Montana Living: Big Sky Real Estate Expert Shares Four-Season Mountain Town Secrets

In this episode, the Ski Moms welcome Tallie Lancey, a Big Sky real estate expert with 18 years of experience representing buyers and sellers in Montana's premier ski destination. Tallie shares her journey from Ohio to Big Sky in 2005. She provides comprehensive insights into Big Sky's unique geography, explaining the three distinct areas: the Mountain (base area with ski-in/ski-out access), the Meadow (six miles away with walkable amenities and better value), and the Canyon (the scenic Gallatin River corridor). Tallie details lodging options from hotels to Airbnbs, private clubs and the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club. She offers practical travel tips including flying into Bozeman's charming airport, renting a car and stocking up on groceries before the drive. The conversation covers Big Sky Resort's impressive infrastructure including bubble lifts, double bubble magic carpets for families, a new gondola, and the largest contiguous ski area in the US. Tallie discusses real estate opportunities and emphasize

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Transcript

Nicole: Welcome back to the Ski Moms podcast. It's season five and we're hitting the slopes. We're sharing real unfiltered stories of motherhood on the snow. From conquering the bunny hill with toddlers to squeezing in your own powder days, this season celebrates every type of ski mom.

Thanks for joining us. We've got a great season lined up and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. The ski moms are thrilled to welcome Tally Lancy.

She is a Big sky real estate expert.

She has spent the past 18 years representing big sky buyers and sellers and playing in the outdoors. And she's going to tell us about the state of real estate in her mountain town and give us insider tips for planning our dream Big sky vacation.

So welcome. Tally.

Tallie: Hi. So happy to be here. I love what you guys are doing.

Nicole: Well, we are thrilled to tap into your insider knowledge.

So for the listeners, you won't hear Sarah's voice on this one. She just couldn't do it. And with the time change from the mountain town to the east coast, we had to get creative.

And we've had so many people wanting us to cover Big sky that we just had to jump at the chance.

So how did you end up in this amazing mountain town?

Tallie: Mostly by accident.

I was raised in Ohio, educated in Virginia in and was lucky enough to be awarded an internship right out of college in the west.

And I moved to Big sky sight unseen, souls unknown, mountains unclimbed in 2005 and had grown up skiing but really not didn't know how to ski in my adult body.

So I came to Big sky mostly just as a, you know, young college grad who wanted to experience the west. And I was very lucky to have stumbled into employee housing which was a very convenient and easy way to get started.

Here I got to live with some ski patrollers and the benefits at the time included free ski lessons. So I got to learn how to ski in this adult body and subsequently got my real estate license and then the market crashed.

I started in the business when no one wanted to buy.

Nicole: That is fascinating. You're touching on a lot of points. But first I have to say, did you ever ski Boston Mills? Brandywine?

Tallie: No, I grew up skiing. Oh gosh. What's. I should have thought of this perfect north outside of Cincinnati, which I'm pretty sure is a trash dump. I'm not sure.

Nicole: It could be. But it's also home to Nick Gepper, like five time Olympian. He grew up.

Tallie: Shout out to Nick.

Nicole: Shout out to Nick. Since You've been on the ground. Can you sort of describe what you've seen, how the growth has happened over those years?

Tallie: I think one of the most interesting things about Big sky is that we are only 52 years old,

53 years ago.

No roads,

no power lines,

no nothing.

So compared to marketplaces in our competitive set, we are quite young.

And you can feel that when you're here.

It, it seems like, gosh, this place is coming out of the ground right before my very eyes. And that's true. You know, Crested Butte has a much more established town.

We are building it right now.

So Chet Huntley started Big sky resort back in 1972 and three and unfortunately passed away before he was able to see the Skerria open.

But his legacy is still very much alive and well here. Through his family members,

he started Big Sky Resort. And our mountain is also different from everywhere else because it's privately owned.

So you can think of it as being shaped like a four sided pyramid.

And three sides of it are privately owned. The fourth is wilderness area. The first two were operated by Big Sky Resort. And then later in the 90s, Moonlight Basin had the.

The, the other side.

Well, during the early 2000s or the mid-2000s,

Moonlight,

Yellowstone Club, Spanish Peaks all went bankrupt.

And it wasn't, you know, through any fault of their own. That was just what was occurring across the nation.

And as a result of that, the private equity firm that acquired several of these organizations,

and as a result,

benefit to the skier,

Moonlight Basin and Big Sky Resort became one massive ski area.

One set of ski patrol,

ski school groomers, all of that. And boy, has it been a real boon to the skier to have access with one ticket to the largest contiguous ski area in the US And I.

Nicole: Remember one of my first press trips out to Big Sky. I love the statistic that the guy told me is you have more acres per skier than anywhere else because they just don't get that, that volume that maybe like a park city or something in Colorado gets.

So I love that it's not skiers per acre, it's acres per skier. And I was like, that's such a great statistic. I love that.

Tallie: Yeah. And you know what we've always said as skiers and as real estate professionals, that the greatest thing about Big sky is that it's hard to get here.

That has become less true.

There are more and more direct flights, but relative to a park city which does have comparable acreage, we barely have a million people in the entire state of Montana.

Nicole: How is that airport Doing the airport.

Tallie: Is the busiest in Montana, which might not sound like a lot, but we're very proud of that.

It is incredibly charming. You're right to remember a giant bronze grizzly bear.

There are Canadian geese suspended over the terminal.

It really does welcome you beautifully. There are fireplaces. It feels like a ski lodge. So it's a great way to start your trip here. And going down to the terminal and getting your luggage is like, wow.

It's sort of stepping back in time.

Nicole: And Sarah and I are huge haters of the Denver International Airport. We have talked about it many times.

The. It's so easy to get a rental car.

So easy to get a rental car at the Bozeman airport. It's. You could throw a, you know, a stone at the rentals. But I will say you do have to book them in advance because of the volume that they do there.

Tallie: Yes. Extremely busy and hot tip,

rent a car.

We don't have Uber in Big Sky.

We are just too remote for that business model to work.

So I advise all of my clients to rent a car. But, yeah, planning ahead is important.

Nicole: So we get in, we get our rental car. We got our bags, by the way, super short time from landing to bag retrieval because there's not that many gates.

So the crews there are very efficient at getting the bags off the plane and onto the baggage carousels.

So we get there and then what's the drive like between the Bozeman airport?

And let's say we're going to go, you know, we're going to stay up at the base area. So we're looking for something that's more like ski in, ski out, or, you know, very close to the.

The lifts.

Tallie: Yeah, it's. It's an hour drive along a mostly two lane road.

It's beautiful.

You should stop in Bozeman or in Belgrade where the airport is, and stock up on all your groceries.

We do have resort grocery prices up here.

You pay for the convenience. So stop at the liquor store, stop at Costco. You know, fill up on everything you need for the week.

Because if you get up here, you'll kind of wish you'd had stopped before.

Nicole: Okay, is Roxy's still there?

Tallie: Yeah, Roxy's is here. It's doing great. We have three little grocery stores.

They're all super charming and very convenient and, you know, so if you stock up on everything in Bozeman but forget something or need to supplement,

we can certainly accommodate that up here.

Nicole: So my girls are still. They still remember Roxy's because there was something like a $20 container of blueberries.

And they.

One of them was clever enough to say, like, Roxy's more like robsies. And my husband and I, like, fell over because we trained her to be such a little consumer and she was trying to price like each blueberry.

But it is, it was a very pretty grocery store. The produce was lovely and it did, you know, we had like one more meal we needed to shop for or we were out of milk or whatever.

And you've gotta have it. Look, and no, we're not driving back to Bozeman. I agree. They've got to elevate the prices to compete with,

you know, the people that are making more money in that little town.

So you're gonna pass by this little town with coffee shops, there's a movie theater,

there's some lodging there. What is that called versus the Big sky base area.

Tallie: Oh, my gosh, I love this question.

It's all Big Sky. We have three separate areas.

The mountain,

sort of self explanatory. The meadow,

not meadows, but meadow is the low lying area. And that's where all the commercial activity is. And then the canyon is where the Gallatin river flows.

That's what you drive through to get from Bozeman to Big Sky.

Nicole: Okay, thank you. I'm learning so much already, and I will say it's a very pretty drive. There was, the last time I was there, there was still like working cattle farms.

It's very rural as you are driving up and it's. You can kind of see the mountain in the distance. It's dramatic.

It just kind of like, as a skier, you get that, like, hype going pretty quickly.

Tallie: Yeah, you do. You're. You're totally right. You drive through agricultural land. There are, you know, big beautiful red barns and cows. And you drive past Ted Turner's bison ranch, which is really cool.

And as you are approaching Big sky, you're also approaching Yellowstone National Park.

And you can feel the sense of wilderness.

You know, there are elk and moose, and you'll probably see a bald eagle along the Gallatin river as you're approaching.

So even in the car, you can just feel that sense of wilderness and adventure. As you're approaching our little ski town.

Nicole: Can you kind of describe the different areas and what we could expect for lodging up there?

Tallie: Big sky is,

as it's described, quite big.

There's two public base areas and three private access points to the public ski area.

For the most part, the most plug and play option is to stay in the Big sky base area. There are A couple of hotels there,

most of which are operated by Boeing.

And that's, that's the easiest thing to do. You know, you have room service and valet.

You're right. You know, the ski access is right out your back door.

That is the most convenient option.

That's where all the restaurants are.

Ski rental is there.

Nicole: Yeah. And I will say like, that's also for families. I would say like a great call because that little area has more of like a walking village where they can explore and then they have a lot of apres things set up there.

There that is right in that little village.

Tallie: And there are, if, if the hotel option doesn't feel quite right, say you're traveling with your sibling and cousins and all of that. There are a lot of Airbnbs, you know, houses and condos that are as convenient.

You know, maybe they don't have a pool or room service, but you know, you compromise one way or the other. Being right there in the hub is where most people plan their first vacation.

I would say my customers who come back over and over and a lot of people who come to Big sky do they consider those trade offs. And sometimes it's a better value to stay in the Meadow, which is six miles away.

It's an easy 10 minute drive.

The highway is well maintained. It's not an intimidating drive. There's also free transportation between the mountain and the meadow that runs every half an hour.

And it's totally safe, you know, depending on your comfort level or age of your kids.

I have clients who just put their kids on the bus and say I'll meet you up there, you know, for lunch. It's less expensive to stay in the meadow,

but not quite as intuitive.

So I think on your first trip I totally encourage people to stay on the mountain.

Maybe on that second, third, fourth trip you'll stay in the meadow where you can, you know,

be closer to roxy's and the $20 blueberries and the movie theater and you know, a yoga place. Maybe you're going to go on the, you know, your off day or you want to go explore Yellowstone Park.

There are other places you can stay in Spanish Peaks Mountain Club or Moonlight Basin. These are our private clubs that are, that do have short term rentals.

The amenities are not available to the public except for the skiing. And your listeners are skiers.

So you can rent a house at Moonlight Basin, ski in and out and have a ball.

You just can't use the amenities there. But that's okay because they're, you know, the ski access is the best at moonlight because it's the highest in elevation.

The views are extraordinary.

The homes are out of this world.

The trade off is that you can't walk many places,

so it's not as convenient from a dining standpoint.

But you know, if you plan ahead and you like to have crock pot chili at home, as I read on your. Your bio, then that's a terrific option.

Nicole: Okay, so you talked a little bit about the clubs and I have toured both moonlight and Spanish Peaks. And I always come away thinking like, wow, this is a great place proposition.

Tell us why we want to consider if we're looking at real estate,

one of a club like one of these.

Tallie: They are, I would say, the. The most popular products and that's reflected in the pricing.

The reason that people want to join the clubs is for. Is for, I would say a couple of reasons. The, the quality of the product in the real estate product itself is quite high end secondarily.

The amenities.

So pool, concierge, pickleball.

And I think for a lot of people, what they find quite valuable is a sense of community.

When you're coming here on vacation, it's really nice to run into the same people and for your kids to develop relationships with other members kids. So at both clubs you have to join, pardon me, you have to buy real estate in order to join the clubs.

And that entry point is pretty high for people who can afford it. It's amazing and I highly recommend it.

The meadow outside of the clubs where I live is also really, really amazing and it's easy to make friends outside of the clubs. And we have a great golf course and a pool and community center and all of that.

So we really do have something for everyone.

Nicole: You mentioned it briefly, but there is a nearby neighbor called the Yellowstone Club. Not everyone listening to this podcast may have heard about it and they've probably heard of Yellowstone the the show.

Unrelated.

This is another private club, but it is not affiliated with Big sky. Is that correct?

Tallie: That is correct. Yellowstone Club is in Big Sky. It is adjacent to the Big sky ski area. They have their own private ski area and some homes there are ski and ski out to both Yellowstone Club and Big sky,

which is pretty amazing.

Nicole: But we're talking about like if you were saying Moonlight Basin and Spanish Peaks were expensive, is Yellowstone Club like 3x expensive of of those options at least?

Tallie: Yes. Single family homes there are, you know, the least expensive is going to be in the 20 million range.

Nicole: Okay, got it. And then there's probably more fees for everything else, you know, as being a part of that community.

Tallie: Very expensive and,

you know, has really put all of southwest Montana into a different economic bracket. People who can afford to buy anywhere many times buy at YC because it's an extraordinary experience.

Nicole: I kind of understand it. You know, I'm, I'm believed that there's a ski area for everybody. I, I love the $19 ski pass at Cochrane's as well in. In ver.

So, you know, as long as we can keep those small mom and pop mountains running, I have no beef with the folks at Yellowstone having their fun.

Tallie: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And you might bump into them, you know, at the local dive bar, which can be really fun.

Nicole: We. You kind of laid the land in. The skiing is absolutely spectacular. Big sky gets just tons of snow.

Tallie: It's true. Yeah. And we also have reliable snowmaking,

which helps with early season conditions.

You know, when I'm talking to real estate buyers who are shopping in several different markets,

every single time the skier buys in Big Sky.

People who are looking for,

you know, more convenience or,

you know, an airport that's closer by or better shopping,

we don't always hit the mark there, but skiers buy in Big sky every single time.

Nicole: Tally, that's really interesting you say that because I have a friend who,

she's always followed my advice and she said, you know, we'd love to ski in December. And they were looking at buying a home.

This was years ago. And I said, you know, I can't look into a crystal ball and say, you know, guaranteed December is going to be great anywhere. Just the weather patterns just don't fall as such.

But I said,

your best bet is Big Sky. Consistently,

they get the earlier snow again, they don't get those, you know, weather patterns where it warms up and you get like rainy days there. You know, I can't say guarantee it, but I completely agree with you.

The families that are die hard skiers,

it's been a really happy second home choice for them.

Tallie: Good.

Yeah. Our former general manager of Big Sky Resort, Taylor Middleton, a beloved character here, often cites a statistic about annual snowfall, that we always fall within one standard deviation of average.

And for people who are really into.

Nicole: Following snowfall, they've also invested a ton in the lift experience.

And I would say, you know, the, the family experience. They have a very good ski school.

They also have put in these bubble lifts, so on the colder days,

you can, you know, get up the mountain quickly and also in comfort. And I know they put in that new tram. I've not ridden it, but that looked like a huge undertaking.

Tallie: It is unbelievable.

And maybe this particular piece of infrastructure was installed since your last visit. Nicole. There are now bubbled magic carpets.

There's. There, there are, there are two that are right there in the Big sky base area. So if it's dumping snow and it's cold, cold, and your toddler is on the edge of a meltdown,

when you get into that bubble and it's blue, so you just like, your mood instantly improves and you know, your nervous system gets to reset. And then they also have a double bubble magic carpet where your child can ride independently on his or her own carpet and you can ride on the rubber carpet adjacent.

So you're not, you know, awkwardly straddling or breaking your back. You're, you know, it's like, okay, you can, you can go on your own magic carpet side by side and take a really cute selfie.

I mean it's, it's a really cool family forward infrastructure.

Nicole: Great way to keep those little kids out on the snow longer and learning more comfortably.

Double bubble is new though. But definitely leave it to Big sky to come up with. With.

Tallie: Yeah, not. Not only do we have double bubbles, we also have double blues,

which I think is sort of a, a like a silly Candyland reference.

They're. They're blues. It's sort of like a blue plus double blues.

Nicole: One of the things that I love about Big sky is that there is terrain for everyone and non skiers.

Tallie: You can take the tram as a scenic occupant.

You know, ride it all the way up in your sneakers,

have a look around. You can see the Tetons clear from the top of Lone Peak and then safely descend back in the tram.

And what is extra cool that will open this winter is our gondola. And it will be where ski school based out of. And then there will be a mid mountain station with restaurants and that will be, you know, that's all beginner terrain there at the base of the gondola.

Then it continues up to the bowl where the tram starts.

So you can go from the base area all the way to the top of the mountain. From a gondola to a tram as a skier or non skier in the summer and winter,

which is extraordinary and goes back to that main point about what differentiates us from so many other ski areas.

We own the mountain,

so we're able to put in that kind of infrastructure.

Nicole: And I did. I love that you were talking about the non skier experience. Or maybe people are at different levels so they can enjoy that tram and they can enjoy on mountain dining.

It's so special to, you know, get to have a lunch with a view or a dinner with a view. And I, we still have these amazing pictures of our girls out on the lounge chairs at Everett's under blankets.

You know, you would go up there and you have your, this beautiful dinner and you take the lift up and down and just things like that.

Your kids will remember them. They'll be, you know, lodged in their little brains of having these experiences.

Tallie: Absolutely. Which brings me to something that I think every family should do on their ski trip, and that is book an experience at the Enchanted Forest right outside of Everett's where you take a six man heated bubble lift all the way to the top.

Then there's this gorgeous log building where you can have a very fine dining experience.

Or you can skip that and get hot chocolate and go through the Enchanted Forest at the top of Andesite Mountain, there's Big Sky Resort has curated this very family friendly,

you know, apres ski experience where you could just go be mystified by trees in the snow. And it's a very, you know, non screens experience,

very sensory and it's, it's great for skiers and non skiers.

So everyone should do the Enchanted Forest.

Nicole: I want to go to the Enchanted Forest. And I also recommend doing some of those special things that are unique to Big Sky. You know, doing the snowcat to the yurt dinner,

doing booking a dog sledding adventure.

Worth every penny because they're so cool.

And you're meeting other people who love the outdoors as much as you do in these environments.

Tallie: Absolutely. We also have a beautiful refrigerated ski rink down in town,

sort of by Roxy's.

And we have curling and youth hockey, adult hockey, free skateboard.

It's all lit and it's outdoors. I mean, it's like you can look at the stars while you're skating and that's pretty magical as well.

Nicole: One other thing, I don't think you should leave Big sky without an experience at Lone Mountain Ranch is that it's a beautiful cross country terrain there. They do offer lessons. It's a great place to learn.

There's expert instruction there.

But the chuck wagon dinner at Lone Mountain Ranch is something,

you know, we still talk about. Like the cowboy was singing his, you know, old standards on his guitar and everything's cooked on a cast iron stove and you're these draft horses and you're cuddled up under blankets going through the woods with these horses that could do this ride in their Sleep.

And, you know, they're. They're massive, and they're built for this adventure. And then you arrive there and you're served, you know, things that are coming right out of the cast iron stove.

With all of these other families,

it's just pure winter magic.

Tallie: I'm so glad you brought it up. And the people who know Lone Mountain Ranch will be quick to correct me when I say that before 1972, there was nothing in Big sky because Lone Mountain Ranch was there.

It was the BBar K.

And when Chet Huntley first discovered Big sky, it was at the BBAR K.

So I'm oversimplifying when I say there was nothing here. Lone Mountain Ranch was here.

And that sleigh ride, dinner with Bruce Anfinson. He's the cowboy poet.

There's no power at this little cabin. And,

you know, it is as wholesome of an experience as you can find.

The, the, the atmosphere is incredible. And for little kids who are lucky enough to go, they also have little goats at the barn.

So when you're checking in and, you know, buying your bottle of wine to go up there, they have, you know, little bits of corn. You can go feed these goats,

who are quite full of corn. I will note.

Nicole: Well fed goats.

Tallie: Yes. And again, just. It's so stinking. Wholesome and memorable.

Nicole: Does it feel Western still? Does it feel other? Tell us, like, what is the vibe there?

Tallie: Yeah, so in the winter,

there is so much snow on the ground that we don't really get that, you know, the.

We're not riding horses and things. But there's definitely a Western flair for sure.

In the summer, much more, so to speak to the western culture of Southwest Montana.

One experience that is a must do is our local skijoring event.

This is when very brave, adventurous skier hops on their skis or snowboard behind a horse and they're pulled like they're water skiing, but they're skijoring and they're.

Local volunteers build a course where the horses go in one direction and the sphere is directed with their own agility over little ramps. And in some years, there's even a hot tub with flames on either side.

And you jump over the flames and the people in the hot tub, and it's quite a spectacle.

Nicole: Okay, when is, when is this happening? I mean, Sarah and I are going to book our tickets now.

Tallie: Yeah,

it happens in February,

and it is so incredible. I mean, I know that they're skijoring in other places, but this occurs right in the middle of town and has such A like grassroots vibe.

It's really, really fun. Definitely feels like a western experience.

Nicole: We've. You've sold us. Where do we even start? So we do you start with a budget? Do you start just looking at place? How do we get going?

Tallie: The first thing I recommend all my customers do is to hire a buyer broker.

Whether it's me or someone else, I might not be the right fit for everyone. There are a lot of great realtors in town.

Before you start clicking around on Zillow,

click around on Zillow for an agent and hire someone to do all the legwork for you.

The reason is Big sky is unincorporated. We don't have a government here.

We're overseen by two different counties.

The consequence of that is that our mapping software is a little bit funny because we don't have mail delivery.

No sales information is a public record.

So you can't do your own research.

It just can be a little frustrating as a buyer to educate oneself online.

Which is why I advocate that people just find someone they trust who's a hard working local and they can get you started.

Some questions that I field often are can you short term rent?

The answer is unfortunate for our community,

but fortunately for you as a buyer is yes, you can short term rent almost everything in Big sky with just a few exceptions. And your local real estate expert will know that those exceptions.

The follow up to that question is what kind of revenue can I expect?

And I'll oversimplify again for the sake of the brevity, none.

You can, if you are to pay cash. If you don't take out a mortgage,

your short term rental income can offset the majority of your expenses. So you'll about break even now. If I'm wrong or your local real estate expert is wrong, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

But I just would never want anyone to, especially someone with a family,

to buy an investment property and have a shortfall and feel disappointed or be in a pinch.

Buying real estate in any ski town should be fun, not stressful.

Nicole: Yeah, I think that's excellent advice to be realistic about this. You know, if you want to put it in the short term rental pool, it sounds like you could defray some of your expenses.

It is going to also add some wear and tear onto your house. Is there anything else that we should be looking at?

Tallie: The advice I give customers is always to, you know, expect to break even,

potentially realize appreciation. That is certainly not a guarantee, but it's really about convenience. You know,

going on a ski trip requires, as you said, a lot of Gear.

And it might be worth it if your financial circumstance affords you this luxury to keep all your stuff here.

That makes getting here from Chicago or Houston so much easier.

And for. For people who, who can afford it, it's really worth it.

Nicole: Yeah. And I know back in the. The post Covid times when people were remote working,

a lot of these mountain areas became even more attractive because you could be working remotely and then have this very full outdoor life experience.

Tallie: Yeah. Between the introduction of the Icon pass, I believe that was in 2018,

the 1819 winter,

between icon and the COVID work from home. Boom.

Our real estate prices have tripled just since 2018.

So if you've been watching the real estate market and you haven't purchased.

Dang it,

what have you been waiting for?

Nicole: Does anything under 2 million even exist out there?

Tallie: Definitely. Oh, yeah. The meadow is not only a better value, but lower carrying and costs because the HOA dues aren't as high, there isn't as much snow removal.

And I tell my customers, walkability is the new ski in, ski out.

I just had some clients here last week from Texas who came out with their four kids, and they said, we've been here for a week and we haven't gotten in our car.

Nicole: Amazing.

Tallie: And you know, they're walking to the free concerts, to Roxy's, to base, our community center to go climbing.

And they love being able to walk. So I think that that's something to. To really look for. And what's. What's great about that is it's attractive to non skiers. You know, oftentimes I see in couples, one person has more of a.

A passion for skiing and the other may not.

Being in the meadow accommodates both people.

Nicole: And you were talking a little bit about summer activities.

Is there a season where it's not as beautiful?

Do we need to be realistic about the opportunities to go to Big Sky? I know summer sounds beautiful. Fly fishing, hiking is. Do you have a mud season? Do you have a stick season there?

Tallie: We do, yeah. Spring and fall are pretty quiet.

The fall is a little bit more accessible. The weather's a little bit nicer. The spring is just not that great because we can't recreate very much. The trails are just too muddy this summer.

Truly my advice in preparation for this podcast, I thought,

what. What's the one takeaway?

Come here in the summer first,

and you'll fall in love with it and you'll understand.

You know, it's only six. You know, the meadow is only six miles from the mountain. You'll understand how,

how the town works, you know, where, where the grocery is, where the yoga place is,

and then come back to ski and you'll feel so much more confident understanding the, the lay of the land.

Nicole: How do you like to work with clients so they find you? You've got a very fun Instagram and you know, you've got a pretty. The website's very informative and they've, they've matched you either from listening to this podcast or some other way.

How do you like to develop that relationship and work with clients after all of this time?

Tallie: I have learned that earning mutual trust is very important.

You need to trust me and I need to be able to trust you because this is where I live and work. This isn't just a job for me.

You are going to become my neighbor.

Hopefully we end up serving on a committee together and that matters more to me than a sale.

So I, I insist upon establishing mutual trust right up front.

And for some people, they're not looking for that. You know, they, they want something that's just, you know, much more transactional. And I'm probably not the right person in that case.

But the way that I work is I, I love to hear about your passions because this isn't really like an investment play. It's a fun, you know, you hit the button, button when you buy a big sky.

I want to start there.

You know, if you're a fly fisherman,

we'll go in a certain direction. If you are really interested in mountain biking, we'll go in a different direction from there.

You know, depending on people's timelines,

I am probably an over communicator and I work really, really hard to find the right property, which sometimes is off market. And because I live here and this is all I do full time,

I have a front row seat to those opportunities. And I love being able to bring my customer into sort of that inside scoop experience.

And many of my customers have found that when they work with me, they end up seeing me all over town and they get introduced to the best property managers, the guest, the best ski instructors,

the best landscapers. And that is a real joy for me to connect someone who doesn't live here to the people who are the backbone and who give this place a soul.

My customers find that very valuable and not something you can get from a Bozeman agent or someone who just doesn't live here.

Nicole: Tell me about how the market is right now.

Are you seeing lots of resales or are there any new developments that you're really excited about that. People could be buying, you know, on spec, something that, that's coming in the future.

Tallie: Great question.

Well, okay, so to, to characterize the market overall,

we don't have a lot of new construction at the moment.

New construction has been quiet over the last couple years.

And I think the best play depending on,

you know, who you are and your aesthetic needs. But your listeners are skiers.

Skiers are not probably as particular about cabinets or light fixtures,

flooring types.

So I think the best buy for someone who is truly a skier is the old dated house in the meadow.

Nicole: Okay.

Tallie: That is absolutely the best value. When you go look at it on online, you're going to say tally is like on a different planet. These cabinets are horrible. But listen, you're here to ski and cabinets can be replaced or don't just go skiing.

It doesn't matter. Yep. So I think that there are some terrific buys.

And as I tell my customers all the time, the best land was built upon first.

Which means that the, the best location has probably a funky old house on it.

Buy it. The HOA dues are $522 a year.

Nicole: Wow. That is amazing.

Tallie: It is amazing. And you're going to have an incredible experience and start to feel like a big sky local.

That, to me, is the buy. Speaking about price points,

a house just hit the market today for 1.7. That is exactly what I'm describing. It isn't. It is a dated house and I don't mean that in a negative way.

It just hasn't been updated.

That's incredible. Three, four bedroom house for under $2 million.

That's the buy.

Nicole: Are you seeing people who bought their thinking that was going to be a second home or a vacation property and it's flipped and this has become their main home. Have you seen that phenomenon?

Tallie: I have and it is so rewarding when that happens.

I have some, some great friends who moved here from Nashville. They bought this home as a second home up on the mountain near Moonlight Basin.

And they ended up falling in love and moving here with their three teenage daughters. Enrolled them in our public school and now are active, incredible community members. And that is just really makes my heart explode with joy when I see that happen.

Yeah, it isn't for everyone, you know, mountain town living is inconvenient.

It is cold,

it can be dark because we're so far north.

But to me and the people who have chosen it, it is absolutely worth it because the crime is very low.

The strong fabric of our community is hard to find. I think in the modern era.

And if you're a recreationalist,

I truly believe there is nowhere better than Big Sky, Montana. I want to give my, my husband a little shout out. He started the cool local ski shop Grizzly Outfitters back in the 90s and he has since sold it.

He's retired now and he rides 30 to 50 miles almost every day on his bike.

Single track from our house and he doesn't see any other person.

You can't do that in the United States. I mean, these are engineered gorgeous flow trails.

And when I go hiking with my friends, we just don't see any other people. I mean, it is for a recreationalist,

the best place,

however,

target is an hour and 20 minutes away.

Nicole: You better have your list and check it twice.

Tallie: That's right.

Nicole: And how is the staff housing or the housing for the people that make the snow or the people that make your coffee, how is that doing in the area?

Tallie: Yeah,

I'll tell you the truth,

I don't think we're different from anywhere else. It's not great.

People have to drive from far away. There are some people who were lucky enough to buy before 2018 and we're so fortunate that we were able to do that because we don't have local government, we don't have a mechanism like other ski areas do to placed a lot of restrictions for that benefit locals.

We're working on it. We have a really robust housing trust here who has just recently this year acquired a large portion of undeveloped ground that will all be deed restricted for locals.

So it doesn't yet have infrastructure.

It is truly raw and exceptional. This will not happen,

to my knowledge, in any other ski town.

It's roughly a hundred acres. I might have that number off by a little bit, but it's not insignificant and it will house a lot of people. It's a few years out,

but it's going to be a game changer.

Nicole: How is the town and the newcomers, how is that dance working out right now? You know, growth comes from people buying in. Prices get elevated and the locals forget maybe that they moved in the 2000s as well.

How are, how is the relationship going right now?

Tallie: I have to take a deep breath on that one because you're right, there is tension.

And as my husband and I are always saying to each other,

everywhere that is cool has changed. As Americans, we experienced a decade of interest rates at nearly zero.

And that that just changed things.

So as far as the relationship between new locals, old locals, tourists,

you know, there's just been so much change in the last really six years since COVID that I think we all have just gotten accustomed to change.

Nicole: The GM years ago had that I know that we were following online. And he had just the.

The reminder to everybody that you just have to be kind. You know, people want to ski and people want to work and we have to make space for one another.

Tallie: You're absolutely right. Yeah.

I'll mention Taylor Middleton again because he is just such a legendary character. He always said that he was treated well when he moved here and he wants to extend that courtesy to everyone who follows after him.

And I feel the exact same way. I mean,

people were so welcoming to me as a non skier.

I think if I had said in some of my introductory meetings like I ski, people would have been even nicer. So knowing that your, your listeners are ski forward means that they'll be welcomed with open arms.

That's what we're all here to do.

Nicole: Tally, you have been a wealth of information and knowledge. Thank you so much for everything. We can't let you go though,

without talking about the apres ski experience.

And as an insider, like, what does it look like when you finish an adventure?

We don't want to blow up some super secret place. But where should we be heading to after our ski date?

Tallie: I think that everyone should check out one and only.

It is a brand new hotel.

There is a gondola from the Madison base area which is a public area that takes you directly to one and only. And it will have the preeminent apres ski scene in North America.

Nicole: Wow, that's a big. That's a big promise. And then if we're in town. So grizzlies is still going strong for our apparel. Is there a favorite place there for drinks, food,

Any other experiences we can't miss out on?

Tallie: Yeah, I think that the town center is a great place to both start your day and finish your day because we have this great public transportation. If you park at town center in the meadow and hop on a bus to get up to the ski area, have a great experience and then you can come back down the mountain and that's where the whole scene is.

I think that,

gosh, there are probably eight bars right there. Tips up is a fun place for people to check out. It has sort of a dive bar feel.

They often have live music and when the weather's nice, they'll have a fire pit outside.

It's really cool. In the summer too, they have line dancing occasionally.

So that's where I would, I would point people.

Nicole: And what would we find in your hand. Are you going for a cocktail, A glass of wine, a beer, Something non alcoholic? What are you picking?

Tallie: You know, we're big Manhattan fans at our house,

so yes, I'm a brown liquor person. I'm also a realtor,

so I have a pretty high pressure job. And at the end of the day, I do like to unwind with a of solid Manhattan.

Nicole: That's awesome. And tally, where can our listeners find you? How can they get in touch?

Tallie: Yeah. I have built a website called really Big Sky.com and the reason for that is not just because the sky is so big, but also because I myself am quite tall and one of my coworkers a long time ago is much smaller and she sort of made me feel a little bit funny about being tall and I thought,

well, I'm both tall and young. I guess I should just. I can't change those things. So I'll just lean into it. I'm really big guy dot com. So that's, that's how you find me.

Nicole: That is great. And I assume you're. You're taking new clients like you want more people to get in touch and, and look for their dream home there?

Tallie: Yeah, yeah, I, I am. As long as that mutual trust is there and I'm the right fit for people.

Yeah,

I am looking for more like minded people to become neighbors.

Nicole: Awesome. Thank you so much.

Tallie: And I hope you're one of them, Nicole.

Nicole: Hey, ski moms.

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