The boost in home sales produced by federal stimulus tax incentives wound down quickly in Idaho, one of the most troubled states in the country in terms of foreclosures. Home prices have been rapidly declining in just about every market in the state, despite its picturesque beauty.
However, there are some promising signs for the state as its markets sustain the downturn in real estate. The inventory of homes listed for sale is dropping in most areas of the state as bargain hunters come in to buy up foreclosures and short sales. Unemployment is hurting Idaho, where the boom in housing once hit record heights, but some employers are talking about hiring back workers.
In Boise, the state’s largest metro area foreclosures compose the majority of sales with bank assisted short sales as more homeowners walk away from mortgages that they can no longer afford. But federal aid is being sent to the area to help the crisis in housing and over time that should assist Boise in recovering. Housing Predictor forecasts Boise home prices to average deflation of 9.3% in 2010.
In nearby Nampa, foreclosed home sales supported the majority of transactions for the early part of the year even as home prices slid. An over-abundance of properties listed for sale will have to be worked through before the market is able to stabilize. A tight job market, which was heavily supported by construction before the bust, will have to recover before home sales improve widely. Nampa is forecast to experience home values to decline an average of 8.7% for the year.
Away from Lake Coeur d’Alene and the resort waterfront community that make this area a picture for a post card, the housing market in Coeur d’Alene is dealing with a double edged downturn. Tight mortgage lending practices and home values that have dropped at record levels have turned many of the areas new lowest priced subdivisions into half empty developments.
Battered by rising foreclosures Coeur d’Alene is suffering through its worst housing crash in history, and prices are dropping at double-digit annual rates in some neighborhoods. But that also means there’s plenty of opportunity for home buyers in Coeur d’Alene, which saw one of the longest boom markets in the nation.
The over abundance of inventory will have to be worked through before the market stabilizes. Coeur d’Alene is forecast to experience average housing deflation for the year at a lesser 10.2%.
In small Idaho Falls the market is making it through the most severe downturn in its history as the fall-out of the real estate bust takes its toll with lots of foreclosures. The crisis has been painful for this smaller community, which saw the biggest growth rate in its history during the boom.
Idaho Falls will sustain a forecast average home loss in value of 7.9% by years end. Kellogg, now a major winter wonderland resort destination is forecast to experience average deflation of 7.6% in 2010.