Boise Real Estate Blog

Boise Real Estate: Higher Prices Are Here

If you’re one of the three people who are still waiting for “the bottom”, I have news for you.

You missed it!

Here’s a year-over-year comparison for March prices.

March 2011

Average Selling Price: $161,051
Median Selling Price: $135,000

March 2012

Average Selling Price: $178,034 (+10.6%)
Median Selling Price: $153,000 (+13.3%)

The only way you can determine the bottom, or the top, of a (any) market is by looking back at it after it occurred.

Data pertains to Ada County single-family homes on lot/acreage. Data does not include condo/townhome properties.

April 6th, 2012 Posted in Boise Market Stats |

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Will Less Listing Inventory Mean Fewer Sales?

Boise real estate has a problem.

That problem is more buyers than sellers.

As of this morning, we have only 1,857 single-family homes on lot/acreage for sale in all of Ada County.

558 of those listings are short sale listings that are of no interest to buyers who want to buy and close in a reasonable amount of time.

That leaves just 1,299 “real listings” available for serious buyers.

That slender supply of listings has led to some homes selling in one day with multiple offers above asking prices.

Many buyers, especially those in the under-$200,000 price range, are finding it very difficult to be the buyer with the winning offer in our current hot market.

I recently worked with a buyer in that price range and had two brand-new listings sell before we could even get an offer on paper.

I think it’s possible (likely?) that Ada County home sales could slow in the next few months due to a lack of listing inventory.

Builders could benefit from this shortage of listings, but many of our smaller builders are unable to obtain spec home financing from cautious construction lenders.

Our suddenly hot market is a combination of affordability, low interest rates, and supply vs. demand.

I am hoping that we don’t see a return to the unsustainable buying frenzy we experienced in 2005-2006.

The best market is a “balanced” market where supply and demand are nearly equal.

Extremes in real estate always end up in a correction ~ one way or the other.

April 5th, 2012 Posted in Inside Real Estate |

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Sellers: Secure Your Home When You List It

I often see homes that have not been secured by the seller when they are listed in MLS.

Listing your home for sale exposes your most personal possessions to strangers and you can’t rely upon the buyer’s real estate agent to protect you from buyers who may have sticky fingers.

Thus, it’s a good idea to keep things you don’t want to share with strangers out of sight.

Here are some suggestions for securing your home while it’s for sale.

Prescription Drugs

Put your prescription drugs away while your home is on the market.

This is especially important if you have prescription painkillers in your home.

Financial Papers

Put your checkbooks, bank statements, investment statements, and anything with account numbers and account balances away.

Your financial information is private and could help a nosy buyer in their negotiations to buy your home.

Money/Credit Cards

This seems obvious, but it isn’t unusual to see purses, wallets, and bottles full of loose change left unattended in homes that are on the market.

Firearms

Don’t leave your firearms out in plain sight.

Doing so could be an open invitation for a robbery at some future time.

Fortunately, the Boise real estate market seems relatively immune to these issues, but it’s still a good idea to be prudent and secure your home when you put it on the market.

April 4th, 2012 Posted in Inside Real Estate |

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Boise Real Estate: Construction Costs Are Rising

Idaho building contractors say construction costs are rising.

Costs for products related to petroleum, such as roofing and PVC pipe have already increased, along with other items used in construction, including diesel fuel and equipment tires.

67% of Idaho building contractors believe that prices on key materials will increase by about 10% in 2012, while 26% of those contractors expect prices to increase between 11% and 25%.

As always, supply vs. demand is playing a part because many suppliers reduced inventories and production capacity during the downturn of the past few years.

To meet increased demand, those suppliers must now add capacity, which results in higher costs that are passed on to contractors.

Those higher costs eventually get baked into the sales price of a new home.

If you’re considering buying a new home, do it now while costs and interest rates remain low.

Source: IdahoStatesman.com article