‘The hottest commodity in Ada County.’ Existing home prices in the Boise area swing up
The price of an Ada County home rose tens of thousands of dollars last month, but is still lower than it was a year ago.
The latest data from the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service shows the median sales price of a single-family home in the county in April was $517,500, up $34,000, or 7%, over the median price in March, which was $483,450.
One year ago, in April 2022, the cost was $597,166.
Boise Regional Realtors called the uptick “uncharacteristically hefty for the season” in a news release.
While prices rose, inventory accrual dropped.
There were 1,163 single-family homes available in April. New listings for the month accumulated at the slowest rate since June 2021, according to Boise Regional Realtors.
There were 645 total sales in the county last month, with 398 existing homes and 247 newly constructed ones. Home sales were 21% lower than they were this time last year.
“Existing homes continue to be the hottest commodity in Ada County,” Boise Regional Realtors said in the news release. “The lurch in existing home sale speed matched the pace of late summer last year.”
The association of local realtors also said higher mortgage rates could be deterring buyers from uprooting.
The median cost of an existing Ada County home in April was $515,000, up $40,000, or 8.4%, from the $475,000 of a month ago (it was $570,000 a year ago). The median cost of a newly constructed home was $519,990.
Mike Pennington, of John L. Scott Real Estate in Boise, said in an email on the latest monthly listing-service report that he’s seen a tremendous amount of caution with buyers.
“The challenges we face are inflation and consumer confidence. No buyer wants to overpay for a home,” Pennington said. “Buyers are slowly coming back but they are shopping much more cautiously than before.”
The numbers from April show there was 1.5 months of supply for all single-family homes in Ada County, meaning that if no more homes came on the market, it would take 1.5 months for all of the available houses to sell. Real estate agents say a balanced market has a 4-to-6-month supply of houses.
In Canyon County, there was 1 month of supply.
There were 373 total sales in Canyon last month, with 202 existing homes and 171 newly constructed ones. Home sales were 25% lower than they were this time last year.
The median price of a single-family Canyon County home last month decreased 1% to $389,990, with existing homes at $370,000 and newly built homes at $406,390.
A year ago, in April 2022, the cost of a single-family home in the county was over 22% higher at $476,500.
Robert Spendlove, an economist at Zions Bank who studies housing trends, told the Idaho Statesman by phone that the reason home prices are down year-over-year is because of rising interest rates.
“Mortgage rates have gone from around 3% to above 6% and they’ve approached as high as 7%,” Spendlove said. “That has reduced the demand for housing and the amount that sellers can ask for a house. But it appears the (Federal Reserve) is about done raising interest rates.”
Spendlove said he doesn’t expect mortgage rates to go back down to 3% anytime soon.
He said people who locked in lower mortgage rates before the sharp hikes have been reluctant to move over the past year or so. But not everyone can stay put. Some people move for a new job, for personal reasons or to downsize in retirement.
“We’re going to start seeing that work its way back into the system again,” he said. “People are resetting their expectations. Now that people are coming to terms with the new interest rates, I think you’ll start seeing those prices stabilizing and demand stabilizing as well.”
Other details from the latest monthly listing-service report for Ada County:
Single-family houses spent an average of 55 days on the market, compared with 16 days a year ago.
Highest median prices: Eagle, $925,000; Northeast Boise, $811,087; North Boise, $799,000.
Lowest median prices: West Boise, $408,500; Kuna, $424,990; Boise Bench, $429,500.
More details from the latest report for Canyon County:
Single-family homes spent an average of 68 days on the market, compared with 19 days a year ago.
Highest median prices: Melba, $895,000; West of Lake Lowell, $840,000; Middleton, $584,500.
Lowest median prices: Southwest Caldwell, $348,950; Parma, $365,088; Northwest Caldwell, $373,495
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