My goal is to give you an overview of the market; gauging supply & demand in an effort to find the best places to invest. The pace and price of new construction is also important. However, these are general indicators and should not be relied upon to consider individual properties without a detailed analysis of each property, neighborhood and market segment, which I would be happy to provide.

New Single Family Homes by City (To-be-built, Under Const or New- never occ) as of 8/1/08 in the MLS:

City	Boise	Meridian	Eagle	Star	Kuna	Nampa	Caldwell	Middleton
Low price	$129,990	134,990	199,900	139,990	132,990	98,990	104,990	123,990
sq ft	1024	1400	1392	1120	1125	903	1024	1024
br/bth/gar	3/1/2	3/2/2	3/2/2	3/2/2	3/2/2	2/1/2	3/1/2	3/2/2
lot size	sm	std	lg	std	sm	sm	std	std
average	$317,375	278,913	851,247	301,390	206,831	208,548	160,751	267,774
Median	$249,900	259,900	640,000	274,900	181,990	187,900	142,900	178,990
Total avail.	428	393	71	95	100	207	218	39

Updated August 1st, 2008.
Pending homes are a leading indicator to track the pace of the market. Supply is expressed in months to sell inventory at current pace. According to NAR, a 6-month supply is a balanced market where normal appreciation would occur.

The tables below are based on MLS data on all new & existing single family housing after the 1st business day of the month. This includes homes, homes with acreage, condos, townhomes, manufactured homes.

Boise market comments- Sales have stabilized at a low level and inventory is growing, but slowly now. This is the safest place in the valley to invest, being the largest market & shortest commute.

BOISE		2006			2007			2008
	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pending	Supply in Mos
Jan				2195	496	4.42	2554	276	9.25
Feb				2184	530	4.12	2585	343	7.53
Mar				2278	630	3.61	2685	422	6.36
Apr	1126	455	2.47	2375	714	3.32	2811	456	6.16
May	1199	568	2.11	2601	659	3.94	2902	461	6.29
June	1465	578	2.53	2788	678	4.11	3018	454	6.65
July	1709	1038	1.64	2863	622	4.60	3039	446	6.81
Aug	2025	869	2.33	3018	567	5.32	3065	443	6.92
Sept	2347	737	3.18	3057	459	6.66
Oct	2474	651	3.8	3043	408	7.45
Nov	2471	627	3.94	2966	390	7.6
Dec	2340	565	4.14	2885	380	7.6

Perfectly located in the path of growth and center of the valley's population, Meridian's market is most likely to benefit from higher gas prices as people move closer to employment. Inventory may have peaked for the year.

MRDN		2006			2007			2008
	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Acitve	Pend	Supply in Mos
Jan				1195	166	7.19	1207	134	9
Feb				1200	209	5.74	1279	91	8.76
Mar				1255	222	5.65	1304	161	8.1
Apr	863	251	3.43	1321	244	5.41	1352	204	6.62
May	955	268	3.56	1438	254	5.66	1425	222	6.42
Jun	1057	266	3.97	1515	249	6.08	1426	245	5.82
July	1206	452	2.66	1570	215	7.30	1457	223	6.53
Aug	1284	370	3.47	1562	211	7.40	1445	215	6.72
Sept	1346	285	4.72	1547	166	9.32
Oct	1393	238	5.85	1506	176	8.55
Nov	1380	224	6.16	1420	143	9.93
Dec	1323	214	6.18	1367	154	8.87

Still a long way from a seller's market.

EAGLE		2006			2007			2008
	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos
Jan				417	51	8.17	432	40	10.8
Feb				449	50	8.98	474	46	10.3
Mar				469	68	6.89	504	32	15.75
Apr	290	48	6.04	487	84	5.79	542	43	12.6
May	334	69	4.84	518	69	7.5	603	38	15.8
Jun	367	55	6.67	535	69	7.75	586	65	9.01
July	426	98	4.34	530	60	8.83	607	56	10.84
Aug	495	87	5.69	544	48	11.33	611	59	10.36
Sept	532	87	6.15	572	32	17.87
Oct	550	78	7.05	565	52	10.86
Nov	527	75	7.02	532	42	12.67
Dec	482	69	6.98	492	36	13.67

Sales peaked in June, but have returned to their sluggish ways. I don't see the balance-point coming this year.

STAR		2006			2007			2008
	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos
Jan				258	27	9.55	247	18	13.7
Feb				271	36	7.52	246	21	11.7
Mar				270	32	8.43	259	16	16.18
Apr	139	39	3.56	299	34	8.79	269	24	11.2
May	149	39	3.82	329	35	9.4	266	31	8.58
Jun	170	27	6.29	331	41	8.07	275	26	10.5
July	218	63	3.46	322	28	11.5	269	34	7.91
Aug	248	48	5.17	314	25	12.56	259	22	11.77
Sept	277	34	8.14	311	23	13.52
Oct	303	28	10.82	291	19	15.3
Nov	318	22	14.45	292	23	12.69
Dec	302	25	12.08	279	24	11.62

A better alternative to commuting from Canyon County, good schools and few homes for rent make Kuna attractive.  

KUNA		2006			2007			2008
	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos
Jan				221	41	5.39	233	24	9.71
Feb				211	57	3.7	254	25	10.1
Mar				219	64	3.42	257	42	6.12
Apr	137	69	1.98	254	69	3.68	268	57	4.7
May	133	63	2.11	277	68	4.07	286	59	4.84
Jun	172	69	2.49	310	65	4.77	318	48	6.62
July	212	114	1.85	309	45	6.86	338	47	7.19
Aug	206	112	1.84	298	49	6.08	350	50	7
Sept	232	81	2.86	310	41	7.56
Oct	246	72	3.41	289	35	8.25
Nov	218	57	3.82	277	32	8.65
Dec	224	54	4.14	279	32	7.97

Supply is climbing an should peak late this year.

NAMPA		2006			2007			2008
	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos
Jan				1091	237	4.6	1330	137	9.71
Feb				1179	222	5.31	1440	147	9.79
Mar				1221	263	4.64	1454	182	7.98
Apr	594	256	2.32	1332	284	4.69	1473	188	7.83
May	639	309	2.06	1470	242	6.07	1497	202	7.41
Jun	727	391	1.85	1489	290	5.13	1511	195	7.75
July	917	564	1.62	1507	242	6.22	1559	181	8.61
Aug	1044	492	2.12	1591	200	7.95	1580	129	9.13
Sept	1167	445	2.62	1648	166	9.92
Oct	1228	350	3.51	1603	171	9.37
Nov	1295	311	4.16	1566	148	10.58
Dec	1229	253	4.85	1508	145	10.4

The most affordable prices in the metro make Caldwell attractive, but higher gas and food prices have affected this lower income area most.

CLDWL		2006			2007			2008
	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos
Jan				558	157	3.55	587	75	7.82
Feb				591	141	4.19	622	98	6.34
Mar				601	162	3.71	640	93	6.88
Apr	234	126	1.85	615	168	3.66	655	98	6.68
May	256	143	1.79	657	148	4.43	726	112	6.48
Jun	330	164	2.01	657	164	4.0	747	104	7.18
July	380	303	1.25	677	160	4.23	765	97	7.89
Aug	445	339	1.31	696	127	5.48	774	76	10.18
Sept	500	304	1.64	717	96	7.46
Oct	531	286	1.85	713	111	6.42
Nov	569	236	2.41	674	97	6.94
Dec	568	197	2.88	641	98	6.54

Surprisingly stable until July sales slumped.

MDLTN		2006			2007			2008
	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos	Active	Pend	Supply in Mos
Jan				189	39	4.84	190	17	11.2
Feb				199	30	6.63	206	27	7.63
Mar				209	31	6.74	199	32	6.22
Apr	98	34	2.88	217	40	5.42	214	34	6.29
May	110	36	3.05	209	31	6.74	225	36	6.25
Jun	140	30	4.66	230	32	7.18	236	38	6.21
July	161	78	2.06	223	29	7.69	236	35	6.74
Aug	178	84	2.12	247	21	11.76	268	25	10.7
Sept	221	82	2.57	242	28	8.64
Oct	215	69	3.11	234	23	10.17
Nov	203	79	2.57	232	24	9.67
Dec	209	70	2.98	209	24	8.7

Ada County Single Family Residential Solds By Month

	2004	2005	change from prior year	2006	change from prior year	2007	change from prior year	2008	change from prior year
Jan	460	623	35%	842	35%	457	(45.7%)	353	(22.7%)
Feb	519	606	17%	802	32%	633	(21%)	415	(34.4%)
Mar	681	934	37%	1089	17%	718	(34%)	477	(33.5%)
Apr	831	983	18%	930	(5%)	740	(20.4%)	519	(29.8%)
May	875	1094	25%	1238	13%	790	(36.1%)	550	(30.4%)
Jun	1124	1320	17%	1209	(8.4%)	809	(33.1%)	527	(34.8%)
July	992	1212	22%	1002	(17.3%)	733	(26.8%)	572	(21.9%)
Aug	959	1497	56%	994	(33.6%)	661	(33.5%)
Sept	866	1314	52%	725	(44.6%)	443	(38.9%)
Oct	851	1226	44%	658	(46.3%)	514	(21.9%)
Nov	816	1339	64%	630	(52.9%)	416	(33.9%)
Dec	755	1061	41%	679	(36%)	400	(41.1%)
Monthly Average	811	1101		900		610		488

These tables include all homes, homes with acreage, manufactured homes, condos & townhomes of any age.

Canyon County Single Family Residential Solds By Month

	2004	2005	change from prior year	2006	change from prior year	2007	change from prior year	2008	change from prior year
Jan	238	263	11%	459	75%	256	(44.2%)	150	(41.4%)
Feb	278	301	8%	436	49%	269	(38.3%)	181	(32.7%)
Mar	343	415	21%	534	29%	332	(37.8%)	244	(26.5%)
Apr	362	453	25%	518	14%	370	(28.5%)	196	(47%)
May	356	519	46%	603	16%	311	(48.5%)	223	(28.3%)
Jun	464	582	25%	629	8%	354	(43.7%)	191	(46%)
July	473	550	16%	508	(7.6%)	331	(34.8%)	224	(32.3%)
Aug	421	704	67%	584	(17%)	253	(56.7%)
Sept	369	684	85%	440	(35.6%)	208	(52.7%)
Oct	415	656	58%	348	(47%)	254	(27%)
Nov	341	658	93%	340	(48.3%)	186	(45.2%)
Dec	342	525	54%	296	(43.6%)	178	(39.8%)
Monthly Average	367	526		475		275		201

 

Quarterly Median Existing Home Price by County

Time Frame	Ada County Existing	% change	Including New	% change		Canyon County Existing	% change	Including New	% change
2008 Q2	206000	+3.1	207500	-1.2		135000	-3.6	141500	-5.6
2008 Q1	199900	-2.5	210000	-3.5		140000	-3.4	149900	-4
2007 Q4	205000	-6.4	217600	-7.2		145000	-3.3	156184	-2.1
2007 Q3	219000	+1.1	234500	+.6		150000	-.03	159500	-.02
2007 Q2	216463	+3.5	232990	+3.5		150500	+1.1	159900	-.3
2007 Q1	209000	-.01	225000	-4.6		148836	-.01	160466	-2.6
2006 Q4	210000	-2.2	236000	-2.6		149000	-3.2	164780	-0.1
2006 Q3	214900	+2.3	242500	+3.9		153985	+2.3	165000	+3.1
2006 Q2	210000	+9.4	233440	+5.6		150500	+7.6	160037	+7.4
2006 Q1	192000	+1.1	221000	+4.7		139900	+6.1	149000	+8
2005 Q4	189900	+3.8	211000	+6.6		131900	+6.4	138000	+5.6
2005 Q3	183000	+12.6	198000	+9		123950	+10.7	130675	+10.2
2005 Q2	162500	+8.4	181595	+4.8		112000	+7.2	118551	+6
2005 Q1	149900	0	173300	+1.9		104500	+1.2	111800	-0.1
2004 Q4	149900	-.06	170000	+1.3		103250	+1.2	112900	+2.6
2004 Q3	150000	+2.7	167900	+4.9		102000	+5.7	110000	+4.8
2004 Q2	146000	+7.3	160000	+6.7		96500	+7.8	105000	+7.1
2004 Q1	136000		149945			89500		98000

Look at those huge gains in the 2nd and 3rd quarters! It's obvious- demand drives prices. Data from Ada County Assoc. of Realtors