Real estate brokers feared the coronavirus would tank sales. Here’s what happened
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, home prices in Ada County and Canyon County set a record in April.
Ada County’s record median price of $374, 900 came with an asterisk, however. Sales fell 15.4% from March and 19.5% from April 2019.
But it could have been far worse.
“Some people in my industry were thinking sales might drop by 50%,” Mike Turner, an agent with Amherst Madison Real Estate Advisors, said by phone. “We haven’t seen anything like that.”
For the month, 761 single-family homes were sold, according to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service. That compares with 899 in March and 945 in April 2019.
Of those sold in April, 495 were existing homes and 266 were newly constructed. It was the fewest homes sold in April since 2014, when 662 homes were sold.
The median price set a record for the third time this year. It eclipsed March’s median of $367,000 and January’s record of $363,000.
The number of homes for sale in April, 1,454, was down more than 300 from April 2019. Those that were listed sold, on average, in 33 days, eight days quicker than a year ago.
“Because of the coronavirus, we’re seeing sellers delaying their decision to put their homes on the market, which has created a massive shortage of housing,” Craig Groves, president of John L. Scott Real Estate in Boise, said by phone. “Buyer demand has curtailed a little bit, but not proportionally.”
He said sellers looking to move out of the area for work or other reasons have held off listing their homes because they can’t go out of state to look at places to buy. And corporate relocations have been put off for now.
“But that’s only a temporary situation,” Groves said. “Those transferees can’t get up and around right now. But as soon as they can, it’s going to create another surge in sales.”
Canyon County’s median price in April, $273,234, set a record for the third month in a row, beating $272,490 in March and $265,000 in February.
The number of homes sold in Canyon County, 483, was down slightly from the 515 homes sold in March. However, it was up from the 453 homes sold in April 2019.
Sales have remained strong in Canyon County, Turner said, as people look outside Boise and western Ada County for more affordable homes.
Other details from the latest monthly listing-service report, which was released Monday:
Existing homes: The median price for the 495 Ada County homes sold was $345,000. In Canyon County, 299 existing homes were sold, with a median price of $262,000.
New homes: The median price for the 266 new homes sold in Ada County was $416,287. In Canyon County, the median price for 184 new homes sold was $298,979.
Highest median prices: Eagle, $550,925; Northeast Boise, $539,500; Star, $493,285.
Lowest median prices: Northwest Nampa, $268,784; Northwest Caldwell, $264,950; Southwest Caldwell, $264,900.
