A Day May be Coming When You Can Afford a New Home in Idaho

Housing starts in Twin Falls are down.  A garage door salesman told me he does business with a lot of developers in Twin Falls and Cassia Counties.  Builders are starting to see a slump in the market.  It’s not to say we’ll see a sudden stop in growth, but the pace is likely to begin to ramp down, even as housing prices begin to drop.  The price of lumber has been halved since March!  Interest rates are climbing and discouraging some home buyers.  The market was also likely in for a correction after running hot for two years.

A recession would slow things even more.  I still do read some predictions that the housing market will be expensive because of a shortage of homes.  If we can cool inflation going into next year, the housing market will remain a lot more stable than it was in 2008.  Back then, there were too many homes available, and mortgages were being passed out like candy at a parade.  Good and bad were bundled together and brought down the economy.

There are still a lot of neighborhoods planned in the Magic Valley and these are likely to go ahead with construction.  Many people still want to live in Idaho as an alternative to the heavy expenses and government control they’ve experienced on the west coast.

We may see more institutional buying.  Some large investment firms are eyeing housing as a profit center.  The big players will buy entire neighborhoods and then rent the properties.  This approach could keep prices for housing high.