(Source: Sandra Forester The Idaho Statesman, Boise (MCT)– For Treasure Valley real estate agent Barb Crowell, the first few months of this year have been busier than any since 2005, one of the most active years for the local housing industry.

“With the warming weather, the confidence in the economy and lower interest rates, buyers are buying — especially first-time homebuyers who do not have a short sale or foreclosure on their credit rating,” she said.

Crowell, an agent with Atova Inc. in Eagle, showed a 2,100-square-foot Eagle home listed for $182,000 on Thursday morning. The prospective buyers were Aislynne Fend and her husband, Kyle. The Eagle High School graduates moved back to the area Wednesday from Arizona so Kyle Fend could start his new job as an environmental engineer in the mining industry.

“Right now the opportunities for buying a home are so amazing,” Aislynne Fend said. “You can’t rent a home for what you can buy it for.”

Agents say buyer activity has picked up in several price ranges and property types, at least in Ada County. Ada County sales rose 13.4 percent to 439 in February, compared with 387 in the same month last year, according to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service. In Canyon County, they dipped 16 percent to 195 from 234.

“This is the strongest February sales we’ve had since 2007” in Ada County, said Marc Lebowitz, executive officer of the Ada County Realtors Association.

Across the Valley, the number of homes listed for sale remains at a five-year low: 2,901 in February. The small supply is helping to drive prices up and leading to multiple offers per property that match or exceed the asking price, real estate professionals say.

“The agents in my office say they’re seeing three, four and five offers on one property,” said agent Dan Marion of Coldwell Banker Tomlinson Group.

In Boise, 928 single-family homes have been listed for sale since January, while 1,080 homes went under contract to sell or were sold. “Sales are overtaking listings,” Crowell said.

That means the market is turning, said Janet Thompson, an agent with Keller Williams Realty Boise.

“Buyers are now understanding that prices aren’t going any lower,” she said. “We’re on the cusp of something. The hardest thing right now is getting people to list their homes.”

She said a lot of people don’t realize it’s a good time to list a home. Others who want to sell cannot because they owe more on their homes than they would sell for.

Thompson said she’s had several agents call her as they hunt for homes for their clients. “My listings are going fast,” she said.

In Ada County, the average days on the market declined by 14 percent to 83 in February, while Canyon’s average was up about 11 percent to 84.

Distressed properties priced slightly below the market also receive multiple offers the day they’re listed, Crowell said.

“Anything priced under $100,000 in Canyon County is getting lots of attention,” she said. “I’m working with first-time buyers looking at $75,000 to $80,000 and have written offers on five different properties in the past two weeks. We didn’t win any bids, even though we offered higher than asking prices. Often these properties are selling in one day.”

All homes priced below $125,000, even nondistressed sales, tend to have accepted offers within the first few days, while homes below $300,000 are again at balanced supply and demand levels, she said.

Agents consider a six-month supply of homes at current selling rates a balanced market, meaning neither buyer nor seller has the advantage. Boise homes in the $200,000-$300,000 range are at a 5.5-month supply, Crowell said.

Ada County as a whole has a 4.4-month supply of homes for sale, Lebowitz said.

New construction also is rising.

“Two weeks ago I took a first-time buyer to look at two new homes in a subdivision in Northwest Boise priced at $169,900,” Crowell said. “Both properties sold with multiple offers before we could get back to the office and write it up. Luckily, we were able to secure a lot, and she is building.”

Lebowitz said the home-sales trend is good for the Valley’s economy.

“Nationally we know that one job is created for every two homes sold,” he said. “So far in 2012, we have helped to create 400 jobs. We also know that for each home sold there is a $60,000 cash infusion to the community. Based on year-to-date sales, we have added $50 million to our Valley’s economy so far this year.”

Marion says: “You just hope it keeps up and nothing happens politically that might change that.”

Sandra Forester: 377-6464

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©2012 The Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho)

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Source: Sandra Forester The Idaho Statesman, Boise (MCT)