Big Sky Community Housing Trust

We provide affordable and stable homes for residents living in Big Sky, Montana.

OUR VISION

Current Housing Opportunities

Big Sky Community Housing Trust takes a multi-pronged approach to creating homes for Big Sky’s residents.

RiverView Apartments

Almost four years after announcing its collaboration with Lone Mountain Land Company, BSCHT welcomed the first residents home to its portion of RiverView Apartments on September 10. Learn more about available rental opportunities at RiverView.

View of Big Sky Community

Rent Local

Rent Local serves as a bridge between local workers and homeowners seeking long-term tenants. By facilitating connections, the program helps locals find homes and owners generate consistent income while contributing to the economic health of our community.

Homeownership

Please join the homeownership waitlist if you work full-time in Big Sky and wish to purchase a home. BSCHT will use this waitlist to resell MeadowView Condos, provide new ownership opportunities through Good Deeds, and sell future developments like Cold Smoke.

Good Deeds Program

Reclaiming existing homes for locals

Good Deeds assists local buyers by paying up to 20% of a property’s appraised value in exchange for a permanent deed restriction. The restriction requires one occupant to work full-time in Big Sky and strictly bans short-term rentals. The funds provided by Good Deeds are not loans, and the restrictions transfer with ownership in perpetuity.

Why do Big Sky locals need homes?

We believe that everyone deserves a safe, stable place to call home. Unfortunately, many community members struggle to meet this basic need due to high demand and soaring real estate prices.

Since at least 2020, Big Sky has maintained a 0% long-term rental vacancy rate, impacting residents across all income levels, like Montana teachers struggling with the lowest starting salaries in the country.

Simultaneously, the cost of purchasing a median-priced condo in Big Sky has hovered at $1 million for several years; even doctors need a subsidy to buy basic housing.

%

Increase of median price for single-family homes
From $960,000 in 2019 to $2,000,000 in 2023

%

Down payment increase on a single-family home
From $192,000 in 2019 to $400,000 in 2024

%

Increase of median sales price for condos
From $429,225​ in 2019 to $965,000 in 2024

How We Create Affordable Homes

According to our 2023 Needs Assessment Update, Big Sky needs 1,354 homes by 2028. One key tactic involves recapturing existing inventory through programs like Rent Local and Good Deeds. This strategy provides immediate inventory.

However, even if Housing Trust programs converted most of Big Sky’s 1,000+ vacation rentals into community housing, the expected demand due to job growth will still outstrip the existing inventory. Because of this, we will continue to build additional affordable homes like MeadowView Condos, RiverView Apartments, and Cold Smoke.

In our four-year history as an independent nonprofit, we have reclaimed and constructed:

52

Condos Built for Residents

135

Rent Local Homes Funded

16

Homes in Good Deeds

562

Locals Housed by BSCHT

25

Apartments Built for Locals

Strategic Plan

Our 10-year targets include providing 1,000 homes reserved for Big Sky residents and securing $100,000,000 in community funding.

Flip through our 2023 Annual Report