CALDWELL, Idaho — Home values in Caldwell have risen dramatically over the last few years making it difficult for young families and first-time buyers to buy an affordable home. The average price of a home in Caldwell ranges from $380,000 to upwards of $400,000, but one house stands out from the rest.
"I don't know how people afford over $300,000 for a house, not with the interest rates over 5 percent," said Paula Sayles, a homeowner from Canyon County.
Sayles may not be in the market for a home anymore but definitely knows what the struggle of finding one is.
"The market is really tough because I have a son and him and his family do not have a home," Sayles said. "Their rent is really high."
Not only is there a mortgage to think about when buying a home, there are other factors as well.
"I don't know how you have a mortgage of $1,500 to $2,000 and then grocery prices and gas prices up so high.," Sayles said. "How do you raise a family of two, that's tough."
So, that is where the Caldwell Housing Authority steps in, this particular house, called the college house, located near the College of Idaho in Caldwell was abandoned and later owned by Canyon County.
The county then transferred it over to the housing authority and they completely remodeled this 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home from top to bottom with new wood flooring, a brand new kitchen and a new electrical system.
Now you may be asking what is the house worth?
"This is the first time that the housing authority has taken a house of this quality and of this nature, and have offered it at 55% of the market value,"
said Mike Dittenber, the Executive Director for the Caldwell Housing Authority.
Once the housing authority spruced it up, the appraisal report says that house is now worth $380,000, but the price it is being sold at is $170,500.
"Our goal as a housing authority is not to make profits on selling houses, our goal as a housing authority is to put people in affordable housing," Dittenber said. "In order to apply you go online and fill out the initial application which shows that you are interested," Dittenber said.
He furthered that to be eligible people must have worked in Caldwell for the last five years and have an income of less than $85,000 a year.
The housing authority says they want to make sure that this house goes to someone who has decided to make Caldwell their home fulfilling their motto of strengthening families and building a community by providing affordable housing.
The organization says this is the sixth property it has listed for sale and they're hoping to have more in the future, but there is a catch when you buy a home from them you have to stay in the house for 10 years.
If the new owner decides to sell the house or move out before those 10 years, they'll have to reimburse the housing authority the difference in equity, which in this case is more than $140,000.
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