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Looking to buy a home in Ada County? There aren't a lot out there, and when they are, they don’t sit long. Because buyers are grabbing them up. In fact, it's been a decade since there were so few homes on the market. So, if you're thinking of selling yours, realtors say, now is the time to do it.
“Right now there's an acute shortage of single family homes available for sale in Ada County,” said Marc Lebowitz, Ada County Association of Realtors.

There are only 1700 homes for sale in Ada County. Realtors like Mira Piva with Silver Creek Realty say shortages like this make it hard. Piva says she just can't find sellers.
“We need more houses, we need more houses to sell as a realtor. We have the buyers, we just don't have enough houses on the market to sell,” said Mira Piva, local realtor.

Homes are selling fast. One in the north end was on the market for only one day and several buyers offered more than the listed price. In another case a realtor listed a home for 160 thousand and it sold for more than 200.
“Those people who are no longer upside down, are able to move up,” said Lebowitz.

Experts say there are a few reasons for the shortage.
"Builders left when new construction dried up in 2009 and 2010 and those builders didn't come back,” said Lebowitz.

In addition to that, homeowners who typically sell to "move up" to nicer homes are staying put.

“We also had a number of families that found themselves unable move up like typically families do, and found themselves upside down in their homes,” said Lebowitz.

In the market today though, they’re in a very good position and many of them are getting more than their asking price.

“We need people to realize it's a really good time to sell your house,” said Piva. “Pull up their boots and just say let's do it, let's get out and find our move up home; let's find our next home,” said Piva.