Current State of the Butte, Montana Rental Market

[Mike S.]

Greetings to Everyone in or invested in Butte,

I'd be grateful for any insights on the current rental market there. I really like the town--grit and all--and have been looking at properties from a distance. When I watch Craigslist, rental property/property management website listings, etc. it seems that there is a tremendous surplus of properties and that places sit vacant for quite sometime. I place an emphasis on "see," as my observations are backed up not by data but antidotal observations.

So for those of you with a horse in the race or boots on the ground, do you have any insights on the current state of the rental market in Butte (especially with regards to single family homes)? Is there a surplus of rental properties at this point and an especially high vacancy rate?

And--as long as we're talking about Butte--do you have any advice or perspective you'd share with a person thinking about investing in Butte and the community?

Thanks in advance for your insights and assistance.

Mike