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Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Bonneville County home sales numbers remarkably consistent

I did one of my semi-regular examinations of Bonneville County home sales statistics today, looking at the first five months for the last five years, and the one thing that jumped out at me is how remarkably consistent the numbers have been for the most part.

The Snake River Regional Multiple Listing Service puts these numbers out every month using four criteria: Units (homes) sold, average days on market, median price and new listings. Considering where our economy has been since 2008, what surprises me is how these numbers stayed pretty steady except for the two numbers I've change to red: the number of new listings in the first five months of 2010 (really up) and the median price in 2012 (down somewhat).

I'm not sure what it means, but here's something to think about. Early 2010 was when the stimulus bill was probably having its greatest effect on local economies. Although a lot of people have dismissed it as ineffective, in Bonneville County it was anything but. Why? Because there was a lot of shovel-ready work on the desert with the Idaho Cleanup Project, and the sudden infusion of federal dollars was all it took to get things rolling.

If you'd care to offer any observations of your own, feel free.