In the 21 years Jere Webb has analyzed the Ada County housing market, he had never seen the number of new and existing homes for sale dip below 1,000. Until this year.
Three months after the coronavirus pandemic struck Idaho, the number of homes listed in Ada County dropped to 976 in June, a record low. Since then, the inventory has continued to plummet: 757 in July, 587 in August, 503 in September. In October, only 443 homes were for sale.
A year ago, there were more than three times as many homes for sale: 1,687.
“Buyers are having an extremely difficult time now,” said Webb, associate real estate broker with Downs Realty in Eagle, by email. “Record all-time low inventory coupled with record-high demand is forcing huge price increases.”
Cash offers are still dominating, Webb said, with selling prices well above appraised values. If a buyer needs a mortgage for that kind of deal, the buyer must pay the difference between the appraised value and the sale price in cash.
In Canyon County, 191 homes were for sale in October, one more than in September, when a record low was set. In October 2019, 876 homes were on the market.
Jason Archer, an agent with Amherst Madison Legacy in Boise, said that while few homes are available, demand is still high. He held an open house last weekend for a home in Meridian that was listed in the mid-$400,000 range. Forty groups of buyers came through, and 12 offers came in.
In October, the houses that sold in Ada County were on the market for an average 20 days. A year ago, the average was 40 days. The swing was even greater in Canyon County, where homes sold on average in 19 days, compared with 50 days a year earlier.
Buyers must move quickly, Archer said.
“I have a saying: If you sleep on it, you’re not sleeping in it,” he said.
The median sales price for the 1,112 single-family homes sold during October was $406,684, down slightly from a record $409,945 in September.
“That’s still 14% higher than it was a year ago,” Laura Trairatnobhas, an agent with John L. Scott Real Estate in Boise, said by phone. “Houses are still getting multiple offers, and Realtors are putting one-weekend limits on showings and then calling for all the offers to be reviewed, usually on a Sunday night or Monday.”
In Canyon County, the median price was a record $323,450, the ninth straight month to set a record. Since February, the median price has risen $58,450.
On Thursday, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported the average rate of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 2.84%. It was up from 2.78% a week earlier, the lowest in a half-century. The increase was attributed to positive news about a COVID-19 vaccine.
Other details from the latest monthly listing-service report:
Existing homes: The median price for the 755 Ada County homes sold was $395,000. In Canyon County, where 358 homes were sold, the median was $300,000.
New homes: The median price for the 357 new homes sold in Ada County was $438,000. In Canyon County, the median for 172 new homes was $348,339.
Highest median prices: Northeast Boise, $780,000; North Boise, $596,000; Eagle, $595,000.
Lowest median prices: Southwest Caldwell, $299,495; Northwest Nampa, $294,900; Northwest Caldwell, $286,374.
Reporter John Sowell has worked for the Statesman since 2013. He covers business and growth issues. He grew up in Emmett and graduated from the University of Oregon.If you like seeing stories like this, please consider supporting our work with a digital subscription to the Idaho Statesman.
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