When looking to buy or sell a home, it is very important to know the inventory!  You can see that in September, we had an average of 6.7 months of inventory but that figure varied drastically by price range.

When the average income in Ada County substantiates about a $250,000 home, it is no surprise to me that it will take 28 months to absorb the inventory of $1 million plus homes!

With our lot prices dropping to less than development costs alone, it is a great time selectively start looking at the affordable price ranges and niches and consider building again.  I have learned that I can effectively compete with short sale prices in our area by building a home on a lot that can now be bought for $40K instead of the $100K two years ago; therefore, competing directly with short sales without the fear that in 3 months your offer would get turned down from the bank or that the seller decided to declare bankruptcy and stay in the home for another six months instead!