Quality of life and a riverside mountain retreat location are the allure of Boise, Idaho, where the population has grown 28 percent from 1990 to 2000.

Nestled next to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains along the Boise River, Boise offers a host of outdoor sports from skiing to riverrafting to hiking, hunting and fishing.

"Boise is a great place to live and raise a family," says Realtor Jim Paulson. "In the summer, it is light until nearly 10:00 p.m. to give you ample time to golf, fish or waterski after work. There is an average of 234 sunshine days to make plenty of time to golf too. Our annual rainfall is just over 12 inches, so to be honest, I don't even own an umbrella!"

Says Paulson, "There is lots for the buyer to choose from. Due to the growth of the area, even with that much inventory, the market is pretty well in check thanks to new homes being built to help keep up with demand. Since Boise is fairly limited in which areas it can grow due to the mountains to the north and the airport to the south; much of the growth is occurring to the west toward Meridian. North Boise and Southeast Boise properties continue to sell for a premium."

"The Boise Valley real estate market remains active and is appreciating at a rate of 2% to 4% per year," says Realtor Dale Alverson. "The homes below the median price range of $160,000 have approximately a 60 to 90-day supply and are selling at or near listed price. The homes in the rest of the Boise Valley Area are selling in 90 to 120 days at 95 percent to 99 percent of listed price depending on location and the quality of the development they are located in."

Advises Realtor Jan Higginbotham, "Buyers and sellers need to be assured that the market demand (sales pace) for their homes is still strong. Although unit sales and market demand is better than ever, excess inventory over $200,000 (primarily over $300,000) has put sellers in a more competitive environment and proper pricing is critical to ensuring a sale. In some cases, proper/competitive pricing may mean prices lower than what the sellers could have achieved 6 months or a year ago."

However, the market is on the move due to low interest rates.

"The Boise greater valley has a new housing explosion," says Realtor Kathi Stewart. "You can find a new dream home and take advantage of the lowest interest rates in seven years! Existing homes are selling well especially in the Boise area where the owner can get to work with in minutes with out the problems of traffic."

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Published: June 18, 2002

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