Residential Real Estate in Greater Idaho Falls, ID
Real estate makes Idaho Falls attractive to newcomers and residents.
Homes for sale in the Idaho Falls area range from large estates to one-bedroom apartments. The real estate market in Idaho Falls and the surrounding area has traditionally favored buyers, which attracts many new residents. As one might expect, the appeal of living in Greater Idaho Falls has much to do with the range of home prices and styles found here.
Equally important, however, is the region’s proximity to, say, Yellowstone National Park.
In other words, says Brian Thompson of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate-Voigt Davis Realtors, the geography of Idaho Falls is as much a factor in its desirability as its economics.
“We attribute a lot of our stable housing market to some of the great things that make our area special, such as the Idaho National Laboratory and the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center,” says Thompson, associate broker with the real estate company and past president of the Greater Idaho Falls Association of Realtors. “We’re a retail hub for the eastern part of the state and outlying areas, and we have perpetual tourism because of how close we are to national treasures such as Yellowstone National Park, Sun Valley, the Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole, and world-class skiing and fishing. I feel privileged to live in this part of the country.”
Homes Sized to Fit
Like the rest of the nation, Idaho Falls felt the housing crunch a few years ago. But the impact here wasn’t as bad as in other places, according to Thompson, and the rebound has kept the area attractive to both newcomers and longtime residents.
Retirees Jeff and Pat Cole, for instance, were seeking to buy a somewhat smaller home with considerably less maintenance than the one they owned while raising four children.
With their children grown and on their own, the Coles felt the timing was right to make a move. They put their previous home on the market in November 2014, sold it and moved into their current home just five months later.
“It seemed like the right thing to do, to just sell it and buy something more manageable,” Jeff Cole says. “The market was favorable. I was pleased with the amount of time we sold one and purchased one. It was a pretty smooth transaction.”
An Easy Process
Living in Idaho Falls has also been rather smooth for Ty and Kelsey Salsbery since they moved here in 2007. He is from a small town in Montana, and she is from near San Francisco, so Bonneville County was the ideal spot, geographically.
“We wanted to be somewhere close to both families, so Idaho Falls it was,” Kelsey Salsbery says. “This has been a great move, and we’ll be here for a very long time.”
With a growing family, the Salsberys recently moved up with the purchase of a new home that was double the size of their first in Idaho Falls.
“Selling our home took about four months, but it was an easy process,” Salsbery says. “We had lots of showings and great feedback.”
Whether it’s first-time buyers or those seeking more luxury homes, prices are ideal for residential real estate in Idaho Falls.
“Our cost categories range from about $100,000 to $150,000 dollars for starter homes, up to $400,000 and plus for luxury home,” Thompson says. “Most folks who relocate here really appreciate our housing affordability and overall low cost of living.”