Big Sky Community Housing Trust
We provide affordable and stable homes for residents living and working in Big Sky, Montana.
Current Housing Opportunities
Big Sky Community Housing Trust takes a multi-pronged approach to creating homes for Big Sky’s residents.
RiverView Apartments
BSCHT welcomed the first residents home to its portion of RiverView Apartments on September 10, 2024. Another apartment building on the campus will begin renting in the spring of 2025. Learn more about available rental opportunities at RiverView.
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 ownership interest list if you work full-time in Big Sky and wish to purchase a deed-restricted home. BSCHT will use this list to notify buyers of the future Cold Smoke neighborhood, MeadowView, Yellowtail Residences, or any other affordable opportunity.
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.
Looking Ahead
Cold Smoke, a new neighborhood adjacent to RiverView Apartments, proposes adding 389 homes for rent and purchase by any full-time member of Big Sky’s workforce.
The Housing Trust anticipates purchasing this 99-acre parcel of land, plus the infrastructure, by bonding against Resort Tax. If approved in the May 6, 2025 election, the community can borrow against Resort Tax’s future revenue without increasing taxes.
How We Create Affordable Homes
Big Sky needs 1,354 homes by 2028.
One key strategy is to reclaim existing housing lost to the vacation rental market through programs like Rent Local and Good Deeds. This approach provides immediate inventory.
Another strategy involves partnerships to build new, permanently affordable homes, such as MeadowView Condos, RiverView Apartments, and the future Cold Smoke neighborhood.
In our four-year history as an independent nonprofit, we have successfully reclaimed and constructed:
52
MeadowView Homes Built & Sold
25
RiverView Apartments Built & Rented
17
Homes with Good Deeds Restrictions
136
Rent Local Homes Funded
526
Locals in Workforce Housed
Why do Big Sky locals need homes?
We believe that everyone deserves a safe, stable place to call home. Unfortunately, many of our community members struggle to meet this basic need.
Since at least 2020, Big Sky has maintained a 0% long-term rental vacancy rate. The lack of inventory impacts 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.
Strategic Plan
Our 10-year targets include providing 1,000 homes reserved for Big Sky residents and securing $100,000,000 in community funding.