Sell Your Commercial Property In Billings, MT

Who rents in Billings

Billings had 119,434 residents in the 2020–2024 American Community Survey, which is 70.7% of Yellowstone County's 168,957. Renters occupy 17,935 of the city's 50,994 occupied homes, a 35.2% share that compares with 30.4% countywide and 30.8% across Montana. Because Billings holds 84.4% of Yellowstone County's 21,238 renter households, an owner looking to sell commercial property in Billings, MT is selling into most of that county's rental market.

Demand rests on a few large employers and a wide trade area. The Billings Chamber of Commerce calls the city a regional hub of commerce for an area of more than 125,000 square miles and describes its medical corridor as serving a four-state area. Billings Clinic reports more than 9,000 employees across its system, which operates alongside Logan Health, and lists clinics in Downtown, the Heights and West Billings. Intermountain Health is building a 14-floor, 243-bed replacement for St. Vincent Regional Hospital, due in 2029, with 600 to 700 workers on site at the construction peak. On the energy side, the Phillips 66 refinery lists about 392 employees and Par Montana about 320, plus 80 to 100 contractors a day.

Rents and what tenants can pay

Median gross rent in Billings was $1,138 over 2020–2024, just above Yellowstone County's $1,131 and Montana's $1,081. The city's median household income was $73,712, against $76,570 in the county and $72,509 statewide. Among renters, 48.9% (8,528 households) pay 30% or more of income on housing and 22.4% (3,906) pay half or more. Yellowstone County's figures are 46.8% and 21.0%, and the statewide figures are 44.8% and 20.8%, so Billings renters are slightly more stretched than either comparison group.

HUD's fair market rents for the Billings area, which covers Carbon and Yellowstone counties, were set for FY2027:

Source: HUD FY2027 FMR schedule. The two-bedroom figure of $1,432 sits above the $1,138 city median, but that median spans every unit size and building age, so the two are not a like-for-like comparison. Treat the schedule as a regional reference, not a Billings rent ceiling. With 22.4% of renters already paying half of income, a buyer will test how far rents can rise before turnover does.

The apartment stock

Per Census ACS data, 7,824 of Billings's 54,346 housing units, or 14.4%, sit in buildings of five or more units, against 11.2% in Yellowstone County and 9.7% in Montana. The split is 2,263 units in 5–9 unit buildings, 1,777 in 10–19, 1,182 in 20–49 and 2,602 in buildings of 50 or more. Another 5,507 units are in two-to-four unit buildings. Billings holds 94.3% of Yellowstone County's 8,301 units in 5+ unit buildings, while detached houses make up 62.5% of its stock, against 65.4% countywide.

The stock is middle-aged. The median year built is 1980, and 50.3% of units predate 1980, compared with 47.7% in the county and 48.9% statewide; 3,456 units (6.4%) date from 1939 or earlier. New supply is real: 8,506 units, or 15.7%, were built in 2010 or later, including 1,677 since 2020. Vacancy is low. The rental vacancy rate is 4.3%, and total vacancy is 3,352 units, or 6.2%, against 5.8% in the county and 13.2% in Montana. If you sell commercial real estate in Billings, MT, a buyer will still ask about roofs, boilers and electrical panels in 1970s buildings, but low vacancy leaves less room to discount for empty units.

Property taxes in Yellowstone County

Montana's Department of Revenue values taxable property at 100% of market value, and MCA 15-7-111 requires real property to be revalued every two years, with new, remodeled or reclassified property valued in between. The statute does not name a sale as a trigger. For tax year 2026, the Department of Revenue rate page lists a flat 1.10% on multifamily dwellings used as long-term rentals, and the rate comparison shows 1.90% for short-term rental units. The reduced long-term rental rate requires enrollment with the Department.

Taxable value is then multiplied by the mill levy. The Yellowstone County Treasurer shows 761.94 mills for Billings Levy District 2 on 2025 bills, made up of 244.39 city, 142.45 county, 272.6 school and 102.5 state mills. On a $2 million building taxed at 1.10%, taxable value is $22,000, and 761.94 mills yields about $16,763 a year. That pairs the 2026 rate with the 2025 levy, so treat it as a starting estimate. Bills are payable in two halves, due November 30 and May 31.

There is no transfer tax to subtract. Article VIII, Section 17 of the Montana Constitution bars the state and local governments from taxing the sale or transfer of real property. The parties instead complete a Realty Transfer Certificate, which the Clerk and Recorder must receive before a deed is accepted for recordation.

Landlord rules for Billings owners

Montana prohibits local rent control. MCA 7-1-111 bars a local government with self-government powers from controlling the amount of rent charged for private residential or commercial property, and from licensing landlords or regulating them beyond Title 70, chapters 24, 25 and 33.

State law sets the timelines. Under MCA 70-24-422, a landlord may terminate if rent stays unpaid 3 days after written notice; most other lease violations carry 14 days, and an unauthorized pet or occupant carries 3. A month-to-month tenancy ends on 30 days' written notice under MCA 70-24-441, and MCA 70-26-109 requires written notice at least 15 days before month-end to change lease terms. For deposits, MCA 70-25-201 limits deductions to damage, unpaid rent, utilities and actual cleaning, and MCA 70-25-202 requires an itemized list and refund within 30 days, or the deposit back within 10 days when nothing is owed.

What this means if you own a building in Billings

Sellers here own apartments in a city where 35.2% of homes are rented, rental vacancy is 4.3% and the median building dates to 1980. Buyers will price the 761.94-mill levy, whether the property is enrolled for the 1.10% long-term rental rate, and the next two-year reappraisal. Our cap rate calculator shows how those costs move value, and our guide to Billings landlord-tenant rules for apartment owners covers the state rules above in more detail. If you plan to sell commercial property in Billings, MT, send the address and unit count through our seller page, and we will tell you plainly whether it fits what we buy, listed or off-market. We look at buildings in the Heights, West End, Downtown Billings and Lockwood.