As news articles revolving around our housing market in the Treasure Valley seem to have died down a bit, so has the pressure on buyers. For the first 9 months of the year, we saw year over year increases each month of 24-48% with the median home price of $534,950 in Ada County and $422,000 in Canyon County. Although prices are continuing to increase, we're also seeing a welcome increase in inventory. As of September, we've seen six consecutive months of increasing inventory. As sellers saw short days on market and high sales prices, it gave them extra encouragement to take advantage of the market and list. This is a benefit to Boise buyers as more available homes leads to less competition resulting in only about 33% of homes on the market selling for over list, the lowest percentage since June of 2020.

We are still far from a balanced market where we have 4-6 months of inventory (we're at about 1.5 months currently) which continues to result in opportunities for sellers.

As a seller, it is important to talk to your trusted Realtor about the market conditions and current comps. Due to the slower pace, we're not seeing the month over month price increases we were seeing at the beginning of the year. Some sellers may still have that in their mind and a large reason we're seeing homes sit on the market right now is due to an over-inflated list price. Accurately pricing your home the first time around leads to a higher contract price overall. It is also important your home shows well and is in good condition. With more inventory, buyers may have more options.

Although overall we're seeing an increase in the number of homes available in the Boise area, some areas that are in high demand are still going to see multiple offers and go pending quickly. This can still lead to some challenges for buyers looking in those neighborhoods meaning they'll need to be ready to act quickly and there may not be a lot of negotiation room on price. Ensuring your agent is communicating with the listing agent and finding out what's important to the seller results in either submitting a strong offer or may determine that it's not going to fall into your budget, timing or other parameters. It's important to have a clear plan with your agent when going into a potential multiple offer situation. Thankfully with incredibly low interest rates and potentially some seasonality as the holidays approach, it's still a great time for buyers. What we are seeing in the industry (and also through news avenues) is continuing growth and in-migration which will continue to add to the increase in our real estate market and homeowner's equity.

If there are any questions you have regarding the market, buying or selling, or have a friend or family member that does, we'd love to help!

Paige Brown, Associate Broker

Swope Investment Properties