Bozeman Build Report First Born

Howdy builders of the West!

Welcome to the Bozeman Build Report its so new that we haven’t even settled on a name yet however the BBR sounded about right, time to peel back the plastic. Thanks to my friend Travis for pushing me on behalf of Block Biome LLC to get drafting and a special thanks to my family and few friends for (willingly) joining the early adopter list.

Today we are inspecting (less your local OCD building inspector) diesel, Bozeman bargains, and other stuff. Most importantly this is our very first edition so please bear with us grrr.

Keep the saw sharp,

-Daniel

PS. I hope you weren’t skiing last Monday

Instead maybe you were doing this..

PSS. Very thankful to see you here

Diesel Clear the dirt out of my eyes but it looks like red states are blue and blue states are red is this correlation, causation, or collusion? Florida being an exception (also imagine how the Illinois ag producers feel) sponsored by Bluedef.

Big Swinging Supply

Natural Gas/Natty in MMBtu (one million British thermal units) $1.67 down 23% this month!

Feeder Cattle in USd/Lbs. Previous high was $268.25 in September of 2023 (looking like we might meet that price point again). Now is the time to listen to the Chick-fil-A commercials and save a few bucks and eat mo chicken poultry prices trading at $7.44 BRL/kgs. Learn more about beef prices here 

Price Deltas

Every week I’ll put together intriguing location price differences. Geography variance has always been fascinating to me so lets get started by Comparing Bozeman to Billings home prices as of Feb 1st 2024. Noticing a Bozeman listing price premium of 72% and sqft premium of 97%. Rocket Homes

Bozeman MT Median List Price of $749,971 @ $370/sqft

Billings MT Median List Price of $436,000 @ $188/sqft

USA Construction manufacturing boom:

Spending in the manufacturing sector has ballooned since the $52 billion CHIPS Act was signed into law in August 2022. Projects underway include everything from plants focused on chip fabrication and electric vehicle batteries to consumer goods and cars. Here are some notable facility construction contracts: Construction Dive

• Yates Construction’s win on a $3.5 billion Redwood Materials battery recycling plant in Berkeley County, South Carolina.

• Gray-Hourigan’s contract on a $1 billion Lego manufacturing site in Chesterfield County, Virginia. 

• EK Bailey Construction’s award on a $58 million Chromalox manufacturing facility in Ogden, Utah.

America, could we ever be rare earth metal independent?

Who knew that a mining site outside a town called Wheatland, WY would yield anything beyond good antelope hunting and wheat? The newly disclosed figure of 2.34 billion metric tons of rare earth minerals found southwest of Wheatland by American Rare Earths Inc read their report here . Read peoples reddit opinions here. Note that extraction has yet taken place, we might have to fight a few battles (hopefully not wars) before we break ground.

Local Trade Pulse - BZN Multi Family

Since Covid, there's been a multi-family boom around Bozeman. The sheer amount of multi family projects completed during the winter of 24 has been HUGE given this we are seeing a short term glut in move in ready apartment units. I’m not saying that rents are going down however these are good signs of stabilization although the continued migration could hit equilibrium again by end of summer. Also, i’m under the impression that this apartment glut is not unique to Bozeman. Through my sophisticated Craigslist research under the homes and apartments category, I found the following desperation to fill signals:

• “Special reduced rate for lease beginning by or before March 1”

• “$2,195 / 2br - ***SPECIAL***Free RENT** Modern 2 Bed 2 Bath Apartment + NEW LOW PRICE (Bozeman)”

• $1,795 / 2br - New LOWER Price 2 bedroom 1 bathroom- Pet Friendly + On site gym

Bozeman Operations: Trade Market Place

Ian Dodds runs a local concrete business and is diving headfirst into a trade workflow marketplace pilot project matching Bozeman work with qualified workers. Submit a job below and will try to fulfill it in house or pair you with a vetted contractor. Bozeman Operations

Craigslist Find of the Week

Think you found a good deal on real estate? Think again - chances are the description says “needs to be moved bring your own transportation”

Rough Neck History

The collared divide of occupations emerged in the 1930s, following more than a century of changes in the nature of work and clothing. ADP

Jobsite lesson of the Week

Read instructions and make sure you have the right tools aligned before applying

Jobsite song of the week - Its Been Awhile by Staind

**This is not financial or builder advise. I’m an idiot with access to the internet.

Catch ya next Monday,

Daniel - build/bilt