It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is over, and that February is just around the corner. I think we were all happy to say farewell to 2020 and welcome in the new year.
Being a seasoned agent in our real estate industry for the last 16 years, I was uncertain how COVID-19 was going to affect our local real estate market. We had struggled with inventory shortages over the last five years, and we just could not seem to build homes fast enough to keep up with the demand. COVID-19 put our real estate market on steroids! Many families made the decision to vacate larger metropolitan areas and make the move to Idaho in hopes of seeking a better life for their families. Many businesses are allowing their employees to continue to work from home, which gives people the flexibility to live where they want to live and still maintain their current employment.
There’s no doubt that our real estate market is aggressive and fast moving. Sellers are receiving multiple offers, and homes are selling for well above the list price. With that being said; it’s a great time to sell a home! However, this market does pose some challenges to buyers. It’s taking more time and patience to find the right home for buyers, that make financial sense. This process is a little trickier due to the influx of buyers wanting to purchase a home. Most new construction builders are releasing only a certain number of homes at a time, to help combat the rising costs of homes.
The median price for homes in Canyon County (which includes the cities of Nampa, Caldwell, Middleton, Greenleaf, Wilder, Parma, and Notus) is now $339,445. That’s a 33.12% increase in one year. The median prices of homes in December of 2019 was $255,000. That’s an increase of $84,456 in one year!! You can’t save money quick enough to outpace the rate of inflation.
The median price of homes in Ada County (which includes the cities of Boise, Meridian, Kuna, Star, Eagle, and Garden City) is now $434,900. That’s up 24.29% from last year. The median price of homes in December 2019 was $349,900. That’s an increase of $84,990 in one year.
We anticipate another strong year in our real estate market. It’s hard to say how much the prices of homes will continue to increase and for how long. I do believe that prices will eventually level out due to affordability factors. I don’t anticipate a rapid decline, like what we experienced during the great recession of 2007. That market was completely different in the sense that we had a surplus of homes on the market at that time, and lending was out of control. The opposite is true for our market today. We have a shortage of homes on the market. Builders are mindful and are controlling the number of homes that they build and release on the market. Lenders must adhere to strict guidelines to ensure that a buyer is indeed qualified to purchase a home. Many buyers in our market are obtaining conventional financing with a significant down payment, or they’re paying cash for a home.