The median price of an Ada County home just shot up $11,450 in one month

The latest Treasure Valley home-sales report offers fabulous news for home sellers and more discouraging news for buyers, especially people who had hoped to buy but now cannot afford to.

A month after home prices set records in Ada and Canyon counties, they did it again in March. The median price of the 848 single-family homes sold in Ada County was $308,950, up $11,450, or 4.2 percent, from the month before, according to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service.

In Canyon County, the median was $211,945, an increase of $15,955, or 8.1 percent.

In the past year, prices have climbed nearly 24 percent in Ada County and 21 percent in Canyon.

As usual, new homes cost more than used. The Ada County median price was $345,870. That was actually a decrease from February’s, $362,587. Canyon’s new-house median is $244,900, up $21,925, or 9.8 percent.

Used homes were traditionally more plentiful than new, but not now. The number of used Ada County homes on the market in the first quarter was one-third lower than in 2017, said Breanna Vanstrom, CEO of Boise Regional Realtors.

“What we’re seeing is very low inventory driving up the prices,” Vanstrom said. “We’re truly in a supply-and-demand situation.”

The median Ada County used home sold for $290,000 in March, up $20,100, or 7.4 percent, from February. In Canyon, where used-home listings still barely outnumber new ones, the median was $190,552, up $6,552, or 3.5 percent.

Warmer winter temperatures may have encouraged home buyers to shop earlier, Vanstrom wrote. Sales were brisk, approximating second-quarter norms

This story was originally published April 13, 2018 at 3:15 PM with the headline "The median price of an Ada County home just shot up $11,450 in one month."