At the beginning of 2020, no one could have predicted that within months the world would be battling a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, which would cripple both national and global economies. It was nearly inconceivable that local governments would be forced to limit or entirely shut down many business activities and that unemployment would rise to levels not seen since the Great Depression.

Just as no one could have predicted that national home sales would hit 14-year highs during this same time period, ringing in new price records in every major American city.

While it seems counterintuitive, what we’re seeing is two sides of the same coin. For better or worse, the roaring twenties have indeed arrived, and in Treasure Valley real estate at least,

We’ve seen many new records set – and subsequently broken – in the Treasure Valley real estate market in 2020, and the last month is no exception

In October, we saw housing prices surge to new records once again as feverish buyers competed for a dwindling supply of homes. This caused the length of time houses spent on the market to drop to a median of 5 days, a new record in both Ada and Canyon counties.

Even in the hottest spring markets the Treasure Valley has experienced, homes have not sold this fast.

Let’s look at October’s numbers before taking a step back to reflect on how the month caps off what has been an extraordinary year in Treasure Valley real estate:

• In the past year, the number of homes for sale in Ada County dropped

Amid critical housing shortages and record demand, bidding wars continue to drive up Boise area home prices.

Treasure Valley homebuyers in the 1980s had more housing stock to choose from than buyers today, thanks to the unprecedented shortage of listed homes we are currently experiencing. As a result, homebuyers can end up facing a gauntlet: bidding wars, forfeiting basic protections to make their offer more attractive, and paying record-high prices in order to land a home.

How did we get here? A few primary factors spring to mind: the Treasure Valley’s decades-long population boom, coupled with the fact that new construction has lagged behind demand for at least the past seven years in the valley.

Those factors are predictable (and were

Home prices in the Treasure Valley continue to break new records. No better example of that is Ada County, where home prices have hit a median of $400,000 for the first time in August. This represents a 12.7% increase in price over the previous year. It also means home prices have officially doubled in Ada County since late 2013.

Ada County is not an outlier – Canyon County and the cities of Boise, Meridian and Nampa all set new record sales prices last month. For instance, Boise’s price hit $379,900, beating last year’s median sales price of $337,767. In Canyon County, the median sales price hit $309,900 in August, whereas last year it was $250,000 – that’s a nearly $60,000 increase in one year.

To further put record prices in perspective,

July brought continued great news for home sellers in the Treasure Valley: record-high home prices in both Ada and Canyon Counties, combined with record-low inventory, is making home buying in these markets more competitive than your favorite extreme sport.

While we are seeing the strongest seller’s market ever recorded in the Treasure Valley, there is a silver lining for home buyers. Thirty-year mortgage rates continue to hit new lows, most recently 2.88%, offsetting some of the record high selling prices we’re seeing.

Let’s take a closer look at the numbers before we jump into what is driving this current market:

• The biggest gains we’re seeing is in Canyon County, which hit a median sales price of $300,000 for the first time ever,

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

COVID-19 required stay-at-home orders did little to slow the Treasure Valley's real estate market in May as demand rose.

In Ada County, the median home price rose to $362,00, up 5.6% from the year prior. The time it takes for the typical home to sell remained unchanged at 11 days. In addition, the available supply of homes on the market declined to 1,353 – a drop of more than 200 new listings compared to last year. This means that available inventory is down to a 1.48 months supply in the county.

As is typical for this time of year, we had more available inventory in May than the previous two months. That said, there are now fewer homes for sale than any month of last year except December (a slow month for new listings despite soaring demand).

We may be in the midst of a once-a-century global pandemic, but you’d never guess it by looking at local housing data.

Despite statewide social distancing rules and nationwide uncertainty, both Ada and Canyon counties reported new record-high home prices for the month of April.

This is encouraging news for potential sellers who hit the “pause” button on listing their homes over the past few months. The housing market is still strong in the Treasure Valley – in some ways, perhaps even stronger than usual, thanks to our unique, local circumstances.

Urgency among homebuyers

There are a number of factors that play into the sales records we’re currently seeing. Over the past year, tight inventory in the Treasure Valley – around 1.5 months – has

It may feel like months have passed since Idaho Governor Brad Little issued a March 25 statewide “stay at home” order to slow the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, in our state. While we safely weather out the pandemic in relative seclusion, many potential buyers and sellers are wondering: what impact will this have on the Boise real estate market?

The short answer is: it’s too soon to tell, but we can look at history to get an idea of how stable the market will perform in the coming months and years. The important thing to keep in mind is that homes are still being listed, they’re still pending, and most importantly, they’re still selling – even in this new era of video-chat home tours and social distancing.

What the Treasure Valley

The Treasure Valley fulfilled national expectations of being the hottest real estate market in the country – in March, at least.

Both Ada and Canyon counties boasted record-high sales prices last month, just as coronavirus concerns began to impact the Boise housing market.

In Ada County, the median single-family home sold for a record-setting of $365,645 in March. Compare it to a median price of $336,110 during the same period in 2019 and you’ll see an 8% growth in prices. Not surprising given the healthy market forecasts for the Treasure Valley.

New record-setting prices were helped by a few factors: mortgage interest rates fell to all-time lows in February, which helped buyers funds go further. Yet there were fewer homes than ever on the