A record low in homes for sale drives up the price to buy in East Idaho

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - Be prepared to spend more on a house if you are looking to buy one in Eastern Idaho.

"The inventory has never been lower," President of The Greater Idaho Falls Association of Realtors, Chad Murdock said."

"When supply is low, demand goes high and prices go up. Our supply is very low and prices are skyrocketing."

The numbers Murdock is seeing are even lower than when the recession hit in 2008.

"We normally have about 400 to 500 homes on the market right now in Bonneville County," Murdock said. "We have just over 40 single-family homes on the market. To give you a little more perspective, from Rexburg to Blackfoot, there are 127 homes on the market."

Californians are not the top buyers in Bonneville County. They make up 15% of the market and movers from Arizona poll at 14%. It is Idahoans who are driving up the prices in the area.

“40% who move to Bonneville County are from Ada, Bingham, or Bannock County," Murdock says.

Low mortgage rates are allowing people to absorb an extra cost of up to $30,000 above market price. Murdock wonders if these prices are the new normal in our region.

“There are other markets around us where the prices are considerably higher than ours and maybe our time has come to where we might not go down," Murdock said. "We might continue to go up and be one of those more in the medium price rates of the country.”