By Cristina Pescaru, CSP
Real Estate Consultant
Boise, Idaho

A few weeks ago I had a chat over the phone with a reporter from Forbes.com. Seems that people are interested in places around the country where the market hasn’t bottomed out. I do believe that we may see lower prices in the Valley, but if anybody expects to purchase a mansion for a song, they will have to wait a long time…

The part of the interview that was referring to adjacent towns around Boise, like Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Emmett, Middleton, didn’t make it in the article, since their main interest was in Boise. I referred to Canyon County in particular when I said that some areas have seen almost 50% reduction in values compared with the boom years.

For more on this, you can go to the article Cities Where Home Prices Are Falling Dangerously by  Morgan Brennan, Forbes Staff, Forbes.com. Let us know what you think…

Visit our website FindYourHomeinBoise.com to view Boise Idaho real estate resources.

By Cristina Pescaru, CSP
Real Estate Consultant
Boise, Idaho

The City of Trees

The real estate news is at least confusing, if not downright discouraging, most of the time. But here’s the silver lining: Boise hasn’t been hit as hard as other areas of the country, and we may have seen the worst of it. In some areas, we are starting to see competing offers on properties, and that is great news for sellers!

Of course, we won’t be at the price levels of 2004-2005 any time soon, and the economy as a whole has a lot to do with that. For one thing, there aren’t all the investors that were around a few years ago, willing to invest sight-unseen sometimes. Then, people may not be retiring in our area at the level they used to, for the simple reason that many people have found themselves in a position where they cannot afford retirement. Job relocations aren’t as plentiful as they used to be, either. And small businesses don’t start at the same rate as before.

Good News – Boise Great Place to Raise a Family

But enough with the gloom and doom! The good news: Boise is still considered a great place to be, and to raise a family. Home prices have become more affordable, and we have seen an increase in distressed home sales. That is good news for buyers. Median home price hovers around $155,000 in Ada County, for existing homes. The new homes median price is around $178,000. Read the rest of this entry