(NewsNation) — Kevin Costner’s cowboy charm and hold on a fictional family ranch in Montana is bringing a real-life fascination with owning a spot in Big Sky Country.
”When Yellowstone has a new season, overnight, our website hits on average jump about 40 percent,” said real estate broker PollyAnna Snyder.
Her listing in Bozeman started accelerating after the 2018 premier of Yellowstone.
Homes that were once listed for $208,000 in 2017 are now going for $850,000.
“When COVID hit in 2020, I always said if you ever visited Montana, had a second home in Montana, could spell Montana or your children watched Hannah Montana, all of a sudden Montana really flourished,” Snyder said.
Bill Fiedler says he and his wife are paying more for their commercial lease, property taxes, and 50% more in wages.
”All of the people that are hired to move here, there just isn’t enough housing in the valley,” lighting store owner Bill Fiedler said.
”This is a big struggle for me, finding employees who can afford to live here. It’s a struggle. I have employees that have as many as three jobs trying to find a way to make it work,” Fiedler added.
“We just want to live our lives the way we’ve been living them for the last hundred years,” Fiedler said.
The production of Yellowstone itself is a gold rush of sorts, bringing in more than $70 million in additional spending across the state, according to a study sponsored by Paramount.
The landscape and prices are certainly changing. What’s not, however, is Montana’s world famous welcome mat.
”Kevin Costner is welcome anytime. I will cook for him. I love to make pies. We will welcome him with open arms. We’d love to have him come visit,” Snyder said.
