Idaho Housing Market Update: August 2023
Hey, Treasure Valley Dave here in beautiful Nampa, Idaho. I’m your real estate agent when it’s time to buy a house, sell a home, or even relocate to Idaho. Looking at our robust housing market demand, everybody moving to Idaho seems to come from California. Well, that’s not true at all.
Dave: Hey, Mareen!
Mareen: Hey.
Dave: You are our Treasure Valley Dave resident expert on what’s happening in the market. What’s going on in the market?
Mareen: It’s so good to be back here and talk about August.
Dave: August 2023. Wow.
Mareen: August 2023. And it’s the perfect month to discuss the difference between Ada County and Canyon County.
Dave: Nice. I can’t wait to hear about this.
Ada County vs. Canyon County
Mareen: Yeah, so I mean affordability. We know it’s a big issue. Now, those high interest rates are only helpful for a few people. With that and the elevated home prices in Ada County, finding a house takes a lot of work. Also, prices dropped.
Dave: Prices dropped.
Mareen: Yeah, median home prices in Ada County fell by about $20,000. So, we are still not even close to the national average or the national median — not even close. It’s very different in Canyon County.
Dave: So, Ada County is expensive. I’m looking at the charts that you put together. It spells out how the blue line is the average price in Ada County or Canyon County. The orange line is the national median price.
Mareen: That is correct, yep.
Dave: And in Ada County, it’s half an inch higher. Over in Canyon County, we’re just about the same.
Mareen: Yeah. Half an inch spouts out about $120,000 more.
Dave: Oh, that’s an expensive half an inch.
Mareen: Exactly. It doesn’t mean that Ada County is not somewhere people want to be. A house’s average days on the market is just about 40 days.
Dave: Okay.
Mareen: People are buying, and good houses will go very quickly. I saw a beautiful place in Eagle with a median home price of $955,000. And this home was listed for $420,000. How fast did it go pending? Boom — 48 hours. It was a multiple-offer situation. $420,000 was the listing price. So, I am expecting that one to go up.
Dave: I imagine so. Are you seeing multiple offers and bidding wars like we used to?
Mareen: Depending on the price category. Everything under $400,000 is still highly competitive. You only have a short time to think about it. But that’s a tricky market for the million-dollar properties or even those over $800,000.
Dave: Well, how so?
Mareen: That’s why you get good deals right now.
Dave: I know you just helped somebody in that price range.
Mareen: Yeah, you need to have a lot of equity in whatever you have or cash on hand. That’s what you need. To make a house where you have an affordable mortgage, you need to put down quite a bit of money.
Dave: So, Mareen, I’m just looking at your charts here, and you’re saying that the median price over here in Northeast Nampa is still under $400,000, as is Caldwell NW and Caldwell SW.
Mareen: That’s right.
Dave: $393,000. $397,000.
Mareen: Yeah.
Dave: For that, you can get into a new home. It’s newly constructed, and you don’t have to worry about HVAC or roof.
Mareen: Hold on, aren’t you having an experience like that with somebody currently looking for a house in the mid-threes?
Dave: In the mid-threes, yep.
Mareen: A brand-new house.
Dave: For a brand-new house.
Mareen: Yep. And you can have it in Caldwell, Nampa — brand new. You still might have to get landscaping done in the back, but everything else is done.
Dave: But these are smaller houses.
Mareen: Yes, they are smaller houses.
Dave: But if you’re right-sizing and downsizing, that might be the thing.
Why Would You Move?
Mareen: This brings me to a good point. What’s the reason for you to even think about relocation? Why are you watching this? Because there is a reason for you to make a move. With all the news out there, there’s a crash happening… Why are you thinking about moving?
Dave: That’s a great question.
Mareen: I think so. Many people forget that it’s not just about what interest rates are currently doing. It is: “What’s the reason for moving?”
- Because you need to relocate for work.
- You’re just tired of wherever you are.
- You need to downsize or upsize.
Or isn’t there another reason for that? Maybe you want to move.
Dave: Mareen, I’m just looking at these charts. It has so much information on it. Back here, you’ve got interest rates, which have come up quite a bit, but they’re starting to flat-line now. Do the people who need to move see this as a time to move because interest rates have stopped increasing?
Mareen: There’s that point again. You have to talk to your lender and see what your situation is. Do interest rates affect you in that move?
Dave: Right. And you know, it’s on a case-by-case basis.
Mareen: Exactly. We have this wonderful couple from Vegas. It doesn’t matter what the interest rate is for them because they only want to move. They’re ready to roll. They were so excited when they were here. So, don’t focus on interest rates and all that news.
Dave: Right. Because if you’re trying to predict where interest rates will go, you must be a genius. And Warren Buffett must be calling you up.
Mareen: Yeah, I want that crystal ball. So please share it with us. Greatly appreciated.
Days on the Market
Dave: Yeah. I’m also looking at the days on the market for Canyon County and then compared to Ada County. Ada County looks like they’re starting to flatten off, but the days on the market for Canyon County are still coming down.
Mareen: It dropped significantly, yes.
Dave: What does that tell us?
Mareen: We talked about it last month. There were a lot of people that jumped into that last time before school started. Now, we should see a seasonal slowdown.
Dave: And we never had our seasonal speed up.
Mareen: Exactly. Very slight. So it’s still very different. We are still in a market I don’t think we have ever experienced. So, making a prediction based on something that happened before is hard.
Dave: Right.
Mareen: And that is not based on what happened in 2008.
Dave: Very true. Many things that caused the 2008 crash have been corrected by different laws that have gone into effect on processes, lending, and stuff like that.
Mareen: Exactly. It’s a very different situation why people moved. People moved on average every seven years. Now, we’re at every 10 years. So it’s all changed. It’s a different situation, and inventory is still extremely low.
Dave: Well, that’s true too. So, with a low inventory, one of the ways that will show up is that prices will stay steady or go up. Also, can you find the houses for your buyers looking for homes?
Mareen: It takes a little bit more time to find those. Are they out here? Yes. And if you do see it, somebody else most likely sees it, so you must jump on it.
Dave: Excellent. And so to jump on it, that means being pre-approved with your lender.
Mareen: That’s right.
Dave: Speaking of demand, I will tell people why we have demand here. Is it because everybody from California moved to the Treasure Valley? Where did they go to?
Are Californians Only Moving to Idaho?
Yeah, we have a strong market in the Treasure Valley. And so many people say, “Oh, everybody from California moved to Idaho.” That’s why our market’s so strong. And you know what? There’s a good reason for people to say that.
One is this story: “Where are Californians going when they leave the Golden State?” Well, it says that Idaho is the number one place, except this is weighted by the number of people that already live in Idaho. So there’s a tiny number of people already in Idaho.
So you add a small number, but the percentage is huge. And that’s why some people are reporting that Idaho is the number one place for Californians, but that’s entirely untrue.
"Invasion of the Californians: The 10 States Seeing the Biggest Influx of New Residents from California"
Guess where Idaho is on this? Okay, let’s look at the top 10 states seeing the biggest influx of new residents from California.
#10 Tennessee
I’ve got some friends that moved there. They seem to like it. They want humidity — it’s weird to me.
#9 North Carolina
Humidity and hurricanes.
#8 Nevada
No humidity there; no hurricanes either. So they have little grass and trees, but I don’t know.
#7 Colorado
Well, they do have grass and trees in Colorado. No hurricanes, but they get a heck of a lot of snow. But that’s number seven.
#6 Oregon
I think Oregon is probably where the liberals in California are fed up with paying higher taxes. They’re moving to Oregon. That would make sense to me. Oregon is undoubtedly beautiful.
#5 Arizona
Almost a quarter of all new migrants move into Phoenix. Whoa. So yeah, there again, it’s hot but low humidity. So they got that going for them.
#4 Washington
Okay, same story as Oregon. I’m sure that’s where the liberals are moving to because it is beautiful up there. It’s cold, too.
#3 New York
Are you heading for Brooklyn? I wonder which Californians are moving there. If you know, let me know.
#2 Florida
It’s beautiful down there. Sure, Florida has humidity and hurricanes and stuff like that. Nonetheless, this is a lovely place down there.
So what’s number one? Is it Idaho? I bet you’re thinking, “It’s gotta be Idaho.” Right?
Wrong-o.
It’s…
#1 Texas
300 Californians a day move to Texas.
Where did you see Idaho on the list? Nowhere on there.
Want to Move to Idaho Soon?
Thanks for stopping in and learning more about real estate in Nampa, Idaho and the Treasure Valley. When it comes time to sell a home, buy one, or even relocate to the Treasure Valley, contact us. Your Treasure Valley Dave team is your real estate expert by your side, helping you get home.
