Both of you regular readers doubtless remember my previous posts (rants?) about the challenges of finding a nice home in the Boise real estate market.

In a previous post ^[1]two days ago, I described my current efforts to find just one clean, well-maintained, “closeable” (non short-sale) property for a loyal repeat buyer client.

To gain a better understanding of our listing inventory, I decided to drill deep into our MLS and see exactly what’s for sale in the Boise real estate market.

Here’s what I found:

• We have 2,501 homes listed for sale (our listing inventory continues to dwindle while sales remain strong).
• 356 are “to be built” or “under construction” (they do not yet exist).
• 709 are short sales that can take months, or even a year or more to close.
• 113 are REO (foreclosure) properties that are usually poorly-maintained, damaged, stripped, and have burned up landscaping, not to mention often being surrounded by other similar properties.
• 22 are HUD-owned foreclosures (see last description, then multiply by two).
• 9 are auction properties to be sold to the highest bidder for all cash with a large, non-refundable deposit, a buyer premium paid to the auction service, and no home inspection prior to purchase.

The bottom line?

1,209 of the 2,501 homes listed for sale in MLS are of no use to a traditional buyer who simply wants to buy a nice home in a nice area and close escrow during their lifetime.

Small wonder it’s so hard to find a good home when half of our listing inventory doesn’t work for the traditional buyer!

Data extracted from Intermountain MLS on 8/19/11 and pertains to single-family residential properties on lot/acreage. Data does not include condo or townhome properties.