The magazine said that Boise is "a community with incredible access to the outdoors, affordable homes, and solid jobs."  It also called Boise a "multi-sport mecca."

The author of the article, Sam Moulton, writes, "Boise, to put it mildly, has been on a roll."  Thanks, Sam.  We appreciate someone noticing how great the Boise Metro Area is and what great things it has to offer. 

Affordable homes are just one of Boise, Idaho's great assets, and we know that there is no better time than now to purchase real estate in the Boise area.  According to some of the experts, we are at the bottom of the market.  We will only know for sure when prices start climbing back up.  We are now at prices we saw in 1999 and 2000, and interest rates are historically low.  If you, or anyone you know, is thinking of making a move, it looks like now is the best time to do it.

If you'd like any information about homes in the Boise area, please feel free to contact us.  Or, if you'd like to search the entire MLS, go to this fantastic website:  tsb.SearchBoiseListings.com

Good news!   The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have both approved the extension of the Homebuyer Assistance Program ($8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and $6,500 for some people who have owned a home previously) to September 30, 2010.  This is only for those people who have had a home under contract by April 30, 2010. 

According to government estimates, there were approximately 180,000 home buyers who had a home under contract by April 30, 2010, who were not able to close escrow in time to get the sale finalized by June 30, 2010.  This newly-approved legislation will give them more time to work through the prolonged, complicated short sale process, giving them an opportunity to get their home purchase completed by no later than September 30, 2010. 

However, as a Realtor of 16 years in the Boise, Idaho, real estate market, it has been my experience that for some people this extension will still not give them adequate time.  My team and I have seen some short sales go on for over a year before getting approval by the seller's mortgage holder.  It could be that some banks are slow to respond because their systems for working through the negotiation process may be poor, or some agents who are not very experienced with the complex and lengthy short-sale process may not be navigating the system properly, or simply that the banks are overwhelmed with so many short sale files to work through because they, the banks, do not have an adequate number of staff to do all the work.

All that being said, though, the good news is that most of those 180,000 home buyers should be able to get their home purchases finalized and closed by the September 30th deadline.  Let's all hope for the best.

This is significant because the last time that Idaho had such a big decrease in the jobless rate in 1983, it was at a time when the economy was pulling out of another recession.  This sounds like very good news for us in Idaho!

While the IRS is still requiring the filing of Form 5405, it is not demanding that all parties' signatures be on the HUD-1 settlement document in areas where requiring both the buyer and the seller to sign the document isn't common.

This is what the IRS clarification states: "In areas where signatures are not required on the settlement document, the IRS has clarified that it will accept a settlement statement if it is completed and valid according to local law. ... The IRS encourages those buyers to sign the settlement statement prior to attaching it to the tax return."

For home buyers who have previously owned property, the IRS is seeking documentation that they have lived in their previous home for a consecutive 5 of the past 8 years. Proof can include mortgage interest statements, property tax records or home owner insurance records.

Source: Washington Post (02/20/2010)

Even though selling a home can be challenging during our current real estate market, the truth is that many homes are selling now. The ones that are selling have 1 thing in common - they are priced right for this market.  Home sellers' expectations for the price that their home is going to sell for can be quite different from the reality of what this current "buyers market" dictates. 

The key element right now is actually to price the home at a level below what the comparable sales indicate.  This is especially true if the comparable sales are several months old in a declining market.  Not only has the overall market declined in price over the past several months, but it is continuing to decline even now.  If the average time to sell a home right now is 120 days, then we have to look at where we feel the market is going to be in 120 days and price the home accordingly.  This strategy will get the home sold and, believe it or not, help the seller to get top market price for their home.

One thing to remember is that if you are selling and buying another home in the Boise metro area, you may be taking a perceived hit on your home sale price, but the home you purchase will be taking an equal or larger hit.   I like to ask my clients, "Where do you want to wait for the market to come back - in your current home or in your new home?" 

It is an extremely good time to sell if you are a move-up buyer. 

Please contact me if you would like to get an honest opinion on your home's current market value or you can log on to www.WhatsMyBoiseHomeWorth.com for a look at your home's market value sent to you by e-mail.

According to the Wall Street Journal today, nearly one in four U.S. borrowers owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth, a worrisome sign that the housing recovery could be threatened by a wave of defaults.

The WSJ newspaper said "almost 10.7 million households, or 23 percent of mortgage holders, were underwater in the third quarter, and 5.3 million have mortgages that are 20 percent higher than the value of their home as prices have plummeted since the recession began."

To help endanged homeowners weigh their options, Tim Burroughs has become a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) and started a website www.BoiseMetroShortSales.com .  This website gives much-needed information for homeowners seeking help and advice.  There are free reports available and a place to go to find answers.

The measure also includes a new $6500 tax credit for existing homeowners who qualify for the program.  Details of the legislation that was passed, including information on who qualifies for the credit, can be found here: http://www.realtor.org/fedistrk.nsf/files/government_affairs_tax_credit_ext_chart_110409.pdf/$FILE/government_affairs_tax_credit_ext_chart_110409.pdf 
 

According to a recent Ada County Association of Realtors, the big question coming into September: "Will August continue the momentum of the previous two months?"   The answer is "Yes".

August sales are up 2% from July and up 8% from August 2008. This is the third month in a row for an increase over last year's same month. This 3-month trend reverses the 35 months of year-over-year decreases we have suffered. According to ACAR, we're likely to look back at the Summer of '09 as the beginning of the comeback.

Pending sales also continue to increase.  July 2009 there were 51% more Pendings than July last year - now there are 63% more pendings. Even New Construction Pendings are 23% above 2008.

Short Sales and bank-owned properties are up slightly. Short sales were 15% and bank-owned sales were 20% in August. That makes 35% of the sales in August were "distressed" sales.  Our high was 48% in February, 45% in March and 44% in April.

Median home price continues to hover in the $170K to $175K range. In August, the median price was $171,000. This is down 2% from July and down 17% from July 2008. There was a jump in new home median in August compared to July this year - up 7%. Looking back at July, we observed a big drop in new construction home median, but August seems to correct that.

Inventory is now back to 2006 levels. We now have 7.5 months of available inventory (3289 resale and 755 new homes).

Finally, the final sales price seems to be getting closer to the final asking price. The discount between listing price and final sales price decreased to 2.9%.

Affordability is at its best ever!  Buying a home in Boise, Idaho, and surrounding communities has not been a better buy for a very long time.  For those of you trying to time the market, now is the time!  Jump in and buy!

TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE MOVING TO BOISE, IDAHO:

 1.  Boise is known for its terrific lifestyle - good schools, variety of sports and activities for your kids, very close to wonderful camping, fishing, hunting and the great outdoors, plus a very low crime rate.

 2.  For the past 10+ years Boise has consistently been found in the top 10 best cities to live and the top 5 best areas in which to do business.

 3.  Boise's weather enjoys 4 distinct seasons, including an occasional white Christmas.

 4.  We in Boise take our education very seriously with many nearby schools of higher education - Boise State University, Northwest Nazarene University, College of Idaho, University of Idaho satellite campus, Idaho State University satellite campus, College of Western Idaho (a new community college), University of Phoenix remote campus, George Fox University remote campus, as well as ITT Technical School.

 5.  Boiseans are also very serious about our sports. From great college teams, like ESPN favorite and national WAC champs Boise State Broncos, to professional farm teams such as the Boise Hawks baseball, Idaho Steelheads ice hockey team, and the Idaho Stampede basketball team, as well as semi-pro indoor football team, The Boise Burn.

 6.  World-renown fishing in the Snake River, hunting in the pristine mountains and kayaking on the Payette River is within 1 hour of downtown Boise.

 7.  Boise offers major concert venues (recently featuring talents like the Rolling Stones and Kenny Chesney), opera, live theater and an annual jazz festival (as well as major rodeos).

 8.  Golf and water ski on the same day in the summer and early fall, and golf and snow ski on the same day in the spring. Bogus Basin Ski Resort is just 45 minutes from downtown Boise, also offering night skiing for those who like to drive up after work for an evening of skiing and snowboarding.

 9.  With a population approaching 500,000 in the greater Boise metropolitan area, Boise ranks as the 3rd largest city in the Pacific Northwest.

 10.  Boise real estate prices are affordable, and the neighborhoods are well-kept and charming.  Many of the newer neighborhoods, in a variety of price ranges, have parks and walking paths.  Some even have their own community swimming pools and clubhouses.  The average price for a home in the Boise metro area has dropped to $176,000 from $225,000.

If you would like to read more about our fantastic and ever-growing area, just go to the Home page at www.TimBurroughsGroup.com for photos and more information.  If you would like a relocation information package sent to you, just drop us an email to:  Info@TimBurroughsGroup.com .

A recent article in the Idaho Business Review noted that according to credit union executives and NCUA data, the most recent edition of the Credit Union times stated that credit unions generally appear to foreclose on a lower percentage of their home mortgage loans than other financial institutions and that they usually take more time to go through the foreclosure process.

In the Credit Union Times article, RealtyTrac, a firm that promotes itself as "the leading online marketplace of foreclosure properties," reported that foreclosures nationwide jumped 7% in July 2009 over the previous month, June 2009, and were 32% higher than what they had been in July 2008.  The hardest-hit states for residential foreclosures were Nevada, California, Florida and Arizona, which has been the case for months.  However, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, George, and Illinois have also been in the upper rankings of high foreclosure rates for RealtyTrac.

According to Jack Gaffney, executive vice-president for lending for the large Navy Federal Credit Union, "No doubt our foreclosures have been lower than the nation overall, but generally higher than we are used to."  He attributes the fact credit unions have a smaller share of foreclosures to the fact that they did not make the same sort of risky, unconventional loans that got so many homeowners and other lending institutions into hot water.

"Lenders are slower to foreclose when housing prices are in the dumps," Gaffney went on to say, "and they calculate they will have to hold the properties for longer.  If a market starts to rise, they might foreclose faster in order to move the foreclosed property back into a more profitable situation more quickly." 

Ten billion dollars sounds kind of abstract, doesn't it?  According to EnergyStar, U.S. households spend $100 a year to power devices in a standby power mode.

EnergyStar estimates that there are more than 1.5 billion power adapters in use across the country - about five per person. That makes sense.  In our home, we have 2 cell phones, a BlueTooth wireless ear piece, 2 electronic lockbox keys, a digital camera, 2 laptops, etc.  We easily cover the five adapters per person.

While $10 billion is a lot of money, it's money that can be very easily saved.  Just unplug your chargers whenever they aren't in use.  For more energy saving tips, go to www.begreenminded.com .

In a recent article from the Ada County Association of Realtors, the sales numbers for the Boise area real estate market were very promising.  This is what they said: 

"Ada County Association of Realtors had their collective fingers crossed going into this July.  Would the trend of month-over-month sales continue?  Would the small increase in median price hold? Would the huge number of pendings (a bunch of which were short sales or REO's) actually close?

They found that the answer is "Yes" with just a couple of exceptions.

Sales are down 8% from last month, but up 5% from this same month last year. Between 2005 and 2009, the average change from June to July was a decrease of 11%.  You could say from that: 'July sales outperformed the average July.'  This is 2 months in a row with an increase over last year's same month.  This reverses 35 months of sales decreases, which is huge.

At the same time, pending sales are continuing to go up.  Last month, there were 38% more Pendings than the same month last year - now there are 51% more Pendings.  Nearly all is on the Resale side, not new construction, but new construction is now about even with last year.

Short Sales are down slightly to 14% of the total sales, but up 1.4% from June (2685 short sale listings).  REO (bank owned) sales are up 19%; down from the record high of 34% in February 2009.  That makes 33% of the sales "distressed" this month. This is a reduction of 11% from our high of 48% "distressed" sales in February."

ACAR recognized Jere Webb for his research and insight for this article.

The holidays are ending, the snow is gone until the next storm, we finally have some relief for awhile.  Whether or not we now begin to experience the same kind of relief with the national housing market is yet to be seen.  The one thing that I can tell you, though, is that whether you are an investor in the stock market or the housing market, there are investment opportunities available right now that only come around once in a generation.  Many fortunes are made in markets just like the one we are experiencing right now.  Our choice is to quietly watch or to participate.

I see fantastic deals out in the Boise Idaho real estate market every day.  People could make so much money buying up homes at bargain basement prices right now that will certainly bring a huge return in the next few years.  Warren Buffet and Donald Trump are buying up real estate like crazy in these challenging times.  If you, or anyone you know, has cash sitting around drawing 1% - 5% interest in a savings account, CD, or money market account, you would be wise to pull it out and invest it in real estate.

One of my buyer's agents, Donna, just wrote up a deal for a client in Eagle for around $200,000 on a home that sold just a couple of years ago in the $300,000's.  I see deals like this just about every day.

I keep a "Best Buys in Boise Real Estate" list that I am happy to share with anyone interested, at no charge.  If you are interested in snagging one of these great deals, just write me at Tim@TimBurroughsGroup.com and ask for my Best Buys in Boise Real Estate List.  I'd be happy to shoot one over to you.

Have a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!  I know I am going to.

Tim Burroughs, Realtor, CyberStar, e-PRO, CRS, ABR

My search was for single family homes, in Boise, Eagle and Meridian, Idaho with at least three-bedrooms and at least two-baths with the constraint that they had to be priced between $100,000 and $200,000. 

Buyers who can't find homes to purchase with interest rates as low as they are are simply not looking hard enough, or do not have a Realtor who is working hard enough.

I used some additional constraints, like at least 1,200 square feet and with at least a 2-car garage included as well as eliminating those homes that were just an idea in someone's mind (To be built) or those that were still under construction and when I narrowed it, it still left 321 homes to choose from.

The least expensive home was $159,900 and has 1,690 square feet and four bedrooms and two baths and a 2-car garage.  It is located in Meridian.

If you would like to know what you can afford, call Jane Hopkins at Idaho Independent Bank at 208-947-1127 or 208-867-2695 or e-mail her at Jane.Hopkins@iibk.net.  She has access to special grant fund programs that will allow you in some cases to afford more house or to have money for down payment and closing costs.

To find out what housing is available in your price range, send us an e-mail at Info@TimBurroughsGroup.com with your name, address, and telephone number and a brief description of what you would like to own and we will reply by e-mail with your choices.

Have a blessed Friday the 13th of July.

Ada County includes the following cities:

Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star and Kuna

Active residential listings in Ada County:   

May, 2006 = 3,508                                                                    May, 2007 = 4,949      

(Increase 29%)

Sold residential listings in Ada County:      

May, 2006 = 1,177                                                                    May, 2007 =    720      

(Decrease 38.8%)

In high school economics class I remember that our teacher indicated that when supply goes up and demand goes down, which is what is represented by these figures above, the price goes down if the seller wants their home to sell.

It is possible to get top dollar in your area, by pricing it correctly based on recent sales.  Contact us at Info@TimBurroughsGroup.com

We have had several buyers who have come to visit the area to determine what they can afford, have checked out the employment picture (one of the lowest unemployment records in the country) and like the area so now they are going back to Maryland or California or Iowa to sell their home and come and buy in the land of opportunities.

Idaho, especially near Boise, is the place to be.  Mentioned in Forbes as the #1 place to have a business or own a business in the entire United States last year.  We have been in the top 10 places for the last five years.

Boise State University with the 2007 Fiesta Bowl Champion "Broncos" leading people back to the land of great college football and remarkably the best college football game in history.

Having a place where people want to live, a great city with a vibrant downtown, affordable housing, why wouldn't someone move here?

I checked on-line today and found over 200 single family homes in either Boise or Meridian, Idaho that were priced at $200,000 or less (some as low as $142,900) that were at least three-bedrooms, two-baths, at least 1,200 square feet or larger and have at least a two-car garage.

For more information, please visit http://www.BoiseMetroHomeSearch.com

1. Certain price ranges are full of homes and have few buyers so they are not moving.  As an example, those homes that are priced at $800,000 or above, have four years of inventory based on current demand.  The other issue in that price range and above is that if a lot were available where the buyer wanted to live they could have a home built that would meet their expectations for a similar price only it would be their home designed and built to their satisfaction.

2. Other price ranges have homes being sold within them, but they are typically ones where the seller has agreed with their Realtor and has priced the home to sell and has made it in near new condition.

3. Homes are available in the less than $200,000 price range in a variety of areas in Boise, Meridian, Star, Nampa and Kuna.  consult with a real estate professional for more information.

1. If a seller is realistic with their price, buyers wil view and purchase the house.

2. If a seller will take the time needed before placing a home on the market to "stage" the home for the marketing phase of living in a home and follow the direction of their agent, they will have more likelihood of selling.

3. If the seller will make repairs to the house and get the furnace serviced and retain the receipt, they can save time and frustration when the home inspection is done by their buyer.

Tim Burroughs