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The Boise, Idaho metro area experienced some of the biggest home-price gains during the past two years. But now, in early 2024, those soaring prices have come back down to earth.
In fact, a recent report singled out Boise, Idaho as experiencing one of the sharpest declines in house values. Read on to find out why this is actually a great opportunity for home buyers.
During 2021 and the first part of 2022, Boise was one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. This is something we’ve written about in the past, and you probably already know the reasons for it. This metro area experienced a huge influx of buyers, suppressing inventory and sending home prices through the roof.
Over the past year, however, the formerly red-hot housing market of Boise, Idaho has entered a much-needed cooling phase. You can see this by analyzing a variety of metrics, including month-to-month home price changes.
According to a recent report from Forbes, the Boise real estate market has experienced one of the biggest reversals in home price growth in recent months.
“Since home prices started declining last summer, 276 of the nation’s 400 largest housing markets have seen seasonally adjusted home prices fall from their 2022 high point. That includes sharp declines in overheated markets like Austin (-7.9% from its 2022 peak), Boise (-8%), and Bend, Ore. (-8.2%). (Without seasonal adjustment, markets like Austin and Boise are down -12.6% and -11.6%, respectively.)”
According to Zillow, the median home price in and around Boise peaked at around $509,295 in mid-2022. Since then, prices have declined from one month to the next. Today, Boise’s average home price is $459,653.
This same trend is occurring in many metro areas across the country, especially those that became “overheated” by pandemic-fueled migratory changes.
We can view this as a kind of normalization within the real estate market. After suffering from a serious inventory shortage, the Boise housing market is starting to experience an increase in listings. This has shifted the balance between buyers and sellers, while also slowing the rapid price growth mentioned earlier.
This is one of several trends that could benefit Boise home buyers throughout 2023.
When it comes to the pace of home sales, the Boise real estate market peaked in mid-2022. Back then, houses listed for sale in the area spent a median of just nine days on the market. Buyers were lining up to put in offers for properties, leading to lightning-quick home sales.
As of last month, however, the median number of “days on market” was 39 days. This marks a major slowdown in real estate activity from the peak a couple of years ago, though its slightly faster than the same time last year.
At first glance, these recent trends might suggest that the Boise real estate market has become a bad investment. But that’s not the case at all. Instead, this real estate market is “correcting” itself after a period of unprecedented sales activity and price growth. This could bring great opportunities for home buyers planning to enter the market in 2024.
The most likely scenario is that home prices in the Boise area will level off over the coming months, and then turn north again. We have a lot of historical data to suggest such an occurrence.
If you look at home-price growth in the Boise area going back 40 years or so, you will see a slow-but-steady upward trend. The changes that occurred over the past three years represent an anomaly, which is slowly but surely unwinding itself. As the market continues to settle down, prices will likely continue the gradual rise that has occurred in the past.
All of this creates a good opportunity for Boise-area home buyers in 2024.
Inventory levels have been on the rise in recent months, giving buyers more properties to choose from. Additionally, a slower real estate market will take some of the stress out of the house hunting process. And then we have the price situation. When compared to the past two years, 2024 could bring some good bargains for Boise home buyers.
Planning to buy a home in the Boise area during 2024? Want to get ahead of the spring home buying season? We can help.
Sammamish Mortgage serves home buyers all across the Pacific Northwest, including the state of Idaho. We offer a broad range of mortgage options such as FHA, VA and conventional. Please contact our staff if you have mortgage-related questions or would like to apply for a loan!
Whether you’re buying a home or ready to refinance, our professionals can help.
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No Obligation and transparency 24/7. Instantly compare live rates and costs from our network of lenders across the country. Real-time accurate rates and closing costs for a variety of loan programs custom to your specific situation.