The Future of Boise Real Estate
In many ways, the Boise area still remains relatively undiscovered.
You can drive down Eagle Road, the main connector between I-84 and the community of Eagle, and still see open fields being under-utilized to grow sod.
In most other cities of Boise’s size, you would see a huge shopping center sitting on that dirt.
There’s still a lot of opportunity here for those with enough vision to see what is coming.
Just a few years ago, our residential real estate market consisted of entry-level homes starting around $100,000, a middle move-up market of about $200,000, and a few homes selling above $300,000.
Then, along came cheap mortgage money in the aftermath of 9-11 and the stock market collapse, as The Fed loosened up the money supply to reflate the economy and restore consumer confidence.
The Boise real estate market took off overnight and went from a steady 3-5% appreciation rate to a couple of years of mind-numbing appreciation.
Now, we are returning to normal and prices have come down by 30% or more in many areas.
My crystal ball is a little cloudy, but I do have the advantage of a 37-year perspective in real estate.
I remember entering the real estate profession in San Jose in the mid-70s, when homes were selling for $40,000 to -$50,000.
I owned half a dozen rentals there at the time.
I wish I still had them, because even in a seriously-troubled California real estate market, they would be worth at least $400,000 each.
And, they would have been free/clear by now too.
Lessons learned.
If you consider what the Boise area offers and think ahead ten years, it’s pretty obvious that today’s prices will be the topic of many “I could’ve . . . .” conversations a few years from now.
The Boise area offers tremendous quality of life and our housing prices are very attractive when compared to other areas where homeowners are fleeing severe traffic problems, crime, illegal immigration, and high costs of living.
August 13th, 2009 Posted in About Our Area
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