Good Sign: Homes In Foreclosure Are A Smaller Share Of Idaho Sales

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More than 22 percent of the homes sold in Idaho in the first four months of the year were in some stage of foreclosure.  That might sound like a lot, but it’s actually a sign of improvement in the state’s housing market.

Why? Because the numbers from housing data provider RealtyTrac show that the proportion of foreclosure homes sold in the state has dropped by more than 30 percent over the last year. 

In other words, those homes now make up a smaller percentage of total sales in Idaho than they did in early 2011.  That’s an indication of a market that’s starting to normalize.

Greg Manship, CEO of the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service, says there are other positive signs, too.  “We’ve seen an uptick in the average price, the median price, the number of sales, and our inventory is starting to uptick,” he says.  “So, all in all in our local market, the bottom has passed us, and we’re seeing signs of improvement here.”

Judging by the data released today, Idaho is bucking the national trend.  Across the U.S., the percentage of homes sold that are in some stage of foreclosure has ticked up by more than eight percent since the end of last year.