The news tells you it's a terrible time to buy a home right now

The truth is, has it been a good time to buy in the last 3 years? When CoVid hit, everyone thought the market was going to crash but it did the exact opposite. Home buyers have faced multiple offers, over-asking price offers, plus waiving appraisals and inspections. The end result was prices were driven up.

Over the last 5 months, we have seen interest rates jump to try and curb inflation which caused many buyers to sit on the sidelines. We have seen interest rates flatten out this last month.

The higher interest rates did have lenders creating new lending incentives, for example, what's called a 3-2-1 buy down. This is something the seller has to pay for and with this market, sellers are willing to offer concessions, unlike the last few years. You can have the seller buy your rate down <3%> which will grow back to market value over the next 3 years but at least it gets buyers into affordable payments knowing the likelihood of being able to refinance before it goes back up that +3%.

Will prices continue to go down?

Currently, Ada County has 6 months of inventory. Six months is a balanced market, which is also a healthy market. During CoVid, into 2022, Boise real estate was running closer to 1 month or less. Currently, which is common in the winter, inventory is going down. You may have also seen our November 2022 new construction report noting how building permits are also down.

View Report.

What's the difference with the current market?

We still don't have enough inventory. Prices have come down but not like the news discusses. As a matter of fact, home values went up in Ada County by 5 % Year-over-Year in October! 

Seasonally Winter is a slower time, which can be a great time for buyers because a lot of folks have taken a step back. The lack of buyers can also make for better negotiations with sellers. We think that we will see more of a normal market by spring and summer again.

If you do need to sell your home in order to buy, listing in the spring or summer would likely be more beneficial to you as a seller. If you can take a HELOC to buy, then you can take advantage of the "real estate sales" right now. Everyone is waiting for something to happen and when things do normalize a little more, we will likely see everyone jump on the bandwagon again.

Key takeaways:

1. Now is a great time to buy a home. There are lots of builder incentives and sellers are willing to negotiate.
2. Selling in the spring or summer is a better time to get a higher price. You will also be paying higher prices to buy.
3. When you are buying and selling in the same market, one side will benefit more.

I hope this helps! If you need any help understanding this market, we are happy to jump on a call!