Bozeman: I Zillow Priced Every House I’ve Lived in, and Laughed

Prices are nuts. Availability is low. Zillow ain't an exact science but for a ballpark value on every single house I've lived in around here, I thought it would be interesting. Turns out, it's terrifying.

Please keep in mind that I have not personally owned all of these homes. Some belonged to my parents, some I rented, and a few were actually mine. Most importantly: The point is that I couldn't possibly afford to buy ANY of these houses now. 

Let's take a look at a sampling of my various haunts. (I realized after starting this that I've lived in a LOT of different places around this town. Listing them all would take days.)

HOUSE #1 ZILLOW ESTIMATE: $937K - So, yeah. I assure you this house wasn't almost a million bucks in the early 90s when my folks bought it. We've talked about this property before, as it used to be the ONLY house above the grey water tower, south of town.

HOUSE #2 ZILLOW ESTIMATE: $686K - Another sweet house that used to be owned by a Wolfe but I assure you...it wasn't even in this price ballpark back in the day, even though it was a lovely location on Valley View golf course. Several houses on this same block are priced at over a million bucks. Whoa.

HOUSE #3 ZILLOW ESTIMATE: $691K - Say what? And this joint is surrounded by much larger, way more expensive homes...where THE WIND NEVER STOPS BLOWING. EVER. Not that it matters, but I don't think the square footage listed here is right because I remember this house being pretty big, with a full basement. Anyway, whoever owns it now - you're welcome for all those trees in the backyard. I planted every single one of them.

HOUSE #4 ZILLOW ESTIMATE: $315K - This tiny house is now cute as hell but it used to be a dumpy little box. I loved living in this itty bitty thing. It was the smallest in the group of military style homes on South Church. Around 500 square feet, maybe? Just 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom but the garage was attached and it was awesome. This one I rented surrounding Y2K for $450 a month. Those were the days.

HOUSE #5 ZILLOW ESTIMATE: ??? - I have no idea how this cute, stand-alone house is valued, because it's right next door to the brand new development on North Willson that took out the trailer park. The trailer park, the motel-style small apartments and this one house were all owned by the same person back in the day. Man, I loved that front porch. A small 2 bedroom, 1 bath house with a porch in downtown Bozeman? It can't be cheap.