The swift cool-down experienced in the Boise housing market over the past two months is now making national headlines. As stated in Nicole Friedman’s Wall Street Journal article, “During the pandemic-fueled housing boom, Boise emerged as one of America’s hottest “Zoomtowns,” communities that experienced a spike in population from an influx of remote workers. Now, the housing boom around Idaho’s capital city has ground to a halt. Buyers are balking at record prices and mortgage rates that last month hit a 13-year high. Sixty-one percent of listings in the Boise metro area had a price cut in June, the highest rate out of 97 metro areas surveyed, according to brokerage Redfin Corp. Home builders who couldn’t keep up with demand last year are cutting back on construction.”
While news like this can sound concerning, especially when written or reported in a dramatic fashion, I think it’s important to remember that this cool-down is actually a good and necessary thing for Boise. For the past two years, I have continually heard people say, “I hope Boise housing prices don’t keep rising like this because so many Idahoans are being priced out of the market and will never be able to buy a home.” Our community has been practically begging, and rightly so, for prices to stop rising and stabilize to more affordable levels. And, good news—it’s happening!
While this news may seem less exciting for sellers, I think it’s important to note that even if our market drops, homeowners have still gained incredible equity in their properties over the past 2 years. Let’s put it in perspective. In March 2020, right when the pandemic hit, the median sales price for the Boise housing market was $367,000 (which was already a 9.6% increase from the median price the previous year). Last month, the median sales price was $589,990. That is a 61% increase in housing prices in 2 years!! All that to say, even if our market drops 10% before stabilizing, as the Wall Street Journal article suggests it might, homeowners in the Boise area will still have gained 44.7% in equity on their homes since March 2020.
If you are considering selling, please give us a call. We’d love to help you navigate what that would look like in our current market. Despite the drastic changes, our market conditions are still tipped toward favoring sellers. If you are considering buying and aren’t sure whether to move forward now or wait to see what happens, we’d love to meet with you and provide resources to help aid in your decision. There are some great incentives and interest rate buy-down options available that could make buying now less expensive than you think and could afford you the option of getting into the home or investment opportunity you’ve been waiting for!
For a quick snapshot of the Boise housing market for July 2022, see Boise Regional REALTORS® housing market summary for Ada County below:
