HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
BOISE HOUSING MARKET BURSTING AT THE SEAMS
Q2 2018 U.S. HOME AFFORDABILITY HEAT MAP Q2 2018 AFFORDABILITY INDEX* (UNDER 100 IS LESS AFFORDABLE THAN HISTORIC AVERAGE) 47 258
five years. If you look at a map of Boise you see so much farmland west of Meridian. That’s why the city is growing so quickly. Because the farmland is being bought up.” In the meantime, the downtown corridor has seen massive amounts of office space and multi-family units built, with permits being sought for more. Like in most markets, wages are not rising anywhere near as fast as home prices and rents in Boise. So people are being pushed into less expensive markets like Canyon County. According to an ATTOM analysis of fair market rental data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a three-bedroom property in both Ada and Canyon counties rents for $1,314 in 2018, a 6.9 percent increase from last year. It takes 42.4 percent of average wages in Canyon County and 33.1 percent of average wages in Ada County to rent a three-bedroom apartment. So while job growth does not appear to be a problem as the local economy continues to grow, with an estimated 40 people a day relocating to Boise, the need for additional affordable housing there is acute.
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“We’re working really hard to diversify our housing stock and create more of it to ease the burden of affordability. It is a burden right now. We acknowledge that. But it’s a good place to raise a family. It’s safe. And the schools are good.”
MIKE JOURNEE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BOISE MAYOR DAVID BIETER
provide solid cash flow opportunities, according to Mike Brown, owner of the Mike Brown Group at Silvercreek Realty Group. “Over the last couple of years we’ve worked with builders from 30 doors to 172 doors. Different projects ranging from all cash to HUD loans. Timing is everything. Now they are completely built out and rents are at an all-time high,” said Brown. With rent control on the November ballot in California, Brown said he is seeing a lot of people interested in
moving their investment dollars out of the state.
“So you have multi-unit apartment owners selling investment properties and moving their money from a 2.5 cap (rate) in California to a 5 to 5.5 cap in Boise,” Brown explained. Brown said home buyers are opting to relocate not just from California, but from Washington and Oregon as well.
It’s a challenge that is not going unnoticed by local officials.
“We’re working really hard to diversify our housing stock and create more of it to ease the burden of affordability. It is a burden right now. We acknowledge that. But it’s a good place to raise a family. It’s safe. And the schools are good,” said Journee.
“In the city of Meridian they’re expecting to double in size in the next
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JULY 2018 | ATTOM DATA SOLUTIONS
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