Boise Housing Market Forecast

Located near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Boise, Idaho consistently ranks highly among other metro areas for its quality of life and fast growth. Boise is a hub for many industries and a growing tech sector has helped boost the small city’s economy.

But like many areas of the U.S., the Boise housing market experienced rapid home price appreciation, high buyer demand and a low housing supply. Consumers and homebuilders are also less optimistic about the current state of the market. While rising mortgage interest rates may push more buyers out of the market, it could give the housing supply more time to recover.

Using information from the U.S. News Housing Market Index, we’ve compiled the data you need for a better understanding of the current state of the market. Here’s what you should know about how the Boise housing market has changed in the last year and looking ahead into mid-2023.

Construction permits for both single-family detached homes and multifamily buildings with two or more units saw a sharp decline in 2022, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Trey Langford, founder at Build Idaho, a home search resource in Boise and the greater Treasure Valley, says that builders stopped building in July as they saw the shift in the marketplace happening.

In December 2022, 221 single-family home permits were approved in Boise – a 66% decrease year-over-year. Permit approvals peaked in March 2022 with 746 approvals, down from a five-year peak of 928 the year before. In the last three months of 2022, 700 single-family home permits were approved, a decline of 62% compared to the same period in 2021, which saw 1,856 single-family homes approved for construction.

Last year saw more multifamily housing permits compared to 2021; however, there was a significant decline in permit approvals during the second half of 2022. Construction permits for multifamily housing hit a five-year peak in July 2022 with 520 unit approvals but declined almost 48% by December with only 272 approvals.

Looking at the last three months of 2022, 997 multifamily housing permits were issued, up by 10% compared to 2021, when 905 units gained approval.

Boise Housing Supply and Demand

The Boise housing supply has improved over the past two years, although it has recently declined. Housing supply refers to the number of months it would take to sell the homes currently on the market at the current listing price. Six months is typically considered a balanced market where supply and demand are about the same.

There were 2.4 months of housing supply in December 2022, which is a 1.45-month increase year over year, based on Redfin data. The U.S. national average is slightly under Boise, with approximately 2.3 months of housing supply during the same period, up 1.26 months year over year.