First-time buyer? Need closing cost help? ‘You’re probably not going to buy a house’
Boise real estate agent Ann Edmark-Reed offered three new homes for sale in the past week. Almost as soon as they were listed, the homes were gone.
“Every one of them had multiple offers,” Edmark-Reed, an agent with Silvercreek Realty Group, said by phone. “Even a house that was listed for $340,000 went for $40,000 over.”
The common thread? Most of the buyers came offering cash. They also waived requirements for a home inspection and an appraisal.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Edmark-Reed, who has sold homes in the Treasure Valley since 1982. “If you are a first-time buyer or you need help in paying closing costs, you’re probably not going to buy a house.”
The median price for homes sold in Ada County in November set another record: $425,000. High prices, coupled with low inventory, led to homes staying on the market for only 18 days before being sold. For the first 11 months of 2020, it’s taken homes on average 33 days to sell.
Houses for sale in the Boise area continue getting scarcer. Last month, there were a record-low 408 homes for sale in Ada County, according to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service in Boise. That’s slightly less than the 443 homes available in October.
Back in June, there were more than twice as many homes available, 976. That was the first time the inventory dipped below 1,000. Since then, fewer homes have appeared on the market each month.
Edmark-Reed has a current listing in the Two Rivers subdivision in Eagle. She already has two offers and expected to have more by the time she and the seller planned to review them on Sunday.
“And this is a house that’s listed at $699,000, which I thought was on the high end anyway,” she said.
The median price for homes sold in Ada County jumped 4.5% from October. The previous record of $409,945 was set in September. The median price has risen $62,200 since February.
In Canyon County, the median price was a record $325,000, the 10th straight month to see a record. Since February, the median price has risen $60,000.
A record-low 168 homes were available in November in Canyon County. A year ago, there were 844 homes listed.
Mortgage rates remain at a record-low 2.71% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.
Other details from the latest monthly listing-service report:
Existing homes: The median price for the 598 Ada County homes sold was $425,000. In Canyon County, where 307 homes were sold, the median was $303,000.
New homes: The median price for the 289 homes sold in Ada County was $429,840. In Canyon County, the median for new homes was $370,000.
Highest median prices: Northeast Boise, $762,000; Eagle, $647,000; North Boise, $600,000.
Lowest median prices: Southwest Caldwell, $303,000; Northwest Caldwell, $302,513; Northwest Nampa, $282,000.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 1:38 PM.
CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to reflect the median price of new homes in Canyon County in November was $370,000.
