More houses come on the inflamed Boise-area market. That’s little comfort for buyers
The number of homes for sale in Ada County surged in April, if you can call it a surge.
There were 361 homes listed: 212 existing and 149 new. That might not seem like a lot, but it’s 22.4% higher than the 295 homes for sale in March. A year ago, there were 1,454 homes for sale.
“I felt like there was still inventory last summer, and while it was low inventory, there was still inventory,” Julie Cendejas, an assistant broker with Keller Williams Realty Boise, said by phone. “Now the inventory is so amazingly tight.”
A couple from Colorado recently told Cendejas they were interested in moving to Boise and thought housing would be more affordable here. They were interested in a place with three bedrooms and two bathrooms and told Cendejas they were looking to spend about $365,000.
“And I’m like, ‘That’s really hard,’” Cendejas said. “You can’t even find a home in Ada County, a new home, for what they were looking for, for under $450,000.”
Indeed, the median price of the 796 homes sold in April was a record $481,208, according to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service. The median bested the previous record, $467,325, set in March, by $13,883.
The average time a house sat on the market before being sold dropped from 22 days in March to 14 in April, also a record, according to Boise Regional Realtors. A year ago, it took more than a month, 33 days for a home to sell.
“I tell buyers that I work with they have to have patience,” Cendejas said. “You’ve got to be in it for the long haul. You can’t just want to buy a house, you have to be serious. You have to realize you’re probably going to pay over asking price, and you have to be willing to do what it takes right now to get a house, until the tides change.”
Another client from Washington state put in an offer above the $450,000 asking price for a house in Meridian based only on a video tour Cendejas showed her.
“She won’t even see the house until she’s closed on it and moves here,” Cendejas said. “She had to trust her real estate agent.”
It’s important for buyers to have a real estate agent rather than wade through the market alone, she said.
“The market is moving too fast to not have someone that does this every single day,” she said. “And even for sellers it can be overwhelming getting bombarded with showing requests and all those offers.”
Cendejas told the couple from Colorado that they might also consider buying a house in neighboring Canyon County, even though prices have also risen there.
Median house prices set records in Ada, Canyon
The median price of $399,856 in April also set a record there. It took homes in Canyon County, on average, 15 days, a day longer than in Ada County, to sell. In April 2020, homes were on the market for 37 days before selling.
The Multiple Listing Service’s report for Canyon County did not indicate how many homes were available for sale in April.
Mortgage rates continue to remain at near-record lows. On Thursday, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported that the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has fallen to 3.0%. The average rate had been as low as 2.7% in January and February.
Other details from the latest monthly listing-service report:
Existing homes: The median price for the 523 Ada County homes sold was $489,000. In Canyon County, where 256 homes were sold, the median was $380,000.
New homes: The median price for the 273 homes sold in Ada County was $469,900. In Canyon County, the median for 164 new homes sold was $418,985.
Highest median prices: Eagle, $920,000; Northeast Boise, $918,000; North Boise, $647,250.
Lowest median prices: Southwest Caldwell, $406,500; Northwest Caldwell, $364,500; Northwest Nampa, $360,050.
