Boise Idaho Blog

100 North Boise Real Estate - 14 homes sold
200 Northeast Boise Real Estate - 6 homes sold
300 Southeast Boise Real Estate - 13 homes sold
400 Boise Bench Real Estate - 13 homes sold
500 South Boise Real Estate - 6 homes sold
550 Southwest Boise Real Estate - 39 homes sold
600 West Boise Real Estate - 10 homes sold
650 West Boise/Garden City Real Estate - 24 homes sold
700 Garden City Real Estate - 1 home sold
800 Northwest Boise Real Estate  - 14 homes sold

Total homes sold for January 2010 is 140 with an average price of $197,086.  Average days on the market 86.  Total homes sold for 2010 for the same time period was up this year compared to last.

For additional Boise home sales statistics visit boiserealestateinfo.net

When buyers are on the search for their dream home they may spend several weekends looking at open houses.  Typically, they aren’t with their real estate agent and rely on their own witts and the help of a real estate professional they are unfamiliar with. This is okay however you need to be careful and make sure that you are asking the right questions and looking for the right things.  This can vary from person to person and what their needs are so it is important before stepping into your first open house that you know what your needs vs wants are.

Key things to look for are watermarks of any kind anywhere in the home.  This can be a sign that there has been a flood or leak.  It is also a good idea to take photos of the homes you view in order to keep them in order and to remember important aspects of the home.  You can compare later and discuss with your spouse.  Look for special features and upgrades, be sure to ask the agent holding the open house if they are aware of any. They aren’t always as obvious as you may think, such as  special hardwood flooring, windows, fixtures, appliances, and so on.

Plan your day carefully and try to make the most of your time.  You usually only have a few hour window to view the homes on your list.

Wrapping up the year home sales in December weren’t too bad.  Even though the Boise real estate market still has much to improve with 2010 not looking much better according to the experts we still have hope that things will get better.

Total home sales for Boise accounting for MLS area 100 - 800 totalled 186 homes with an average price of $202,415 and 95 days on the market.  For more stats please visit my site and look at the archives. Boise Real Estate Statistics.

Thanks and have a great new year.

MLS Area      # Sold      Avg Price       DOM
100                 26           304254         71
200                 12           321629         65
300                 31           216509         65
400                29           130729          58
500                18           182283          84
550                60           157194          81
600                21           138927          67
650                42           170415          96
700                 1            120000          42
800               32            214910         106

When buying and selling a home there is always the question of obtaining the services of a Boise real estate agent. Buyers are worried about getting into a contract or being tied down to one specific agent possibly slowing down the home buying process in cases where they attend an open house on Sunday (fall in love with the home) and can’t wait until Monday to discuss with their agent. Or if selling a home people worry a lot about paying out a high commission.

Whichever the case it is important to remember that real estate agents bring some unique and necessary tools to the table. For starters real estate agents have knowledge and access to tools that help them understand the local housing market. Without their knowledge on the home buying process and their understanding of the paperwork many of us would be left scratching our heads wondering what to do next.

Most agents work hard to either find you the home you are looking for or to sell your home. It actually requires quite a bit of work and resources to get the job done.

Whenever the economy tightens up a bit or gas prices soar people begin to re-evaluate ways to save money. Maybe it is driving less or cutting back on dining out but did you know that there is money to be saved at home?

Many homes were built and being built that doesn’t take into account being very energy efficient. Unless your home was designed with energy efficiency in mind then chances are there is some low hanging fruit that can be snatched up that will save you money. When looking at saving money and being more energy efficient at home you can start from the top to bottom.

The attic is a great place to start. Look at the insulation in the attic and make sure that it is sufficient for your climate. Look at the “R-value” of the insulation to help determine your needs, generally the higher the “R-value” the more energy you can save.

If you are in the market for new windows, consider swapping out your old ones for highly efficient new ones. Look for windows made with low emissivity and consider windows with spectrally selective coatings for warmer climates. If the climate is on the colder side then look for gas filled windows.

There are lots of ways to reduce the energy you use at home, some might take a few years to pay back but in the long run it would be worth it and besides adding comfort for your family it will build value in your home.

Get more information at EnergySavers.gov

Suprising the home sales for October aren’t much lower than the previous month. They could even creep a bit higher if the numbers change on November 2nd. Of course we could contribute it to the “Reccession being over” if that really is the case but I have a feeling we have more to come. I think the home sales have been good because the weather has been so beautiful and folks are trying to find their dream home before winter sets in.

October home stats are:

MLS    Run Ttl    #Sold     Avg Price    DOM
100     227         30          256580       81
200     96           15          255460      75
300     330         44         194414        67
400     282         31         147294       62
500     134         17         161298       65
550     455         67         169655       71
600     168         18         143547       63
650     381         33        175253        47
700     13          2           372250        55
800     264       24          240618        84

Total Homes Sold = 281

Of course this is a bit silly to consider the answer is typically based off your income and your expenses but do you really know how much home you can afford before getting pre approved for a home loan? Is the home of your dreams outside your financial goal? By planning ahead you can determine some of your home buying goals and start planning right away. A good place to start is to determine the size, type, location, etc of you future home and see how much it costs. Work into that number home appreciation of 8% a year and you might have a pretty good number to start with. Depending on your monthly income you will need to determine how much of a down payment you will need to afford the home. Once you know how much money you need for the down payment the hard part starts, determining where the money is going to come from.

There is one simple trick to saving for a home – spend less than you earn. That’s not always easy if you have difficulty making ends meat as it is or if you tend to be a compulsive spender.

Determine how much you are going to be able to save by developing a monthly budget. You can increase your saving by doing one of two things, or both, decrease your expenses and increase your income. If you get any unexpected money put it in your savings… make savings a habit and lastly revisit your budget every few weeks to make sure you are on target. Continually see if there are areas you can cut back on. You will be amazed at how much money you can save over a few years. How many times have you felt that there isn’t any point in saving because you want things now? Then you look back 3 years and realize just how much money you would have had if you saved that money instead of spent it.

Traditional mortgages require that each month you pay back some of the money you borrowed plus the interest on that money. Over time, as you pay the loan the principal you owe on your mortgage decreases over the term of the loan. In contrast, an interest only payment plan allows you to pay only the interest for a specified number of years. After that, you must repay both the principal and the interest.

Many of the mortgage products that offer interest only plans come with adjustable interest rates, this means that the interest rate will change over the term of the loan affecting your monthly payment. These changes could happen as often as once per month or every 3 to 5 years, depending on the terms of your loan.

The interest only period is typically between 3 and 10 years. At which time, your monthly payment will increase even if interest rates stay the same because you must pay back the principal as well as the interest.

There are many things to consider when buying a home - years before actually looking. Buying a home can be a great investment for building assets and long-term security. However in order to do this you need to set long-term goals and figure out how you are going to meet them.

When doing financial planning there are two key things you want to avoid 1) bad debt (credit card) and 2) credit problems. High debt and misuse of credit cards makes it tough to save for a down payment. Instead of putting money in the bank you are forking it out to cover interest on your credit card and these days credit cards are charging over 15% even if you have good credit. What a waste! Americans need to learn to live within their means and if you can avoid credit card debt you should at all costs. The money you save over the years will far outweigh any instant gratification you may get when buying something on credit.

Not all debt is bad but too much debt can lead to missed payments and credit problems. If used wisely there are such things as good debt. Good debt would include things that provide a financial payoff such as; buying a home, home remodeling, paying for education for your children, or advancing your own skills. Bad debt is when you buy things that don’t provide financial benefits such as; dining out, buying a cell phone, vacations, buying furniture, etc. These things don’t pay anything back. It is better to save your money and pay cash for them.

Making wise choices early in life can go a long way when preparing to buy a home.