When buying or building a home in Idaho, or in any state for that matter, the seller requires consideration in order to enter into an agreement with a buyer. Consideration is more commonly known as “earnest money,” which is a payment (outside of financing) to the seller that shows that the buyer intends on purchasing the property. You can call it a “good faith” payment in an effort to motivate the seller to take the home off the market and move toward selling the property to the interested buyer.

Where does the earnest money payment go?

Earnest money doesn’t go directly to the seller as it’s held in an escrow account and goes towards the final purchase price of the property once the transaction is finalized.

How much do I pay?

Earnest

The Intermountain Multiple Listing Service (IMLS) has released its monthly update for home sales in December, which looks at both residential resales and new construction sales in the Treasure Valley and beyond.

Home Sales Statistics

As residents, we know the Treasure Valley of Idaho is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. And according to Realtor.com, the area is expected to be the top real estate market in the country for 2020. Both Ada and Canyon Counties saw pretty significant year over year growth in terms of homes sold and values for the month of December.

Ada County

Ada County saw a 7.69% increase in the median price of homes when compared to December 2018. In 2018 the median price was $325,000 with December 2019

Following-up on what Realtor.com is expecting to be a banner year for real estate transactions, especially here in Idaho, last week the U.S. saw a 30% increase in mortgage applications versus applications the previous week according to a report by CNBC. Additionally, refinance applications saw a 109% increase over numbers from the previous year.

The strong economy and low interest rates are fueling the demand for housing, with homebuyer demand reaching its highest level nationally in 11 years.

Additionally, purchase applications increased 16% for the week, up 8% for last year at this time. Purchase mortgage activity is at the highest level since October 2009.

...the extraordinarily low interest rates, those are helping fuel demand as

United Van Lines and Atlas Van Lines, two of the country’s largest moving companies, recently released state-to-state migration pattern studies showing which states had the most inbound and outbound moves involving their customers. Both studies showed a common theme and one that shouldn’t be surprising to current Idaho residents: Idaho was the #1 state with the highest percentage of inbound moves.

The United Van Lines study showed “Idaho saw the highest percentage of Inbound migration among states experiencing more than 250 moves with United Van Lines: 67.4%.” Two-thirds of the moves involving Idaho, were people relocating to the state. Additionally, the study looked at the ages and reasons for people moving to the Gem State. 72% of the people

Realtor.com recently released its 2019 Housing Market Report and it affirmed a lot of things Boise area residents already know: The Treasure Valley housing market is hot. In fact, Boise City (which includes the Treasure Valley) made the list as one of the top 10 fastest appreciating housing markets in 2019, seeing a 10.1% increase in sale prices year over year. The median price for a home in the area was $301,000.

“Driven by affordability, buyers flocked to lower-priced secondary markets and kept upward pressure on sales prices,” says the report. Additionally, only four of the top 100 markets saw double digit price increases, with the Treasure Valley area being part of that list.

In an earlier report, Realtor.com also indicated that the Treasure

 In the last week, U.S. News & World Report released its Top 10 list of safest states and not surprisingly, Idaho ranked number five on the list. In fact, only two of the top ten states were in the west, with Wyoming coming in ninth. The balance of the top 10 safest states were on the east coast, with Maine being ranked number one in the country.

The public safety rankings were determined by looking at both violent crimes and property crimes in each state as measured by the FBI in 2017. Idaho has a low violent crime rank as well as a low property crime rank, which propels it to its number five position.

Taking a look at some of our neighbors and how they fared, Oregon is ranked 31st overall. The Golden State of California finds itself in the

In what’s becoming a habit, the state of Idaho has once again found its way onto a Top 10 list trumpeting what residents already know: that Idaho is an amazing place to work and live. Idaho was recently revealed as being the number two ranked state for Best Economic Outlook.

Governor Brad Little tweeted, “we consistently rank as one of the top states for job growth, economic momentum, low unemployment, and personal income growth – and we’re now the least regulated state in the country!”

Idaho is no. 2 in the nation for best economic outlook! We consistently rank as one of the top states for job growth, economic momentum, low unemployment, and personal income growth – and we’re now the least regulated state in the country! #IDGov

The Intermountain Multiple Listing Service (IMLS) has released its monthly update for home sales in November 2019, which looks at both residential resales and new construction sales.

Home Sales Statistics

History has shown that the Treasure Valley of Idaho is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. Even though there was a slight dip in sales last month, demand continues to be strong for housing in the area.

Let’s take a look at the numbers starting with Ada County.

Ada County saw a 13.5% decrease in total sales between November and October. While the numbers are down between months, looking at November last year, there were six additional sales this November than last. Additionally, the total active listings were 16 fewer

Another week and another list that Boise, Idaho, has made its way onto as we head toward a new decade. This time, it’s made the Inc.com list of “Surge Cities”, which chronicles the Top 50 best U.S. cities for starting a business in 2020.

Boise landed at number five on the list bested only by Austin, Salt Lake City, Durham, and Denver. Great company to be among for sure.

Boise’s ranking was based on its population growth (#2), it’s job creation capabilities (#3), and its net business creation (#3). With hordes of people relocating to the area from other states, including California’s Silicon Valley, it’s not surprising to see it becoming a hub for tech and other startups.

As entrepreneurs are looking for locations that offer lower-priced

Those of us here in Boise, Idaho, already know that the housing market here is booming. Recently, Realtor.com released its “Top Real Estate Markets for 2020” report, and number one on the list is Boise, ID.

According to the report, sales of homes nationally are expected to slow by 1.8%. In contrast, the top ten markets, including Boise, are expected to see about a 2.4% increase. With the continued demand, home prices in the area are going to continue their ascent.

Mike Brown, owner of The Mike Brown Group at Silvercreek Realty had this to say about The Top Real Estate Markets for 2020: “It’s not surprising to see Boise among the top real estate markets in the country. The report is definitely going to lift the veil of what current Boise area