Metro Boise Market Sees New Listings Fall off a Cliff
Posted by Lisa Kohl on Wednesday, July 8th, 2020 at 1:27pm
New listings took a nosedive across the Treasure Valley in June, driving home prices up and setting new sales records in Boise, Ada County, and Canyon County.
Despite the continuing pandemic, demand for homes has not lessened – it has grown – as sellers postponing listings, and new construction delays are now compounding an already critical lack of supply in the valley.
To get a better idea of just how sudden and dramatic the change was, let’s look at the numbers:
- In Ada County, available listings plunged from 1,353 in May to 985 in June – a more than 27% drop. When compared with last year’s available listings (1,715), we see a 42.6% decline. For context, we haven’t seen so few listings on the market in any June since the ‘90s housing boom.
- To give you an even better idea of current market conditions, inventory in Ada County also declined to 1.06 months of supply, down from 1.48 just in the last month. A year ago, we were looking at a 1.85 month supply. The national average currently is 5.6 months of supply, which illustrates just how scarce Ada County homes have become.
As a reminder, a four to six month supply of houses for sale represents a balanced market that favors neither buyers nor sellers. The Treasure Valley’s current scarcity of homes, the magnitude of which we’ve never seen before in either Ada or Canyon County, gives sellers a huge advantage and drives up competition between buyers.
A few factors may have caused local listings to plummet: construction delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 4th of July holiday weekend (people tend to delay listing around holidays), and home payment forbearance – again, thanks to the pandemic – causing people to put off listing their homes.
- Canyon County experienced a 26% slump from May to June, when listings fell from 567 to 418 homes. If we compare to last year’s available listings (694), we see a 40% drop.
- Canyon County’s inventory also declined to .91 months of supply, down from 1.38 in May, and 1.66 last year.
Finally, in Boise we saw a 23% drop – from 457 listed homes in May to a scant 330 in June. Seasonally, we saw an 18% decline from last year’s 558 homes. May’s inventory of 1.18 months of supply dropped to .85 in June – not the lowest we’ve seen in the previous year but still very low when compared to 1.37 the year prior.
Thirty-year mortgage rates also hit yet another record low – falling from the previous record low of 3.13% in mid-June to 3.07% in early July – adding yet another layer of increased demand for buyers already hungry for homes. The Wall Street Journal notes that this is the fifth time in 2020 that mortgage rates have hit new record lows.
All these factors have contributed to the record-breaking sales prices we’ve seen in the past month. In Ada County, the median sales price hit $375,000, a $23,000 jump compared with last year. In Boise, the median sales price rose to $360,000 – a seasonal increase of $11,250. Canyon County prices soared to $285,000, decimating last June’s price point by $37,500.
What does the current market mean for buyers?
The days of discounted purchase prices are gone. Now more than ever, buyers should be realistic when shopping for a home in the Treasure Valley. Here’s what you can realistically expect for the most desirable homes:
For properties priced below $300,000 in most of Ada County, expect bidding wars with winning offers $5,000 to $10,000 above the listing price. For homes listed between $300,000 to $700,000 anticipate competing against multiple offers, with many homes also selling over asking price. Even in the price range of $1 million, properties are selling faster than ever.
In the new construction market, roughly 2/3 of properties are sold before they are completed. If you peer through the windows at the kitchen and see that the cabinets have already been installed, it's too late.
There is a silver lining for you- Given the healthy number of new construction sales we complete, we are able to locate properties for our clients before they are listed. Buyers who wait to browse the new construction offerings that appear online are often just vying for homes our clients have chosen to pass on.
Boise Real Estate Market Summary for June 2020
- Median list price - $364,900 (up 4.29%)
- Median sold price - $360,000 (up 3.15%)
- Price per square foot - $216 (up 10.77%)
- Total home sales - 477 (down 46)
- Median days on market - 10 days (up 3 day)
- Available homes for sale - 0.85 month supply (up 0.52)
- 30-year mortgage rates - 3.16% (down 0.64)
Boise Metro Housing Markets by Area
Median sales price:
- Ada County - $375,000
- Eagle - $543,000
- Garden City - $291,000
- Kuna - $325,000
- Meridian - $370,021
- Star - $397,212
- Canyon County - $285,000
- Caldwell - $261,500
- Middleton - $292,000
- Nampa - $284,695
Lisa Kohl
Lisa carefully studies the local housing market to give her clients the edge when buying or selling a home in Idaho. We Know Boise is a full-service real estate team that combines our LOCAL expertise with traditional know-how to create exceptional results for each of our clients.
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Information in this We Know Boise market report was obtained from the Intermountain MLS (IMLS) on July 6th, 2020. Deemed reliable but not guaranteed. City data refers to single-family homes on less than one acre, while county data includes homesites of all sizes. Current inventory is calculated on a twelve-month rolling average. Combining existing homes for sale with new construction is the best way to gauge current home prices and Boise housing market trends. New house prices are much more volatile and can create unreliable comparisons, particularly on a month to month basis.
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