Boise Real Estate Blog

The Long View Of Boise Real Estate

I have been in the Boise area almost 7 years.

When I arrived in 2000, Boise was still a well-kept secret.

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.

When I got here, our residential real estate 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.  Today, our median sales price is around $230,000 for a home in Ada County.

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 25% appreciation.

Today, our market has softened and you can buy a nice home here for $250-300k.

My crystal ball is a little cloudy, but I do have the advantage of a 35-year perspective in real estate.

I remember being in San Jose in the mid-70s, when homes were selling for $40-50k.

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 $500,000 each.

And, they would have been free/clear by now too.

Lessons learned.

I firmly believe that our current Boise real estate market will come to be viewed as a buying opportunity in the years to come.

The Boise area offers tremendous quality of life and our housing prices are still attractive when compared to other areas where homeowners are fleeing severe traffic problems, crime, illegal immigration, and high costs of living.

April 17th, 2007 Posted in Uncategorized |  Print | No Comments »

Boise Real Estate Market Avoiding Subprime Problems

I continue to see many doom-and-gloom articles about the national subprime lending meltdown and how it is affecting various areas of the country.

The Boise real estate market seems to be avoiding the aftermath of the past few years of lax lending policies, according to an article in the Idaho Statesman on April 12th.

That article mentioned that U.S. foreclosures have spiked 42% in the past year, due to homeowners who bought their homes with subprime loans.

In contrast, Idaho’s foreclosure rate has remained low because our real estate market has seen some steady price appreciation over the past few years, thereby allowing borrowers to either refinance or sell their homes before getting into trouble.

While it is true that our median price has dipped slightly (about 1%), the Boise real estate market is by no means “crashing”.

And, homes in the Boise area remain relatively affordable compared to other, higher-priced areas offering a much less desirable quality of life.

I also think we are benefitting from the absence of large, national builders in our market.

We do not have Hovnanian, KB Homes, Pulte, Beazer and other national builders here, overbuilding and flooding our market with spec home inventory.

In some markets around the country, national builders have dumped so much standing inventory on the market that resale sellers cannot compete with the builders’ incentives such as free vacations, free upgrades, and even cars tossed in as incentives to lure buyers in.

Finally, the simple truth is that the Boise real estate market, as well as our population,  is pretty conservative.

I think our typical homebuyer probably uses more common sense than is  “common” in other areas of the country that got caught up in the real estate frenzy of the past few years.

April 15th, 2007 Posted in Uncategorized |  Print | No Comments »

Eagle, Idaho’s $1 Million+ Homes

The Eagle, Idaho real estate market offers some of the nicer homes in the Boise area.

Beautiful Eagle sits at the base of the foothills, has a quaint downtown area, and offers a quieter lifestyle that is peaceful and appealing

And, it’s just a short drive to downtown Boise.

At present, there are 56 homes (on lots/acreage), priced at $1 million or more, on the market in Eagle at an average asking price of $1,485,633.

4 homes priced above $1 million have closed escrow in the Eagle area since the first of the year, with an average selling price of $1,361,000.

Another 5 Eagle homes priced over $1 million are now in escrow at an average asking price of $1,440,339.

Eagle Market Snapshot:

There are 444 homes on the market in Eagle now, with an average asking price of $668,103.

114 homes in Eagle have closed so far this year, at an average selling price of $464,937, indicating that the Eagle real estate market continues to strengthen.

April 15th, 2007 Posted in Uncategorized |  Print | No Comments »

My Blog Audience

Much has been written about blogging to one’s “audience”.

Some real estate blogs try to appeal to a national audience, some target other Realtors^®, and a few are tightly targeted toward their local market and clientele.

I have chosen the latter.

My intent is to provide useful information and insight into the real estate profession to those who might do business with me in Boise, Meridian, or Eagle, Idaho.

My promise to you is that I will tell you the truth, regardless of my personal consequences.

That works pretty well for me, because I only want to resonate with people who can handle the truth.

I have never meshed well with people who want to hear it better, or different, than it is.

During my 35-year real estate career, I have never aspired to be a real estate cheerleader, trying to “talk up” the market.

My approach generates a fair amount of heat from fellow agents who prefer that I not tell people the exact state of the market, but I believe you have the absolute right to hear the truth and make your decisions accordingly.

I tend to work well with people who want accurate information, can face reality, and then make solid decisions upon the facts.

I welcome any suggestions or comments you may have about my blogging, so please let me know your thoughts.

Thank you for subscribing!

April 2nd, 2007 Posted in Uncategorized |  Print | No Comments »

Analysis of Boise, ID Area March Real Estate Activity

I just posted (see three previous posts) the March real estate activity statistics for Boise, Meridian, and Eagle, Idaho real estate markets.

Here are my thoughts on current market conditions in those areas:

For the first time since mid-2006, I see signs that our market is improving.

Closed units are off substantially year-over-year, but Ada County and Meridian prices seems to have stabilized.

In other words, homes are selling and the sellers are not being forced to give them away.

I’m hearing some sellers grumbling that they can’t make the killing they expected, but all is not doom and gloom.

But, buyers are being very selective and considering only the homes that are in in top condition and priced properly.  Everything else is languishing on the market with repeated price reductions and incentives to buyer agents.

The Eagle real estate market is still trying to find its footing, however.

With 436 listings, an average asking price of nearly $670,000, and only 34 closings during March, Eagle has a 13- month supply of listing inventory.  The good news is that there are 79 pending sales in Eagle at this time, and that is a very strong number.  Many homes that were on the market for several months are now in escrow.

Finally, it’s promising to note that pending sales numbes are up across the board.

I think we are seeing the Boise area market stabilize and that we probably will avoid the more severe corrections currently underway in California, Florida, and Nevada.

April 2nd, 2007 Posted in Uncategorized |  Print | No Comments »