KTVB Story
In 2007, home sales across the Treasure Valley dropped 33 percent from 2006.
Marc Lebowitz with the Ada County Association of Realtors says the figure should be taken with a grain of salt.

The Ada County Association of Realtors claims although numbers are down from last year - it was still an average year in home sales. Homes sale numbers across the area were the 5th best ever. "2005 and 2006 spiked higher than anything we have ever seen," he said.

Lebowitz says 2007 turned into a year of opportunity for the first time home buyers across the area. "The sales of homes in the $160,000 to $300,000 mark in December of 2007 were 30% greater than in July of 2007...where everything else is trending downward that is trending up."

Another changing trend in 2007 - Lebowitz says fewer investors purchased homes.

"People buying homes in 2007 bought them to live in they wanted to make this there home, this is a great place to have a family," he said.

As for 2008, Lebowitz says with interest rates at an all time low, spring will be a good time for people looking to buy a home.

"We continue to see the inventory decrease and we continue to see sellers becoming more realistic so I think it continues to be a strong market for buyers," he said.

As for sellers - Lebowitz offers this advice.
"Listen to your realtor, be realistic," he said. "Understand your priorities and motivations if you need to sell quickly then you are going to need to be flexible."

The Ada County Association of Realtors says in 2007 the average home sat on the market for 56 days.

In 2005 and 2006 the average was about 30 days.

But in 2003 and 2004 homes averaged 75 days on the market.

Lebowitz adds over the past five years, on average the value of homes in the Valley have increased by about ten percent each year.

He says the exception was from 2006 to 2007, when he says the area saw a decrease of less than two percent.