Treasure Valley home prices dip to 7-year low

Most sales are starter homes that begin at about $150,000, real estate agents say.

BY BILL ROBERTS - broberts@idahostatesman.com

Time is running out for first-time home buyers to get their $8,000 federal tax credit on the purchase of a house.

September’s home sales in Ada and Canyon counties show people are working to take advantage of the credit, which Congress approved in the economic-stimulus act passed in February.

The number of homes sold in Ada and Canyon counties climbed slightly compared with September 2008, and the median price for a home dropped from August to September, signaling that people are buying mostly at the lower end of the market, agents said.

“We are using up some of the inventory that is out there,” said Kim Davis, associate broker with Group One in Eagle.

The median sales price for an Ada County home was $162,900 in September, compared with $205,000 in September 2008, according to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service. That’s a 20 percent decline.

The median in Canyon County was $104,450, down from $141,990 in September 2008, down 26 percent.

The last September the median price was below that was 2003, at $151,540.

Homebuyers are encouraged by some sellers who are paying much of their closing costs, and they’re acting to beat the credit before it ends in November. Houses generally must be under contract by the end of next month to meet the deadline.

The tax credit for houses is a little like the government’s Cash for Clunkers auto program last summer, in which the government kicked in up to $4,500 toward the purchase of a new vehicle if a buyer gave up a gas-guzzling old one. Critics said that program front-loaded demand for cars that will likely slack off in future months. Some real estate agents think the same could happen if the housing credit goes away.

The real estate sales industry is pushing Congress to extend the credit. If the credit isn’t renewed, the median prices for homes will likely increase again, said Mike Pennington, community manager for John L. Scott in Boise.

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