Bill Williams

Home sales in Ada County during May showed a modest improvement over April's numbers, with 504 single family homes closed for the month. While that doesn't seem like much, the monthly increases are showing a normal trend for this time of year. We have a market that is acting normally, albeit at lower levels than we are used to seeing. Last year we had 735 homes sold, so our sales as of May this year are down 33% from a year ago. Remember that in April we were 34% behind, and before that we had been as high as 42%. We seem to be trending in the right direction. Today, sales for the month of June to date are only 16% behind the same date last year.

Currently there are 4658 active listings on our MLS, which is a bit higher than last year's 4524, and nearly one hundred more than we had at the beginning of the month. That doesn't help the sellers to get better prices for their homes, since there are still plenty of choices on the market, in all price ranges. The lower end homes are selling well, as would be expected, with the best conditioned homes occasionally drawing multiple offers. Price and condition remain the key to selling homes in this market.

There are 718 pending contracts on the market now, which is slightly higher than last month. What is encouraging about that is the comparison to last year. The decline from a year ago in sales has been getting better as I mentioned. But the difference in this year's pendings to last year's is getting better even faster. Pendings at the end of May were only 19% below a year ago, where sales were 33% below. I would expect that to translate into firmer sales figures going through the summer months, and so far that is holding up.

Everything considered, it is still a buyer's market. There is plenty to chose from out there right now, and prices are back to levels that make much of Ada County very affordable. Sellers need to price their properties correctly, and then have them looking their very best, in order to find a willing buyer. Homes priced even a little over market are not getting showings, where others that are priced correctly are seeing many showings and even multiple offers.

The most frequently asked question right now is "Are any houses selling?" Some folks seem surprised when I tell them, yes, homes are selling in the Treasure Valley right now. Definitely not on the same pace as two summers ago, but better than we saw over the winter. In fact, the 460 homes that sold in Ada County in April is the best showing we've had since August last year, when the mortgage lending problem happened. Year over year, April '08 was 34% below '07, but we've been 38 to 42% below in recent months. For the valley as a whole, 634 single family homes sold in April. Pending home sales are holding steady at 700 in Ada county as I write this.

Currently there are 4460 active listings for single family homes in Ada County, 6558 for the Treasure Valley area represented by Ada and Canyon counties. That is a great deal of inventory, and that is the primary reason for the soft house prices. There is just too much out there for buyers to choose from, and successful sellers are having to be negotiable on price. Some areas are holding up better than others, of course, but there are no "hot" areas right now, so it remains a buyer's market.

One of the other questions that comes up frequently concerns short sales and foreclosures. To listen to the National media, the real estate market is swamped by people losing their homes. That is not the case in our market, although we have seen an increase in short sales. That is definitely not a significant portion of our market right now though. Of the 6558 actives in two counties on MLS right now, only 69 show as short sales (using a simple search of the mls).

Is this the right time for YOU to be considering buying a new home? If you, or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in the Meridian and Boise areas, please call me. I'd love to help you get started!

It's time again for the Parade of Homes! The 2008 Parade of Homes by the Building Contractors Association of Southwestern Idaho will take place beginning Saturday April 26th through Sunday May 11th. This year there are a few less than the 37 new homes that were on the Parade last year, but this year's entries promise to be just as stunning. Communities from Kuna, Eagle, Hidden Springs, Meridian, and Boise are again represented. In addition to familiar names like Tuscany, Paramount, Crossfield, Bridgetower, and Saguaro Canyon, you'll find newcomers like Avimor, Englefield Green, and Alpine Point.

The 27 builders presenting homes this year include Eaglewood Homes, Westminster Homes, Suncor Idaho,Thompson Homes, Kastera Homes, Guaranteed Quality Construction, Whitney Homes, Canyon Crest Homes, Brighton Homes, Diamond Ridge Construction, Creekside Custom Homes, Tahoe Homes, Ted Mason Signature Homes, Zach Evans Construction, J. Edward Homes, Borup Construction, Markar Design & Construction, The Legend Company, and Hubble Homes.

These builders have brought together a great collection of new homes in a variety of sizes, and the prices reflect the changing market this year (no entries in the $6M range). A wide variety of styles is in this collection as well, including townhomes, California Spanish, European, French Country, and Craftsman. If you love looking at homes, or want to go looking for home project ideas, this is the premier home tour of the year for the Treasure Valley.

The Parade Homes are open daily from 5pm until 8pm weekdays (3pm opening on Fridays), and from noon until 8pm on weekends. Tickets are required, and they can be purchased at most Select-A-Seat locations, where you can also pick up a magazine format program which describes all of the homes, and explains more about the BCASWI. You purchase your ticket ahead of time ($10 each, but not available at the homes) and present it at the first home you wish to see. It is exchanged for a puchcard which you present at each home. In a change from previous years, my understanding is that the ticket will allow unlimited entries to each home. In the past, the punchcard allowed you to see each home once plus 5 re-entries you could use if you wished to see your favorites another time or two. Yes, people do come back multiple times to see some homes. Give yourself a number of evenings and weekend days if you intend to see all of them. And remember to wear slip-off shoes or sandals (hopefully Spring will come in time for the Parade).

I hope to see you out there.

Single Family home sales in Ada County increased in March, climbing back over the 400 unit level, with 430 sales closed for the month. Last year's 711 units was the third highest March on record, so the comparison is tough. And while 430 is still a fairly weak number, it is well over January's low of 302. The sales numbers are proving out what agents have been saying, that traffic and buyer interest is increasing.

Also interesting and encouraging for the month is another strong increase in the pending contracts figure. We are starting April with 694 contracts pending, well up from March, which had 575. Buyers are finding homes, and contracts are being accepted. One interesting note, in a quick look through the pending sales I can only find 12 that are shown as short sales.

There has been some talk that much of the increase in pending contracts is due to short sales taking so long to be approved and closed, but that doesn't appear to be the case to me. Inventory levels continue to stay high as well however, with 4270 active listings on the market in Ada county. Ada and Canyon combined show a total of 6280 Single Family homes on the market. Adding in single family homes with acreage, townhomes, and condos gives you a choice of 7809 listings to choose from here in the Treasure Valley. With that kind overhang on the market, we will not see firming prices any time soon. When your agent talks about it being a great time to buy property, this is what he means. There is a lot to choose from, and prices are soft. Really well kept and well priced homes are selling. Homes with problems, or that aren't priced to this market are sitting.

Single family home sales in Ada County rose to 371 units in February over January's 302 units. Median listing price was $206,990 while median sold price was $203,000. Here is a good place to take a closer look at "median price". In January, the median price was $217,500. Does that mean that home prices fell by $14,500? Not at all. It simply means that in January we saw more higher end homes sold than in February. Certainly, prices are not what they were two years ago. But we did NOT just lose 7% in one month. Remember that when you read the dramatic headline in the newspaper.

At the moment there are 4061 active single family listings. That is a 163 unit increase from January's inventory level of 3898. These figures do not include townhomes or condos, or single family with acreage. I expect the inventory to continue building into the spring, although there is no way of knowing now just how much more inventory might be out there waiting "for Spring and the good weather". Pending sales figures were very good at 591, increasing from 455 in mid-January. There has been some discussion whether the pending number is being affected by the number of short sales that are potentially out there and "taking forever" to close. A cursory look at a number of the pending listings doesn't seem to bear that out however, but it will be something to check later as the season progresses.

I have had an increase in buyer showings this month, as well as sellers getting ready to market their homes. Well priced homes are selling, and some are drawing multiple offers. I worked with buyers at the end of February to make an offer in a multiple offer situation. Our full price offer wasn't quite enough, as the home sold in less than 12 days ABOVE the asking price! And another buyer missed out on a home that went underr contract while we waited for a lender preapproval letter. Sellers, take a lesson. There ARE buyers out there. Price it right to begin with and you will be successful.

Many of the builders are working on inventory now, at good prices. I'm told that land and lumber prices have gone down enough to make for some attractive builds possible now. Permits are still not being pulled at a rate to make up for the inventory being sold. That sets up a situation where buyers looking for new construction have a great opportunity to choose from plenty of inventory at attractive prices. Once the inventory falls below the demand, and if new starts stay low, expect new home prices to firm up.

March FORBES will again report Boise in the top 5 cities for business, and Micron just announced it is planning a new plan here in the Treasure Valley! The future is bright and it continues to be true that well priced homes in top condition are selling in Ada County.