A new law in Bozeman aims to promote affordable housing in one of the state's pricier real estate markets by imposing a floating cap on home prices. Under a city ordinance effective Aug. 15, some homes in new subdivisions must be priced between $113,000 and $176,000, figures below current market prices. Only residents earning incomes no higher than 120 percent of the city's median income are eligible to buy the houses.
The city's goal is to render about 10 percent of the homes in new neighborhoods affordable by people of moderate income. To partly compensate developers and builders for profits forgone by selling houses at below-market rates, the law reduces the minimum amount of parkland that must be included in new subdivisions.
—Phil Davies
