BOISE, Idaho — Home prices in Ada County hit a new high in February, and the seller's market will likely continue into the spring, Boise Regional Realtors said Thursday.
The median sales price for Ada County during February 2022 reached $549,900 -- a new record. Boise Regional Realtors reported a year-over-year increase of 21.6%. The median price indicates that half the homes on the market sold for more than $549,900, and half sold for less.
New-construction homes made up 36.7% of all home sales in February, and represented a larger share of homes sold for the month. Due in part to increasing costs of land, labor and materials, the median sales price for new homes, $587,551, was 30.6% higher than a year ago.
The supply of available homes in Ada County continues to lag behind buyer demand, but BRR says the number of homes available at the end of this February -- 493 -- was 62.7% more than in February 2021.
Rising prices and the number of available properties are just two indicators of what's happening with the real estate market in Idaho's most populous county. BRR also reported data on the number of days existing homes remained on the market and the percent of the original list price received in a home sale.
The number of days on market dropped from 33 days for homes listed in January to 23 in February, but a year-over-year comparison shows buyers had more time in February 2022 compared to the same month in 2021, when the average was just nine days on the market.
While prospective homebuyers may have more time to shop than they did in 2021, BRR says they'll still likely need to make quick decisions once they find a home they're interested in buying.
More buyers are also paying, on average, slightly less than asking price compared to a year ago. The average percent of original list price received for existing homes was at 99.6%in February 2022. A year earlier, buyers paid an average of 105.5% of the list price.
"Overall, we are seeing fewer bidding wars than last year, but that doesn't mean it isn't still happening in some instances," said Becky Enrico Crum, current president of Boise Regional Realtors. "It just depends on the particular property, the list price, and what buyers are willing to pay."
With prices rising in general, BRR says buyers may be unable or unwilling to spend more than list prices to purchase homes. Another possible explanation: Sellers are pricing homes more in line with "market comparables."
Each home sale becomes a comparable for future home sales of properties in the same area with similar amenities, and that is taken into consideration when sellers price new listings.
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