The real estate market in the US has been rising all over the US in the past 12 months, but in Boise, Idaho, prices have practically exploded. And will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The explanation lies in a combination of two factors – very, very limited supply and exponential population growth.
Let’s have a look at some numbers to understand how come Boise house prices have skyrocketed in 2021.
Growing Demand
According to Zillow, house values in Boise grew at an amazing 41% with respect to 2020. To be honest, Boise was one of the hottest real estate markets in the US even before the pandemic. As everyone in the business knows, the pandemic triggered a huge demand for large family homes far away from the big cities. People in the big coastal cities were particularly hard hit by the shelter-in-place orders that were the norm for the greater part of 2020. Many started reevaluating their life choices and decided they’d be better off in a smaller city and much closer to nature.
And Boise is exactly that type of city where people are more laid-back, there’s less traffic and pollution and you have plenty of room to breathe.
The city of Boise had already seen a 10% increase in population between 2010 and 2019. And the same goes for the neighboring cities of Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell.
At the same time, the local economy is booming, which means thousands of people are looking to relocate to the City of Trees.
Other cities seeing a growing demand are Austin, San Bernardino, San Diego or Salt Lake City.
Scarce Supply
On the other hand, many development projects were put on hold because of the pandemic restrictions, not to mention the construction materials shortages. This translates into few new houses becoming available.
As of July 2021, the metro area in Boise only registered a 0.5-month supply of homes available for sale. That’s ridiculously low for such a fast-growing demand.
The moment one house is listed for sale, offers start pouring and it quickly escalates into bidding wars. According to local real estate experts, if you put up your house for sale in Boise you can expect to have the deal signed and sealed within two weeks.
Median Home Value – $500,000
Obviously, the growing demand is driving prices up like crazy. For instance, in April 2021, the median home value in the Boise metropolitan area was $438,000. By mid-July, it had reached almost $500,000 with no signs of slowing down. Experts predict the $500,00 milestone will be surpassed before the summer is out.
Steady Growth Predicted for 2021
All evidence points to the fact that the house prices in Boise, Idaho, will rise another 24% in 2022, and that’s a conservative estimate according to Zillow. Construction projects have picked up, but not fast enough to satisfy the growing demand. With limited supply and streams of people moving to the city, the real estate market will be going pretty strong at least as far as 2022 is concerned.
