Boise-area house shoppers didn’t want to buy in winter but panicked. Here’s the result
Right out of the gate in 2020, homes prices in Ada County set a new record in January. Sales were eye-popping, too: One real estate agent said panicked buyers have been scrambling to buy houses when they can.
The median price of the 719 homes sold during January was $363,000, according to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service. That broke November’s record of $359,900.
The number of homes sold was the most for January since the peak of the prerecession housing boom in 2006, when 756 homes were sold. January sales benefited from buyers who couldn’t find anything last fall amid the Boise area’s seemingly ever-shrinking supply of existing homes for sale, and from buyers planning to move to the area who sought to get a jump on challenging house searches.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Kealy Baughman, owner of Trail 27 real estate in Boise, said by phone. “It’s such a crazy time of year, because we have people that couldn’t find anything last fall. It’s like we’re having an early spring already.”
Baughman said professionals planning to move to the area are contacting her six months to a year ahead of time, compared with one to three months in the past.
“I have two examples of physicians who are moving here in the fall, and they were panicking,” she said. “So they bought houses in December, and they’re not moving here until August.”
In January, 1,115 homes were listed for sale. A year earlier, 1,388 homes were available.
Last year, home price records were set five times.
The median price in Canyon County for January was $256,000, up $1,000 from December but down from November’s record $264,000.
The median is the price in the middle of the houses sold. Half cost more and half cost less.
Other details from the latest monthly listing-service report, which was released Wednesday:
Existing homes: The median price for the 430 existing Ada County homes sold was $340,000. In Canyon County, 221 existing homes were sold, with a median price of $245,000.
New homes: The median price for the 289 new homes sold in Ada County was $419,440. In Canyon County, the median price for 108 new homes sold was $293,245.
Highest median prices: North Boise, $570,000; Northeast Boise, $564,500; Eagle, $549,000.
Lowest median prices: Northwest Nampa, $231,647; Southwest Caldwell, $236,900; Northwest Caldwell, $239,400.
