Housing Agency Sees Increases Pushing Homes Out Of Reach

The average cost of homes financed through the Idaho Housing Agency is going up, and so is the age of people buying them.

The agency said not since 1986 has the average age of borrowers been in the 20s. A recent report said the typical Idaho Housing Agency buyer last year was 31 and spent $66,925 on their first home.

That’s three years older than the average 28-year-old first-time home buyer in 1978, who paid $32,874 for the home.

Robert E. Reed Jr., vice president of real estate lending, said the older borrower trend reflects the increasing cost of housing.

“Because the demand is so high, Idaho’s real estate costs have skyrocketed, forcing many families or individuals wanting to buy their first home to wait until they’re more established or have stockpiled their savings,” Reed said.

“Home prices continue to rise, dragging the market’s affordable end out of reach for many Idahoans,” he said. “This trend seems to be locking younger families and individuals out of home ownership and we’re concerned about it continuing.”

At the current conventional mortgage interest rate of 8.625 percent, a family would have to earn at least $24,400 to qualify for a $63,000 mortgage.

Last year, the agency helped 2,100 limited-income families and individuals buy their first home, and the total since 1978 is 25,500.