The sales price for townhomes in Gallatin County also grew between July and August, from a median of $320,000 in July to $379,438. The median sales price of condominiums in August was $344,500, dropping by $1,500 from the previous month.

Homes, condos and townhomes were less expensive in Belgrade than in Bozeman, though still more expensive overall than this time last year, according to the Big Sky Country Multiple Listing Service market update. The median sales price for a single-family home in Belgrade in August was $355,225, compared to $333,900 in August 2019.

Belgrade condominiums and townhomes, which the market update counts as one, had a median sales price of $284,900 in August, up 7% from the $266,200 median in August 2019. 

The median sales price for a single-family home in the greater Big Sky area remained well over $1 million in August, growing 19.6% compared to August 2019 for a median sales price of $1.45 million. The price of condos and townhomes in the area grew as well, though not as drastically, going from a $550,000 median sales price in August 2019 to a $570,000 median sales price last month. 

While the increase in prices is objectively good for residents and landlords who already own homes, the rapidly growing housing market has long been a problem for middle- and lower-income residents and for employers in Bozeman and the surrounding area, according to the 2019 Community Housing Needs Assessment.

According to that assessment, 55% of households in Bozeman are cost-burdened, meaning the household pays over 30% of its income to rent or mortgage. That can sometimes mean those households don’t have money for other things, like food, transportation and health care. It also means residents who rent can have a hard time saving for a down payment on a home of their own, according to the assessment.