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Posted by Chase Craig on May 27, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Boise Idaho: Buyer or Seller’s Market?
- “The world is supposed to end today, so it must be a buyers market. After all, who would want to own property on a planet that won’t exist tomorrow?”
- “My brother’s girlfriends mom’s baby daddy knows a guy who sold a home one time and lost a bunch of money. I never want to buy a home cuz’ that will happen to me to.”
- “I’m waiting for rates to go down a little more before I buy…I read an article on msn.com”
- “The banks are holding on to another 900,000 homes that have been foreclosed and not on the market yet…We still have lots of room to drop so I’m going to wait for the bottom.”
The above? – Everyone has an opinion when it comes to real estate…the real question is, who are you listening to?
Buying Boise real estate
I think we can all agree that for the past 2-3 years, Boise Idaho has been a strong buyers market. With prices as aggressive as they have been and interest rates as low as they have been, buying Boise real estate has been a no brainer. Especially if you are renting a home or apartment in Boise as rental rates are often exceeding the price of buying your own home. Renting and want to know if you can qualify? Contact me today and I’ll help you find out.
But what about selling Boise real estate?
Real estate investors and guru’s alike look for specific signs and market trends that might lead to a shift, which could prove profitable in one way or another. Recent signs of change or a shift in the market from a buyers market to a seller’s market include multiple offers on many listings, above full price offers, less than 6 months worth of inventory (currently 4.7 months) and investors are buying again. It’s obviously still a great market to be a buyer in as the prices are at all time lows, but the indicators above and below could lead to the shift that many have waited for, the true pricing bottom for Boise.
Recent examples:
Last week, there was a property listed in Meridian, ID near Locust Grove and Fairview for $91,900. This property had been on the market for less than 3 days when I wrote an offer for my clients on the property. We wrote the offer at $95,000 asking for $3,800 in closing costs, so $700 under the full price. We were notified shortly afterwards that this property had multiple offers on it so we were asked to submit our highest and best offer. After discussing options with my clients, we decided to come in at $105,000 asking for $3,800 in closing costs or a net for the seller of $101,200 which is $9,300 above full price. I know what you are thinking, “$9,300 above full price in this buyers market? These poor buyers need to find a new real estate agent that knows what he’s doing!”…I might have believed that statement myself if it were 6 months ago. The scariest part about it is that even offering $9,300 net above full price on the property in Meridian, ID we did NOT get the house. Someone else offered higher on the property.
Two weeks ago, I wrote 2 other properties and got in a similar “highest and best” scenario. Both buyers came in about $5,000 above full price on homes in the $100,000 price range and neither buyer got the property.
The two examples above are very strong indicators of a shift that could be occurring in our Boise real estate market. The prices are so low that people are fighting over them to get them. That fighting is leading to the homes being sold above asking price. If this trend continues long enough, banks should start pricing their homes accordingly (higher).
Boise Idaho: Factors contributing to a buyer’s market?
- Sales prices on homes are extremely aggressive.
- Interest rates for mortgages are also extremely aggressive.
- Boise rental prices and payments are higher than Boise mortgage payments in many scenarios.
- Note that these same three factors have been the case for the last 2 years.
Boise Idaho: Factors contributing to a seller’s market?
- Investors are aggressively purchasing homes.
- Inventory has consistently gone down over the last 3 months.
- Average days on market is 87 for 2011.
- Note that these three factors have been prevalent for only the last 3-6 months.
The Bottom Line?
I am not saying that we are going to see real estate pricing increase dramatically like it was in 2004 through 2006. What I am saying is that the best evidence of a bottom is buyers fighting over the opportunity to buy a home in Boise. That home that we lost bidding $9,300 over full price (10% over full price!) had 12 offers on it in 6 days!!! Don’t get me wrong, if you are a seller thinking of selling your home in Boise in today’s market, you are going to sell it for significantly less than you would have if it were 2006. But if you are a seller looking to sell a home in today’s market that is priced right, you wont have to wait 6 months to a year to do so like you might have in 2009.
I will continue to keep a close eye on the Boise real estate market and I suggest you do the same, or just check out www.chasecraig.com every now and again. This may not be the bottom in Boise, but there is strong evidence supporting the case that we are living in the real estate bottom in Boise Idaho today.
If you are thinking of selling your home in this market or even if you just want to know what your home might be worth, contact me today for a free market analysis. It’s no trouble on my end, I actually enjoy doing them! If you would prefer to see what is on the market, you can search Boise area properties here.
Best of luck to you!
Chase Craig
Boise Real Estate Agent
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Posted by Chase Craig on May 5, 2011 at 10:34 pm
Ada and Canyon County Active Listings as of May 2, 2011
4,406 – Active Listings - down from March 2011
2,552 – Non-Distressed - down from March 2011
1,394 – Short Sales - down from March 2011
436 – Bank Owned or REO - down from March 2011
Ada & Canyon County April 2011 Closed and Pending Sales
931 Closings – up from March 2011
412 Bank Owned or REO – up from March 2011
343 Non-Distressed – up from March 2011
175 Short Sales – no change
829 Pending - down from March 2011
374 Bank Owned or REO - down from March 2011
358 Non-Distressed – up from March 2011
96 Short Sales - down from March 2011
Chase Craig
Boise Realtor
Information courtesy of the Intermountain MLS as of May 2nd, 2011.
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Posted by Chase Craig on April 17, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Looking for properties in Boise? Maybe you should consider HomePath by Fannie Mae.
Fannie Mae is currently offering buyers up to 3.5% in closing cost assistance through June 30, 2011.
The HomePath property buyer must meet the following qualifications to be eligible:
- Buyers and/or selling agents (the agent representing the buyer) must request the incentive upon submission of initial offer in order to be eligible.
- The initial offer must be submitted on or after April 11, 2011 and close by June 30, 2011. If an initial offer was made prior to the effective date, the offer is not eligible for the incentive.
- The sale must close on or before June 30, 2011. No exceptions will be made to this deadline.
- Only buyers purchasing a HomePath property as their primary residence may receive up to 3.5% in closing cost assistance. Second homes and investment properties are excluded from the incentive.
- Buyer must sign the Owner Occupant Certification Rider to the Real Estate Purchase Addendum.
- If a buyer’s total closing costs are under 3.5%, the difference will not be available as a credit to the buyer.
Note: Fannie Mae can give no assurance on the time required to close, but initial offers submitted after May 15, 2011 are particularly questionable for closing by the incentive deadline of June 30, 2011.
If you need more information regarding qualified HomePath properties in Boise, contact me.
Chase Craig
Boise MLS Search
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Posted by Chase Craig on April 15, 2011 at 10:16 pm
Have you been noticing Boise properties that have signs in the front yard or windows that say HomePath on them? HomePath is a program offered on Fannie Mae owned homes to help borrowers get into properties with less money down or potentially borrow money to fix the property if needed. There are two types of HomePath mortgages which are described below. If you would like to look at HomePath properties in Boise, ID feel free to contact me.
The firs type of mortgage is the HomePath Mortgage.
HomePath Mortgage allows a borrower to purchase a Fannie Mae-owned property with a low down payment, flexible mortgage terms, no lender-requested appraisal and no mortgage insurance. Expanded seller contributions to closing costs are allowed.
Benefits to You, the Borrower
- Low down payment and flexible mortgage terms (fixed–rate, adjustable rate, or interest–only).
- Down payment (at least 3 percent) can be funded by the borrower’s own savings; a gift; a grant; or a loan from a nonprofit organization, state or local government, or employer.
- No lender-requested appraisal.
- No mortgage insurance; ask your lender for cost details on loans without mortgage insurance.
- Expanded seller contributions for closing costs allowed.
- Available for primary residences, second homes and investment properties.
- Many condo project requirements are waived; ask your lender for details.
- For more information, contact a HomePath Mortgage lender or click here for the Home Buyers Guide.
The second type of mortgage is the HomePath Renovation Mortgage.
HomePath Renovation Mortgage allows a borrower to purchase a property that requires light to moderate renovation. The one loan amount includes both the funds for the purchase and renovation – up to 35% of the as completed value, no more than $35,000.
Benefits to You, the Borrower
- Low down payment and flexible mortgage terms (fixed- rate or adjustable-rate).
- Down payment (at least 3 percent) can be funded by the borrower’s own savings; a gift; a grant; or a loan from a nonprofit organization, state or local government, or employer.
- Renovation amount based on appraisal “as completed” value.
- No mortgage insurance; ask your lender for cost details on loans without mortgage insurance.
- Expanded seller contributions for closing costs allowed.
- Available for primary residences, second homes, and investment properties.
- Many condo project requirements are waived; ask your lender for details.
- For more information about the renovation process, contact a HomePath Renovation Mortgage lender.
If you have any other questions, contact me.
Best,
Chase Craig
Boise Idaho Real Estate
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Posted by Chase Craig on April 14, 2011 at 8:01 pm
You may have noticed some homes in Ada or Canyon County that have signs in front of them with something similar to “HUD Home” or “Visit hudhomestore.com”. These properties are listed with HUD, or Housing and Urban Development. They are electronic bid only and you will need to work with a Realtor like myself to place a bid on the property.
They typically enter the Ada and Canyon county market and have an initial 10-15 day bid period where you can bid on the property. After the initial 10-15 day period of accepting bids, they open them all simultaneously and take the bid which will net them the highest dollar amount less closing costs and real estate commissions. To find out where a specific property is at in its bid period, contact me, your Boise Real Estate Agent.
In the event that there are no bids, they will typically reduce the purchase price and review bids as they receive them. Once they have accepted a bid, they require that the contract be signed and overnight-ed to their office in California. That is different then a typical real estate transaction, being that you can place a bid on the property without signing any documentation. You just need to give a few key points of information to your Realtor and they will take care of the rest.
In Idaho, specifically Ada and Canyon County, they require $1,000 earnest money on any property over $50,000. Earnest money is the good faith on your part that you do intend to purchase the home and close on it. You get your earnest money back as a credit at closing. Keep that in mind for budgeting purposes when you are looking because a typical real estate transaction in the Boise area may require as little as $250-$500.
After HUD responds to your real estate agent that everything is looking good on your contract and there are no errors, you will be responsible for turning the utilities on in your own name should you want to have an inspection on the property. For properties in Boise Idaho, keep in mind that there is a $150 de-winterize fee. This fee covers a 3rd party company that has already winterized the home to de-winterize it as well as re-winterize it after your inspection on the property is done.
Assuming there are no issues with the inspection, you are free to close on the home like normal!
Currently, there are 55 HUD homes on the market in Ada County ranging from $39,900 in Boise to $162,000 in Boise. You can view these properties here. In Canyon county, there are currently 53 listings ranging from as little as $17,600 in Nampa, ID to $217,000 in Nampa. You can view these properties here.
Have any other questions concerning HUD Home properties? Click here for their FAQ page.
I hope this helps to shed some light on HUD properties and electronic bids. Should you find a property that you want to know more information about, feel free to contact me at any time.
Best,
Chase Craig
(208)284-0829
Boise Idaho Real Estate
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