Boise Idaho Real Estate Blog - Selling A Home

Housing Shortage and Rising Construction Costs Plague Boise Market

Boise area home prices hit new highs in April, thanks to strong demand from homebuyers and continued near record-low supply.

If you’ve spent any time online looking for homes, or have taken a drive looking for “For Sale” signs, you’ve noticed: we are suffering from a stark lack of inventory in the Treasure Valley. This continues to limit the number of homes for sale – and help drive prices up.

While the number of available homes is slowly recovering from the height of the pandemic, total home sales remain well below levels you’d expect to see. Especially when you take into consideration that Ada and Canyon counties added 23,890 residents in the past year.

The combination of record-high prices, record growth, and near record-low sales is…

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Boise's Best Schools: Guide to the Top Public & Charter Schools

Buying a new home is much more than comparing square footage and lot sizes. Buying a new home means planting roots in a new community, discovering new favorite coffee shops, and perhaps most importantly, enrolling your children in new schools. We understand that all parents want what’s best for their children. Paramount of that is helping children get the best education for their learning style and needs. In fact, for many clients, finding the right school(s) for their children is a top consideration when selecting a new place to call home.

As the saying goes, "knowledge is power," but sifting through multiple websites and educational rankings to find accurate, up-to-date information can be daunting. That’s where we come in. We've done that…

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Boise Housing Market Forecast 2021: Outlook & Trends

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,…

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Best Neighborhoods in Boise: Finding Your Place to Call Home

Your guide to exploring Boise's best neighborhoods – and what makes them top notch

When hunting for a new home, people often forget to look beyond the four walls in front of them to think about how the neighborhood would support their lifestyle. But your neighborhood can be more than just a place to commute to and from – it can be the place you take long runs to unwind after work, or the home of your favorite brunch spot. It can be where you find community.

Neighborhoods are like people, full of quirks and strengths and weaknesses that are wholly unique. Picking the best one for your lifestyle and needs is important. That’s why we’re here to help.

Below, you’ll find the best neighborhoods in Boise hand-picked by us for their strengths,…

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Idaho Property Tax: The Complete Guide to Rates, Assessments, and Exemptions

For first-time and seasoned homeowners alike, Idaho property taxes can be confusing. For instance, what’s the difference between a home’s market value and assessed value – and which one is used to calculate property taxes? And why can two very similar houses in the same neighborhood have drastically different property taxes?

If you have a home mortgage, chances are your property tax payments are rolled into your mortgage payment each month. But it’s still helpful to know what you’re paying as a homeowner and why. Below, we break down how rates are set, how you can estimate your property tax rate, and how to appeal if you believe your property taxes are too high.

What Are Idaho Property Taxing Districts and Why Do They Matter?

Property taxes…

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Boise Housing Market Forecast 2020

As I write this, home prices are hitting new record highs as the Boise real estate market leads the nation in appreciation.

In the past year, Boise home prices have risen 11 percent while the supply of homes for sale has declined by 10 percent.

What will the new year bring?

By definition, a forecast is an opinion about future events. Even so, I’ve made a point to focus on the facts and current trends that are already in effect, avoiding any wild speculation. Read on for an insider take on the Treasure Valley housing market in the months to come.

Boise Home Prices Will Continue Rising

Today, one in six listings are seeing multiple offers. By spring, we expect that number to jump to one in three.

Driven by low interest rates and a…

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Celebrating Our Clients: A Night Out With Old Friends and New

Here at We Know Boise, the heart of our business is you, our clients and partners.

That’s why we host client appreciation events throughout the year—to say thank you and express our gratitude. In July, we hosted a “Last Taste of Summer” client appreciation party at Bodovino at The Village at Meridian and the event was a success!

Our client appreciation events are the highlight of our year. Without our clients, we wouldn’t be in business and we look forward to every time we get a chance to connect. As a team, we enjoy catching up with clients we assisted years ago, as well as current and recent clients.

At last month’s event, we reconnected with some of our very first We Know Boise clients—a special treat—as well as newer faces. Held at…

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Take an Inside Look at the Latest in New Construction at Oregon’s Street of Dreams

I may not be able to predict the future, but I can give you some hints about what you’ll see in Boise’s new home construction in the coming years. That’s because I recently attended the NW Natural Street of Dreams at Stafford Meadows in Wilsonville, Oregon, just 20 minutes outside of Portland.

Just like our highly-anticipated local Boise Parade of Homes, the 2019 Street of Dreams showcases stunning examples of modern and innovative design, construction, floor plans, landscaping, and finishing touches.

The six homes I toured were excellent examples of what we’re seeing and will continue to see in the Boise new construction market and provided ample inspiration for those looking to build.

Priced from $1.1 to $1.8…

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The Result of Five Years of Appreciation in the Boise Real Estate Market

You have heard it before, "buying a home is a great investment." But just how good has owning real estate in the Boise market actually been?

As it turns out, probably better than you think.

The median home value in Boise has risen for eight years in a row. If you bought a house in that timeframe, you have most likely done very well.

While some fortunate buyers may have purchased at the market bottom, about half have purchased in the last five years, making that a better frame of reference.

Between the first half of 2014 and the first half of 2019, median home values in Boise jumped a staggering 68.4%.

So what happened if you bought a house in Boise five years ago?

If you bought in 2014, you paid the then median price of $193,000 and…

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Idaho Homeowners Exemption: Save On Your Property Taxes

Have you applied for your Idaho Homeowners Exemption for the 2020 tax year yet?

If you’ve recently purchased a house or moved to Idaho, you may be eligible for a property tax exemption. You’ll likely spend more money on owning a home than any other one thing in your life, so a tax break is a welcome relief.

A property tax exemption reduces the net taxable value of your home and up to one acre of your property. Instead of calculating your property tax percentage based on the full value of your home, the Idaho Homeowners Exemption subtracts $100,000 and determines your tax rate based on the resulting amount.

In 2019, the legislature set the exemption reduction at an even $100,000 (up to a maximum of 50% of the properties value), to remain in…

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