The legislature passed 4 bills on housing-related issues this year including Short Term-Rentals, Homeowner's Property Tax Exemption, Starter Home Subdivisions and Accessory Dwelling Units

Here's an excerpt from a Realtor Bulletin:

Idaho REALTORS® Government Affairs Director Max Pond breaks down four bills that crossed the finish line this session — each one moving the needle on property rights, housing attainability, and homeowner flexibility across Idaho.

Here's what passed:

House Bill 583 — Short-Term Rentals: Following a legal victory at the Idaho Supreme Court, HB 583 reinforces that short-term rentals must be treated the same as long-term rentals. No registration, licensing, or additional compliance requirements. Effective July 1, 2026.

House Bill 843 — Homeowner's Exemption: This bill removes the proration of the homeowner's exemption, meaning your clients can now apply for and receive the full $125,000 exemption at any point during the year.

Senate Bill 1352 — Starter Home Subdivisions: Directs larger Idaho cities to allow starter home subdivisions on vacant land of four or more acres, reducing zoning barriers around lot size and setbacks to create more attainable options in the market.

Senate Bill 1354 — Accessory Dwelling Units: Gives homeowners more flexibility to add an ADU — such as a small apartment or guest house — to their property, and limits cities and HOAs from outright banning them.

This week, Freddie Macs' weekly report on owner- occupied average mortgage interest rates fell to 6.01%, the lowest level since September of 2022. After local home prices dropped over the winter, homes have not been this affordable in years and your buying power has increased. If you want to save thousands or maybe tens of thousands over the long term, I highly recommend you try to beat the spring rush because home prices are about to jump. The last 4 second quarters in Ada County have seen median home prices jump between 6.5% and 10.5%. That's no small difference!

Call/text me today to start preparing to make your move. 208-866-3481 

After years of extremely low inventory in the Treasure Valley, the market is slowly trending toward normal. 

These are all active homes for sale, both new and existing, on the first of each month since Covid in the spring of 2020, when demand surged and inventory cratered. Mortgage interest rates doubled in 2022, causing a temporary spike. Since then, inventory has been slowly trending upward each year.

Supply based on the pace of sales is showing a similar picture, slowly trending upward. A 5-6 month supply of homes is considered a balanced market where neither buyers nor sellers have a distinct advantage and prices are stable or slowly rising. That could be many years from now at this rate. Especially if our population keeps growing!

I just got the numbers and I am a bit surprised with interest rates recently dropping to 3-year lows!

It wasn't a snowy winter. Must be people distracted over the holidays and waiting for lower rates. Ada County's median home price fell another 3% during the fourth quarter of 2025 to $533,500. Still positive year over year with a 0.7% gain. I guess this is good news for would-be first timers, especially with interest rates near 3-year lows right now.

Canyon County's median home price has been very flat for the last 3 quarters, but is still up 3.9% year over year. 

Don't expect home prices to come down in SW Idaho, except for seasonal variations. Our population has and is still growing and we only have a 2-month supply of homes available including new construction. I am curious to see how big the price jump is this year during the second quarter. The last four second quarters in Ada County have seen price jumps between 6.5% and 10.5%.

Hot weather brings what I call the summer doldrums in real estate. Home sales typically slow after the spring rush in the Treasure Valley and this year is no exception. The rush was again somewhat muted this year, but home prices did rise in the second quarter, as usual. 

Ada County's median existing home price at $564,440 rose 6.5% since Q1 and is up just 0.8% from a year ago. Compared to the last few second quarters where prices jumped 8-10.5%, this is a marked slowing in home price appreciation

Canyon County's median at $400,000 rose only 1.27% from Q1 and is surprisingly down 1.23% from a year ago. Affordability conditions seemed to have had more effect on Canyon County markets this year, but the year over year numbers for both counties are showing much flatter prices than recent years.

If you are looking to buy or sell, contact me for market information on your specific home or price range. Also see my Market Monitor for monthly updates on the Treasure Valley housing markets.

Numbers are in for the first quarter. Ada County's median existing home price of $529,900 increased only slightly (8/10ths of a percent) during Q1. Year over year, the Ada County median is up 9.53% from the previous first quarter. Note the big jumps in last three second quarters.

Canyon County's median existing home price of $395,000 increased 2.6% during the first quarter and was also up 2.6% year over year.

See my Market Monitor for more in-depth analysis, charts & graphs on the local real estate markets. 

Looking back on the fourth quarter of 2024; the election, stubborn inflation and mortgage rates rising from 6 to 7%, it's no surprise that real estate activity was very low in SW Idaho. However, on a year-over-year basis home prices are still trending upward since the last major event- the doubling of interest rates in 2022.

Ada County's median existing home price of $529,450 was down a meager 0.94% for the fourth quarter of 2024. It has been a mild winter, but that is much less than the 3% and 4.8% drops in the two previous fourth quarters. Looking at the year-over-year change negates the seasonal variations and Ada County prices are up 3.81% from a year ago.

Canyon County's median of $385,000 is down 3.73% for the quarter, a slightly larger drop that the 2.8% drop in the previous fourth quarter. Year-over-year prices were only up 1.3%, compared to a 3.1% gain the previous year. Why so much flatter than Ada? Affordability is my guess and supply levels have been higher here since July. 

What does the future hold? I expect local home prices to continue rising moderately this year due to continued low supply levels. Both Ada & Canyon Counties are slowly trending upward in supply levels, but today have only 7-week supplies of homes based on the pace of sales and that's including new construction. Supply would have to double/triple before prices go flat.

For monthly updates and a more in-depth analysis on the Boise Metro housing markets see my Market Monitor on my website.

I've seen some recent national news stories about prices falling and inventory rising, but don't forget all real estate markets are local. Here in Idaho that is not the case. Supply based on the pace of sales is holding at 1.5 months- still very low compared to a balanced market with 5-6 months supply where neither buyers nor sellers have the advantage.

The second quarter usually brings the highest demand of the year here in Idaho, driving prices to make the biggest jumps before the summer heat comes. Despite interest rate fluctuations in this highly rate sensitive market, this year's spring rush drove prices up in both Ada & Canyon Counties.

Ada County's median existing home price jumped an impressive 10.9% from $505,000 to $559,900 during the second quarter. Year over year, the median is up 6.65% in Ada County. Amazingly, prices here are up 60% in the 4 years since Covid!

The Canyon County median existing home price rose 5.2% from $385,000 to $405,000 during the second quarter. Year over year Canyon's median is up 4%. I think affordability played more of a role here, halving the gains seen in Ada County. Prices here are up 51.7% since Covid.

While housing supply remains so low, I don't see local home prices dropping- other than seasonal changes. Lower mortgage rates later this year should also support prices. See my Market Monitor for monthly updates on the local housing markets.

Here's an update on the latest quarterly existing home prices report from the Intermountain Regional MLS for the Boise Metro area. Fluctuating mortgage interest rates and continued tight housing supply have played large roles in driving the Treasure Valley housing markets.

Ada County's median existing home price for Q1 was $505,000. That's down 0.1% from the previous quarter and up 6.3% year over year (compared to Q1 2023). Sales of existing homes were down 8.25% year over year, while new construction was down 14.36% for the same period. 

Canyon County's median existing home price was $385,000 for Q1, up 1.3% from the previous quarter and up 6.94% year over year. Sales of existing homes in Canyon County are down 16.95% from a year ago and new construction was down 11.96% year over year.

NAR has just published their report on the quarter comparing median home prices in major metros across the country. This abbreviated table helps you compare the Boise Metro to other metros in the West.

Most of our nearest neighbors still have higher home prices than the Boise Metro, including Salt Lake, Reno, Ogden & Provo. No bubble to burst here in local home prices!

Don't miss my Market Monitor for monthly updates on the Boise Idaho area housing markets.

Goodbye 2023! Can't say I'll miss you. It was a slow year for home sales with spiking mortgage rates pricing buyers out and discouraging sellers from moving. But I am optimistic that 2024 will be better with easing rates and increased inventory.

Looking back on the fourth quarter, home prices did slide as usual for the off-season. It did not help that mortgage rates hit 2-decade highs in November.

The median existing home price in Ada County dropped 3% for the quarter to $510k. Much less than the 4.8% drop the previous Q4, despite higher mortgage rates. This is a sign of underlying tightness in our housing markets- low inventory vs pent-up demand. Year over year home prices are still up 2% in Ada County.

Canyon County's median existing home price fell 2.8% for the quarter to $380k. Also, much less than the previous Q4 drop of 7.8%. The housing market is even tighter here. Year over year, Canyon County home prices are still up 3.1%  

Looking ahead to Q1, this snowy weather will surely hold up listings and sales in Jan/Feb. On the bright side, mortgage rates have recently dropped over a point and should fuel demand from buyers later in the quarter.