Are you surprised?  You would’ve had to be living under a rock to have missed the building and real estate boom in Boise.  Really, in much of Idaho.  Things have grown so rapidly, some state legislators are now airing concerns about skyrocketing property taxes.

WalletHub maintains Boise is still the best overall buy in the country.  One real estate agent in our neck of the woods recently commented what you pay today can be considered a good investment.  In other words, he believes the fear of a market crash is overblown (some on the outside of Idaho do warn of a bubble).

The way I see it, as California becomes increasingly unlivable, the demand for housing in Idaho isn’t going away.  Even with a recession.

None of the other leaders in the top 10 real estate markets are near Idaho.  Five are in Texas.  Two are in North Carolina.

Texas, Colorado and North Carolina place several more cities in the top 25.

Speaking of a lack of surprises, among the worst markets are Detroit, Baltimore and Newark, New Jersey.  How often do you hear people speak of dreams about living in those cities?  Even baseball fans are exposed to toxic franchises in two of those places!

What benefits Boise is word of mouth, mostly safe streets and a mix of grand old neighborhoods as well as new developments.  While we may believe the state capital has traffic issues, I’m reminded of something a tourist told me last fall at the renovated state museum.  She and her husband were visiting from Seattle, where they’ve lived since relocating from Washington, D.C. 15 years ago.  She explained while in Boise they slept very well in such a small and quiet community.

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