‘Breaking loose’: Boise-area home sales take biggest leap since the pandemic

March home sales in Ada County were up nearly 20% from a year ago as rebounding interest in Idaho overcame stifling interest rates that had constrained Treasure Valley homes.

That’s the biggest year-over-year leap since the COVID-19-crazed market of September 2020, which saw a 27.5% increase over September 2019., according to data from the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service, a real estate clearinghouse.

Countywide, 810 homes sold for a total of almost $586 million, according to MLS data. In total, 130 more homes sold than in March 2025. March sales accounted for about 41% of the 1,990 sold through the first quarter of the calendar year.

The surge came despite Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., reporting interest creeping higher every week in the month.

“I think the pent-up demand is breaking loose,” said Susan Weaver, an associate broker at Silvercreek Realty and president of Boise Regional Realtors. “Buyers and sellers have become acclimated to the current prices and rates, and staying put is becoming more painful for various reasons.”

The spike isn’t just around Boise. Canyon County saw 452 closings in March, a 14.7% year-over-year jump in sales, according to MLS data.

“People are still moving to Idaho,” said Michelle Bailey of Keller Williams Boise and president of the Idaho Realtors, a trade group.

“I think it’s surprising and a good reminder,” she added. “For those of us with our heads down working, we felt that it was busy. To see the numbers just supported what we felt.”

March housing data sends mixed signals

March’s upswing came with lower prices, but real estate agents say it’s a mistake to connect the two too closely.

Ada County’s median sale price dipped 4.3%, which says “more about the mix of homes sold than a broad decline in values,” Weaver said.

“We saw more activity in lower price points and new construction, which can pull the median down in a given month,” she said.

Still, homes sold for an average of 2% to 2.5% less than the original list price, according to The Agency Boise, a real estate firm. Homes also spent more time on the market than years past, giving buyers a little more time to think. But don’t bank on having more time, according to Katie Traughber, a real estate agent at The Agency.

“There are still homes that are going under contract in a matter of days and selling at or over list price,” Traughber said in an email. “Buyers need to be ready to make a move when the right property comes on the market.”

Ada, Canyon remain sellers markets

For all the buying, metrics say the Treasure Valley’s real estate market still favors sellers.

Inventory, while growing, is still low. A key real estate metric is months of supply — how many months, at the current rate of sales, it would take for every home on the market to sell. In March, Ada County had 2.0 months of supply, according to The Agency. That’s down 7.6% from the previous March, and well below the four to six months of supply you see in a balanced market.

Canyon County had 2.3 months of supply in March, a 10.6% drop from 12 months earlier.

“Activity is picking up across the board, in my opinion,” Weaver said. “First-time homebuyers, downsizers, out-of-state buyers, and growing families — if a home is priced right, shows well and is in a good location, it sells quickly due to pent-up demand.”

Idaho is back on the map

The Treasure Valley grew by more than 50 people a day in 2025 as Ada and Canyon counties continued to buoy Idaho’s population boom, according to U.S. Census Bureau data compiled by the Idaho Department of Labor. Statewide, the population grew by 1.4%, the second fastest in the nation.

The Boise metropolitan statistical area— Ada, Canyon, Boise, Gem and Owyhee counties — propelled much of the growth. At 2.2%, the Boise area was the 13th fastest-growing market in the country and the second-fastest in the West, trailing St. George, Utah, according to the report.

None of this is surprising to the moving industry. Both United and Atlas van lines ranked Idaho as one of the most popular states to move to in 2025 based on the ratio of bookings into or out of a state. United ranked the Gem State sixth, while Atlas placed it second, with close to twice as many trips heading into the state as leaving — the highest ratio since 2020.

Bailey estimates that about half of her clients this year have come from out of state. Many are drawn to Idaho’s conservative bent, she said. Bailey saw a spike in interest from Washington, for example, as that state debated a new tax on residents making more than $1 million per year. Gov Bob Ferguson signed the “millionaires tax” into law on March 30.

Many newcomers “align more with the politics,” she said.

Idaho’s housing market typically heats up in the summer, with more listings and closings. But Bailey says prospective buyers shouldn’t shy away.

“In an environment where buyers have felt that homeownership isn’t possible, feeling like rates are high, there are opportunities,” she said.