Ada County Housing Market, Week of August 17, 2026

Ada County Market Pulse

Week of August 17 · from Brooke Belanger's team

This week's lean

Buyers gained ground this week.

Sellers held their asking prices. Buyers signed for less. When only one side moves, the market is telling you who blinked.

What moved · resale · vs last week

The full board · vs last week

Signed = went under contract. Days = median time on market for listings, or median time to contract for signed. Exact figures in the story below.

Are you watching prices and wondering which way this market is leaning? This week the answer depends on whether you are looking at what is for sale or what is actually selling.

Under-contract prices softened on both resale and new homes. Meanwhile, homes for sale barely budged. That split tells you a lot about where the real negotiating is happening right now. Let me break it down.

Existing homes

Resale homes are steady on the surface. The typical asking price for a home on the market is $624,580, up just $920 from last week. That is basically flat. There are 927 resale homes for sale, nine more than last week, so your options grew slightly.

Now the part that matters for pace. Homes currently for sale have been sitting for a median of 31 days, unchanged from last week. But the homes that just went under contract took only 14 days to get there, one day faster than last week. When a home is priced and shown right, buyers move quickly.

Here is the shift. Pending resale prices came in at $572,990, down $6,767 from last week, with 604 homes under contract, 34 fewer than last week. Fewer homes went under contract and at lower prices. If you are a seller, read that carefully. Buyers are still out there, but they are paying for value, not aspiration. Sharp pricing wins.

New construction

Brand new homes tell a different story. The median asking price for a new build is $641,414, down $2,558 this week. There are 409 new homes for sale, 22 more than last week, so builders added real inventory. These homes have been sitting for a median of 61 days, roughly twice as long as resale homes on the market.

On the pending side, new homes going under contract carry a median price of $661,736, down $5,350 from last week. There are 141 under contract, nine fewer than last week, and those took a median of 53 days to go under contract, five days faster than last week. So new homes still command a higher price than resale when they sell, but that premium eased a little this week. If you want a brand new home, there is more to choose from and no reason to rush.

The bigger picture

The 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.65% as of August 20, per Freddie Mac. Rates near this level are still the biggest thing shaping what buyers can afford, which is why prices keep moving in small steps rather than big swings.

Here is my take. Sellers with low pandemic-era rates still have little reason to list, so inventory stays tight overall. Builders keep chipping away with more listings and rate buydowns, which is one reason new construction keeps drawing buyers even at a higher price point. The softer pending numbers this week suggest buyers are pushing back on price, and they have room to. That is leverage that did not exist a couple of years ago.

None of this calls for panic in either direction. The market is moving, just carefully. If you are buying, get clear on your must-haves and line up a lender who can lock your rate quickly. If you are selling, price to the market and prepare your home well. And if you just want to know whether these numbers fit your own plans, that is exactly the conversation I am here for.