One of Idaho’s most influential families pivots to luxury real estate. Where, and why?
On one side are the winding Snake River and a sloping mesa. On the other are expansive views of farmland and the Owyhee Mountains. At this scenic patch of riverside land in a remote corner of Owyhee County, one of Idaho’s most influential families is preparing to move into a new business venture: luxury real estate.
Carter Fulcher, a fifth-generation Idahoan and the grandnephew of U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher, said the Fulcher family has long been involved in real estate, but his plan for a gated community about 18 miles northwest of Melba and nine miles south of Marsing would be a first for the family — and, potentially, for the region.
“We have high-end stuff, but I don’t think we have luxury in the Treasure Valley,” Carter Fulcher, the founder of The Fulcher Organization, said by phone. “This is our inaugural high-end luxury community.”
It would be the 20-year-old’s first foray into real estate development, and he said it would be funded by himself and his family.
The development in Owyhee County, called Birmingham Estates, is a building block to Carter Fulcher’s much larger plans that include a golf course and other luxury “Fulcher Communities” across Idaho.
If that sounds like a plan reminiscent of the Trump family business, that’s because it may have had a nugget of inspiration from them.
According to Newsweek, Barron Trump — President Donald Trump’s youngest son — incorporated a real estate business in July 2024 with Carter Fulcher and Cameron Roxburgh, a schoolmate of Barron’s.
The business was dissolved nine days after the 2025 election, when Trump was elected to his second term.
Carter Fulcher said neither Barron Trump, an 18-year-old freshman at New York University, nor Roxburgh are involved in the Fulcher Organization or his plans.
“Barron has nothing to do with this project,” he said. “This project is my family’s personal project. There are no external partners.”
Carter Fulcher said his great-uncle, the Republican congressman representing Idaho’s 1st District, is not involved in the business in any way either.
A push for more Idaho luxury homes
Even without Trump family backing, Carter Fulcher may have tapped into some market sentiment in Idaho, where luxury real estate has seen a boom since the COVID-19 pandemic. His homes would be priced in the $1.5 million to $3 million range, and he expects them to be about 3,000 square feet or larger.
Matt Bauscher, the owner of Bauscher Real Estate and founding partner at Amherst Madison Real Estate Advisors, told the Idaho Statesman in early 2024 that it used to be rare for a million-dollar home to sell.
There were only three sales over the $3 million mark in the Treasure Valley in 2019, he said. That number shot up to 22 in 2023, with five at or above $5 million.
“There’s a huge desire for luxury communities that has never existed since I was born here,” Bauscher said then.
Many of the most expensive homes in the Treasure Valley have been concentrated in Eagle, especially in the Two Rivers neighborhood, which has become a hotspot for those seeking opulent homes.
Fulcher said that while there are high-end developments in places like Sun Valley, McCall and Eagle, the state has no luxury developments like he envisions.
“I’m hoping to blow (Two Rivers) out of the water,” Fulcher said. “We’re looking to do something really nice… I think people are wanting that.”
Homes on the Snake River
Fulcher’s plan for his gated Birmingham Estates includes the construction of 30 estate-style homes on two to nearly five acres each. The site is mostly alfalfa farmland and a home, all owned by the Fulcher family. The home would be razed for the development.
Though Fulcher said the development would have some architectural guidelines, there would be flexibility for custom designs. He expects that most home would have a pool. The homes abutting the river would have private docks. All homeowners would have access to the river with a common dock.
“The main focus for this community is really the Snake River frontage,” he said.
The site, near Givens Hot Springs, is seemingly on the edge of civilization with thousands of acres of Bureau of Land Management land to the south and west, stretching into Oregon and Nevada.
Fulcher said the remoteness, while still being within an hour of downtown Boise, is part of the draw.
“That’s kind of the best part of it because… when you’re standing here you feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere,” he said. “But if you think about it, you’re really only 20 minutes from a grocery store…
“You get the best of both worlds: you’re out in the country, but you’re still close if you need something.”
Fulcher said he hopes that home construction could start late fall of this year, though that could change depending on the permitting process. He said he’s working with three building companies, but interested buyers could bring their own builders, too.
Fulcher said the property is already zoned correctly, and he is working with Owyhee County on the preliminary site plan. The plan has yet to have any public hearings. He said he was looking forward to meeting nearby residents and building relationships with them.
Deep roots in Idaho
The venture is the latest in a series of undertakings for the Fulcher family, which has long been involved in the business, farming and political spheres of the Treasure Valley. Fulcher said his family has lived in Idaho since 1915 and traces its roots to a farm the family still owns in Meridian off Eagle Road.
Carter Fulcher’s great-grandfather, Gale Fulcher, had three children: Marilyn Fulcher-Johnson of Florida, Scott Fulcher of Caldwell and Russ Fulcher of Meridian, according to Gale Fulcher’s 2015 obituary. Scott, Carter’s grandfather, would go on to found a trucking company, while Russ Fulcher was elected first to the Idaho Senate and then to Congress.
Carter Fulcher’s father, Jeff, is a mechanical engineer in Meridian. Carter Fulcher took a similar route, starting his career in software before pivoting to full-time real estate.
“I’ve always been interested in development, and so we dove headfirst into it,” Carter Fulcher said. “I love it.”
Though Birmingham Estates would be Fulcher’s first development, he is already looking to other sites across the state for his next ones, including in Meridian and Eagle. North Idaho and eastern Idaho could someday be on the horizon, too.
“I’d love to have a Fulcher community in every part of the state,” he said. “We’re hoping to build a really nice ecosystem of properties.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
