According to the Idaho Statesman, Boise is currently the national leader for rising home prices. The new number to beat is 12.7% and the data comes from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The jump was less than the 13.6% rise recorded during the 12 months ending in June and higher than the 11.1% reported for the 12 months ending in September. Idaho also sits in first place of the state rankings with a home price rise of 12%, and Utah was second at 8.1%. High demand and low supply are getting the credit or the blame - depending on how you look at it. “However in Boise, there has also been an inflow of new home buyers,” said Will Doerner, an agency economist. “Tech companies and their employees have started to settle in the area because of the reasonably low home prices and access to outdoor activities.”
Nationally, house prices rose 5.1% during the 12 months ending in December. Only Colorado Springs, at 11%, and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, at 10.1%, also experienced double-digit increases in 2019.
For sellers, home builders and their agents, the federal report is more good news. But waiting to sell could bring even better prices. Kealy Baughman, owner of Trail 27, a Boise real estate company, said she expects the Boise area’s market to stay hot.
“I just don’t see it slowing down,” Baughman said by phone. “People love the lifestyle here, and for people coming here from the West Coast, our prices are still realistic for them.”
