Sell Your Commercial Property In Montana

The Montana rental market at a glance

Montana had 141,459 renter households in the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey, or 30.8% of 458,859 occupied homes. Owners hold the other 69.2%. Apartment-style stock is modest: 51,098 Montana housing units, 9.7% of the total, sit in buildings of five or more units, per ACS table B25024.

Montana rental vacancy stood at 5.3% in the 2020-2024 DP04 housing profile. Statewide median household income was $72,509, so the $1,081 median gross rent equals about 17.9% of a typical Montana household's gross income. Renters themselves feel more strain: 44.8% of Montana renter households paid 30% or more of income on rent, per ACS table B25070.

Five-year trends in Montana

Montana median gross rent rose 33.5% between the 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 ACS periods, from $810 to $1,081 a month. Median household income grew 31.9% over the same span, from $54,970 to $72,509. Rents outran incomes by 1.6 percentage points statewide.

Montana added 5,059 renter households between the two periods, a 3.7% gain. Units in five-plus buildings rose 11.9%, adding 5,429 units statewide. Montana's larger-building stock is growing faster than its renter base.

Growth ran hotter in Gallatin County, where median gross rent climbed 57.7% and renter households grew 17.4% over the same five years, both well above the Montana-wide pace.

Montana county comparison

Gallatin County is the Montana county hub profiled here. Its $1,694 median gross rent and 6.2% rental vacancy, both per the 2020-2024 ACS, sit above Montana's statewide $1,081 rent and 5.3% vacancy.

Gallatin County's 38.9% renter share and 14.5% share of units in five-plus buildings both exceed the Montana-wide figures of 30.8% and 9.7%, reflecting Bozeman's university- and tech-driven rental demand.

Montana landlord, tax and transfer rules

Montana law bars local rent control and added landlord licensing. Section 7-1-111(26) of the Montana Code Annotated prohibits any Montana city or county with self-government powers from regulating rents on private residential or commercial property.

Montana landlords may terminate a lease for nonpayment after 3 days' written notice and for other lease violations after 14 days, under MCA 70-24-422. Security deposits carry no statutory cap; refunds are due within 30 days of move-out, or 10 days if no damage or unpaid rent is claimed, per MCA 70-25-202.

Montana's Department of Revenue appraises property at market value and reappraises class four real property, including apartment buildings, every two years under MCA 15-7-111. Long-term rental apartments carry a 1.10% tax rate for 2026, while commercial buildings are taxed at 1.50% up to $2,274,000 in value and 1.90% above it.

Montana charges no real estate transfer tax; Article VIII, Section 17 of the Montana Constitution bars one. A Realty Transfer Certificate must still reach the county clerk and recorder before a deed is recorded, under MCA 15-7-305.

What this means if you sell in Montana

Owners who sell commercial property in Montana are priced on rent rolls, vacancy and the next reappraisal. A Gallatin County building renting near $1,694 a month reads differently to a buyer than one at Montana's $1,081 statewide median.

Taxes deserve a close look. Because Montana taxes long-term rental apartments at 1.10% and reappraises class four property every two years under MCA 15-7-111, we model the next cycle, not just last year's bill. With no transfer tax under Article VIII, Section 17, no state levy comes off the sale price.

We review Montana buildings of five or more units in Gallatin County and across the rest of Montana. Send the rent roll and the latest Montana tax statement, and we will set the property against these figures.