CityBurb.com’s Boise, Eagle and Meridian Homes and Real Estate Blog

Since the temperature is starting to increase and my allergies are kicking up, I thought it would be a good time to share this Statesmen article. I don’t particularly like grass with all that watering and mowing, but as long as I’ve got some in the front yard, I figure I might as well take care of it. I switched to watering once or twice a week a few years ago and it seems to be working pretty well.

A nice lawn does increase the curb appeal of your home but if you’re not careful, it can cost you quite a bit to maintain. Read the above article for some tips on keeping your lawn green without spending too much green (…too easy).

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I absolutely love the radio show “This American Life.” Normally, I wouldn’t be sharing this type of information, but last week’s show had some great information about the “credit crisis.” The show does a great job of explaining this country’s financial situation and how we got to where we are.

So, if you’ve wondered how this all happened and want a better understanding of the financial markets, listen to the show; it’s available as a free podcast.

Listen to the show here.

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Gas prices seem to be rising to an absurd level lately and it got me thinking about the cost of the everyday commute to work and back. I live 9.2 miles from my office. That works out to 368 commuting miles each month. At 50 MPG, I use 7.36 gallons a month on my commute. Not too bad except for the fact that my job requires quite a bit more driving when you take into consideration showings and listing appointments. Now, many of you simply drive to the office and back. And few of you get 50MPG, so let’s look at a realistic case.

Nampa to Boise is about 22 miles and let’s say the average vehicle gets 22MPG (I think I’m being generous here but it makes the math easier). That works out to 880 commuting miles a month or 40 gallons of gas. Gas prices are around $3.36 in Boise today, so you’ll spend $134.40 per month in gas for your commute alone. At 6.5% on a fixed 30 year home mortgage, you could have spent $21,263 more on a home within walking distance of work and been in the same financial position while also hedging against higher gas prices.

Now, I’m not writing this to convince everyone to move within walking distance to their work, but I think the cost of your commute should be given at least the same consideration as the heating, electrical, water and tax bills when you purchase a home. I don’t think gas prices are going down anytime soon and if you run the above scenario with $5 a gallon gas you could have spent $31,600 more on a home with the same monthly expenses.

So, how much does your commute cost?

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The Idaho Statesman had an article about open houses today that I wanted to talk about. The article gives mixed reviews about the value of open houses in trying to sell your home. On one side, they talk to agents that say that open houses are all but worthless in trying to sell the home. On the other side, they have an agent that swears by them, saying that he sells a lot of homes that way. What the Statesman doesn’t point out is the difference between an open house in an existing home versus a brand new home in a new subdivision.

In an existing home, visitors to an open house tend to be either “nosy neighbors” or home buyers that are in the initial stages of looking for a home. Very few, if any, ready, willing and able buyers walk into an open house and purchase the home. The main reason for this is that when buyers are ready to buy, they have already done their research and found a real estate agent to help them with their search. If the home is on the MLS, the agent will have already seen it and it will either match the buyers’ criteria or not. If it matches, the buyers will see the home regardless of there being an open house or not. If it doesn’t, they won’t see it and if they happen to walk into the open house, they’ll recognize that it isn’t what they want (not enough bathrooms, not updated, whatever). (All of this assumes they are working with a competent agent.)

Now, in a new home subdivision, an open house can actually sell the home. Information about new homes and amenities are not always found on the MLS, and many new home buyers are looking for a community or neighborhood they like rather than a specific home. For these reasons, many new homes are sold through open houses.

So should you hold open houses? Unless you are a builder in a new community, you’re probably wasting your time. Instead, why not hold a house warming (cooling?) party and invite all of your friends over making sure to send them home with a flyer in case they know any buyers? Your odds of finding a ready, willing and able buyer are probably just as good.

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Tags: Boise Real Estate, Industry // 1 Comment »

The skyline here in downtown Boise doesn’t change much, so when a new ten-story crane appears on Front Street, it’s hard to miss. The Aspen Lofts, a 17-story condominium development in downtown Boise, has finished construction of the various underground and ground level structures and they are moving towards the sky. The crane, from Inland Crane, stands a little over 100 feet above Boise’s streets and will hopefully speed up the building of the Aspen Lofts.

For those of you living in larger cities (especially those in Las Vegas), this sight may be nothing special. Another crane, so what? But in our little city they don’t go up very often. And with all the bad news about the Boise Tower…Boise Hole…Boise Place…Boise Hole, it is nice to see a tall condo project get off the ground, so to speak.

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That was what many people (mostly real estate agents) have been calling Star, Idaho for the past few years. It seems only right for people to make silly predictions when a town like Eagle can sneak up on them and become immensely popular, seemingly, overnight. So, many predicted that Star would be the next Eagle.

Enter the real estate boom and bust.

It is common knowledge on Wall Street that if you hear a great stock tip on the news, it is probably too late to buy. This is somewhat true in real estate. If enough people go around saying that one town or another is going to be the next “hot” market, it is probably too late to jump in and make a profit (although it might not be too late to buy and live there).

Well, Star saw a great deal of interest as the market got hotter in the valley and it appears that a few developers showed up late and missed the “hot” market. According to the above article, a few developments have stalled, leaving homeowners with unfinished communities. It also appears that building has pretty much stopped.

So, what does all this mean? No, Star is not the next Eagle, but they have very similar landscapes with their foothills and river access. Star is also a small community with a lot of potential to grow into a great little town. And with the big adjustment in the real estate market, buyers have a great opportunity to build their homes on reasonably priced lots. However, there is also the possibility that Star could grow into that strange “country cousin” of Eagle, where something just isn’t right, if little or no planning goes into future development and growth.

For now, I’m going to stay put and see what happens. Any predictions?

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Boise’s infamous “hole” on the corner of 8th and Main St. downtown is in the news once again. No, it isn’t under construction yet - that would seem too easy. Besides it’s only been ten years since the development agreement was first signed to start the project. We couldn’t really expect construction to resume this quickly, could we?

No, it is in the news because the latest development company, Charterhouse Boise Downtown Properties LLC, is at risk of losing control of the hole property. It seems that shortly after acquiring the project, Charterhouse defaulted on a loan and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect itself from foreclosure. Well, it seems that Charterhouse has not followed the rules of the reorganization and may be forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy in which case the primary lien holder could foreclose on the project.

The story of this small piece of land could be turned into a mini-series at this point. I’m starting to wonder if anything will ever be built on the property. I think they ought to fill the hole, lay some sod, add a few benches and create more space for the Capital City Public Market. What do you think?

Tags: Boise Real Estate, Treasure Valley // 3 Comments »

I’ve only bowled four games in my life. I didn’t break 100 in the first two games. However, my third game started with four strikes in a row. Of course, those were my only strikes and I ended up with a 149 by the end of the game, but still, it was a brilliant start and quite shocking.

Well, on February 10th I’ll be bowling once again. Every year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Idaho hosts “Bowl For Kids’ Sake,” a bowling fund raiser. If you don’t know anything about the organization, check out their website and read up. By matching “Bigs” (adult volunteers) with “Littles” (children from the community), Big Brothers Big Sisters creates positive relationships and experiences that allow “Bigs” to re-live their youth and “Littles” to learn and experience things they may not have been able to otherwise. When I was a “Big,” my “Little” and I played soccer, laser tag and drove go-karts. The general idea is to keep these kids on the right track and away from dangerous influences that are all too common in today’s society. The difference a “Big” can make is huge (from the BBBS of SW Idaho website):

“A recent study conducted by a national research firm examined the impact of our program on youth and found that when compared to their peers, Little Brothers and Little Sisters who met with their Big Brothers or Sisters for at least one year were:

• 46% less likely to start using drugs;
• 27% less likely to start drinking;
• 33% less likely to act violently;
• 52% less likely to skip a day of school, and earned higher grades.”

So, now for the pitch (and I’ll do my best to not make a habit out of asking for money, but I’ll probably do it again next year at about this same time). I need donations, plain and simple. It is easy to do and you can do it online by visiting my fund raising page. If the link doesn’t work you can copy and paste this into your browser: http://idahobfks2008.kintera.org/alfie

Also, if you are local and would like to start your own bowling team, check out the details at the Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids’ Sake website.

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No, the three secrets of real estate have not changed, but Forbes.com, known for their lifestyle top ten lists, is trying to find the most sinful cities in the US. One of their seven “sin” lists is “America’s Most Lustful Cities,” of which Boise is tied for fifth place with Salt Lake City, Utah. The list is based on condom and over-the-counter contraceptive sales per capita. I’m not sure if that is the best way to determine a city’s lust factor, but I never did very well in statistics classes either.

It is really only notable because Boise often gets left off of national “Top Ten” lists and this time we made it. The rest of the article talks about why Denver is at the top of the list as well as the spread of STDs.

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There are a number of reasons why we should all skip the newspaper, tv and radio news media, and an Idaho Statesman article today has given us one more. The article, titled “Home prices must fall, state economist says,” tells us that home prices need to drop another 15% before the market can start to recover, according to economist Kelly Matthews.

Now, nobody actually knows what the market is going to do, so why does the news media publish a different educated guess everyday? As if it isn’t already tough enough to get your home sold, it is quite possible that it won’t even get shown until you drop the price 15%. Why? Because the “experts” say that the homes in this valley are overpriced by that amount. I agree that many of them are overpriced, but there are great homes out there at good prices.

A home is not a stock that can be day-traded. Real estate was never meant to be “flipped” or held short-term. In fact, before the 2005 and 2006 boom, it was generally understood that you had to live in your home for at least four years before you could break even. So, why are homes analyzed as such? Why can’t we just let people find a nice home in a nice area and let them decide what it is worth?

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