Originally posted by @Alan Brown:
Wow! This is a great thread! Welcome to BP Russ... I look forward to meeting all y'all!
Bozeman does seem a bit inflated, and I heard recently that they're planning for 40,000 new homes in the next ten years!! it will be called Bozegrade....or Belman. Most people seem pretty bullish on the RE market in BZN, but I wonder how much of that is optimism... they say, that because there is no large single business carrying the whole economy, it means that people are bringing their work with them, which in turn, means that a bubble shouldn't pop!!?? I was a Realtor in Boulder, CO for many years, and that town was pretty much bubble proof because they ringed the whole town with public open space, so no further expansion was possible in the town. Which meant that prices just constantly go up. They may flatten a bit at times, but no drops! Bozeman could keep building forever in the wide open spaces, which does mean that if the economy falters either nationally or especially locally, there could be a lot of Supply without enough demand... which could leave some boats on dry land!
So I've been thinking about investing in Butte if it seems that the economy is truly coming back, albeit slowly. Slow is fine, if the cash flow is great, which I imagine it should be in that demographic... A friend has been living there for the last year and I was able to hang with him quite a bit. I love the history and just the great old feeling of the town. But my friend felt that the economy was slowly going down... I don't know... What do you think, Russ?
Also thinking about Billings and some of the towns around it... not too far to drive to Butte or Billings from Bozeman, and the right price to rent ratios could be great, and Flips in Billings could be good and strong...? What do you guys think? Joshua? how's Billings economy doing? is it still growing, and is the appreciation strong?
This is a great thread, Alan! I know so little about the Bozeman market. It's great to hear from MT BP members!
I did a "lucky" flip years ago in Helena that worked out great. I really didn't know anything about real estate investing then. My second flip was not so good so I quit.
Then... I stumbled on on BP and realized that real estate investing is not at all what I thought it was. I started by looking for deals in Helena since that is my backyard. I'm in Butte a lot too and it scared me at first because I didn't understand the market there but since I've started looking in Butte, it seems like the economy is relatively strong there and there are some great deals. I almost put an offer in on 2 properties in Butte about 2 - 3 weeks ago but I chickened out because I am an inexperienced newbie and I just don't have a team to work with yet. So...I am highly motivated to meet others in MT and I don't mind traveling to do so!
