Transplants Are Driving Locals From This Idaho Town
You can't open your phone without being bombarded with articles about how expensive Boise is becoming with folks moving in from all over the country. It's a broken record at this point.
However, another Idaho town has it worse. Like, way worse.
The median price for a house in said area is over $500,000. If that weren't bad enough, there are stories going around about buyers offering up to $100,000 over asking price just so they can procure the house of their dreams.
Where's this happening? Kootenai County, or more specifically, Coeur d'Alene.
Things aren't any better for folks who are simply renting either. Almost half of Kootenai County residents say they can't afford to continue to pay rising rental costs, and may be priced out. A Regional Economist from the University of Idaho, Steven Peterson, elaborates:
We’re known for a low-cost state, affordability, rural, so to see housing prices like that are just a shock. What precipitated this crisis was this massive backlog in houses that should have been constructed but were not because of the damage to the construction industry.
Needless to say, it doesn't look like things are going to get better anytime soon. Inflation, an ongoing supply chain crisis, and continuing problems stemming from COVID-19 has the economy feeling like it's doing backflips.
Oh, and that nationwide housing shortage we keep hearing about? Yes, that's also worse in Idaho.
We absolutely love living in the Gem State, but we're going to be real salty if we have to move out of state because of those darn Californians.