BOISE — Ada County's housing shortages are worsening as more people continue to move to the Treasure Valley.
October marks the fourth year in a row of declining home inventory in Ada County, according to a report by Boise Regional Realtors, a non-profit realtor association. Since October 2014, the number of homes for sale has steadily decreased in Ada County.
Meanwhile, Ada County's median home price in October 2018 was $321,398, up 19.9 percent from October 2017.
The two main factors, according to Boise Regional Realtors, are the lack of homes for sale in the Treasure Valley amid continuing population growth. Also, people are apparently deciding to live in their current homes for longer periods of time.
In October 2018, there were 870 existing homes for sale throughout the county, down 48.8 percent from the same time in 2014. The number of existing homes was also down 15 percent since last October.
The report says more new homes are being sold than in the last four years, which could be influencing the median price. New construction made up 27.7 percent of all Ada County sales, a 10.1 percent increase from four years ago.
The price of new homes has grown because of increasing labor, land and material costs, according to the same report from Boise Regional Realtors.
The highest average home listing prices in Ada County in September, according to Zillow.com, were in Eagle and Meridian. Eagle's average home price was $519,990, while Meridian's was $349,990.
Idaho's median home listing price was $299,900 in September, compared to $175,000 in 2010, according to Zillow.com.
