Boise used to be affordable (Nampa, Pocatello: real estate, house prices, tech jobs)
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Median home price has skyrocketed from $150K in Jan 2012 to $342K currently.... i'm sure incomes in that area have not doubled in the last 6 years, what has caused the jump in prices?
Why my interest? Well, in 3-4 years I'm considering the area as a potential retirement candidate but the real estate costs are turning me off. I do see that there are some affordable areas like Caldwell, Nampa etc. which aren't too far from central Boise.
Median home price has skyrocketed from $150K in Jan 2012 to $342K currently.... i'm sure incomes in that area have not doubled in the last 6 years, what has caused the jump in prices?
Why my interest? Well, in 3-4 years I'm considering the area as a potential retirement candidate but the real estate costs are turning me off. I do see that there are some affordable areas like Caldwell, Nampa etc. which aren't too far from central Boise.
The migration from Washington, Oregon and California.
I would go further out away from Boise. Why is that people are attracted to Boise?
And comparing to 2012 will make the comparative data look the worst it can be; in 2012, Boise house prices were at their lowest during the recession. They were considerably higher in 2007 than in 2012.
Regardless, they HAVE gone a LOT, and it makes less and less financial sense for the typical home-owner to look at Boise. This seems to be a Western 'herd movement' thing with the cities out there, perhaps due to the limited number of cities in that region.
And comparing to 2012 will make the comparative data look the worst it can be; in 2012, Boise house prices were at their lowest during the recession. They were considerably higher in 2007 than in 2012.
Regardless, they HAVE gone a LOT, and it makes less and less financial sense for the typical home-owner to look at Boise. This seems to be a Western 'herd movement' thing with the cities out there, perhaps due to the limited number of cities in that region.
IMHO that is one of the bigger drivers of housing price increases in metro areas in the West. There are fewer metro areas, surrounded by very rural expanses that lack any smaller metro areas or smaller cities of any size that attract population. The eastern US has far more smaller metro areas with lower housing prices by comparison.
Because it's not the crap hole people are escaping from
Of the many people I know that moved to the Treasure Valley, none have moved to the city of Boise itself. But then I didn’t retire to Boise itself either. The Boise vision for the future is high density housing, a rail system for transportation and higher taxes. Reminds me of LA.
The migration from Washington, Oregon and California.
I would go further out away from Boise. Why is that people are attracted to Boise?
A LOT less snow than the panhandle and the state's biggest city with the most amenities.
Politics might play a slight roll in that it is the best place for liberals in Idaho. In Boise, you are 40% to 50% lliberal minority vs conservatives, but even in Coeur d'Alene or Pocatello you are a whopping 25% to 65% minority.
But 20 years from now, Idaho will be blue so that is just a matter of time. Didn't mean to go political so much as I was trying to answer your question.
Mostly, less snow and bigger city with more to do, and politics to a lesser extent.
Median home price has skyrocketed from $150K in Jan 2012 to $342K currently.... i'm sure incomes in that area have not doubled in the last 6 years, what has caused the jump in prices?
Why my interest? Well, in 3-4 years I'm considering the area as a potential retirement candidate but the real estate costs are turning me off. I do see that there are some affordable areas like Caldwell, Nampa etc. which aren't too far from central Boise.
Not to be rude, but this exactly has caused the jump in prices.
The Boise area has been on of the fastest growing regions in the nation. Homebuilders can and do only build so much supply. People here don't want Boise turning into Portland or Seattle, so they're trying to keep some semblance of a lower density, middle class friendly town.
But when you have X number of people who want to move here, many of whom are bringing a lot of equity or pensions from other states, and we have only X-Y number of homes, prices are going to go up.
So we can either build more to meet demand, in which case we'll become even more of a congested, sprawling mess than we are, or else we have to figure out a way to curb demand (which is nigh impossible).
Boise is attracting a lot of millennials and tech jobs.
I don't think that it is - I read somewhere that Boise is getting older. I'll see if I can track down that report I read.
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The migration from Washington, Oregon and California. 
