with lifestyle being the primary catalyst of their purchasing decisions.

So who are the vacation home buyers? The survey’s findings once again show that the typical vacation home owner is of the baby boomer generation. However, this year the median age decreased to 44 years old (from 52 years in 2005) with a median household income of $102,200. The properties purchased were a median of 215 miles from the homeowner’s primary residence, showing that accessibility is a key factor. David Lereah, NAR’s former chief economist, concludes that “The demographics favor vacation-home sales because large numbers of consumers are in the prime buying ages, and buyers want recreational property for personal use – investment is a secondary consideration.” This trend could certainly continue with 44.7 million baby boomers currently aged 40-49. These are the people who are now positioned to compel the market.

A quick look at where vacation homes are being purchased shows 25% in the Northeast, 13% in the Midwest , 38% in the South, and 25% in the West. Rural areas were the most popular at 29%, followed by 24% in resorts, 22% situated in the suburbs, and 10% were located in urban or city center areas. This correlates with vacation home owner’s desires to be near waterfronts (ocean, lake, and river), recreational or sporting activities such as skiing and golfing, resort areas, or mountain and other natural attractions. Additionally, there has been strong activity in towns with universities, especially those who are going the extra mile to cater to the active yet retired or semi-retired demographic.

The factor that sets apart vacation home buyers from the rest of the market is primarily the motivation for purchasing the home. An overwhelming 79% plan to use the residence for vacations or family retreats. Additional reasons, in order of response rate, included diversification of investments, use as a primary residence in the future, tax benefits, use by family member or friend, because they had extra money to spend, or to rent to others.

Although the investment home market showed significant declines, it still comprised 1.65 million sales in 2006. A brief synopsis of the typical buyer is a median age of 39 years old, earning an income of $90,250 and purchasing a home a median of 22 miles from their primary residence. Explanation for their purchase, in order of response rate, was seeking rental income, diversification of investments, tax benefits, use for vacations or family retreat, having extra money to spend, use by family member or friend, and use as a primary residence in the future. The majority of investment properties are located in the suburbs with most activity occurring in the Southern part of the United States .

It bears repeating that Bozeman , Big Sky, Livingston and Paradise Valley are ideally situated to take full advantage of this long-term trend. Our proximity to Yellowstone National Park , world-class fishing, multiple ski resorts, championship golf courses and Montana State University spell the perfect combination for a strong vacation home market for years to come.

Robyn Erlenbush is owner of ERA Landmark Real Estate (with offices in Bozeman, Big Sky, Livingston and Clyde Park) and Intermountain Property Management. She can be reached at robyn@eralandmark.com. All thanks to Robyn for this article!