Ada County Housing Market, Week of October 19, 2026

Ada County Market Pulse

Week of October 19 · from Brooke Belanger's team

This week's lean

The week leaned toward sellers.

More buyers committed, and they paid closer to asking. Hesitation had a cost this week.

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.

Ada County's builders now have more brand new homes for sale than at any point since I started saving weekly numbers in late June. Those homes are also taking longer to find buyers than in any saved week. If you are shopping for a new build, that combination gives you leverage.

Resale is heading the other way. Fewer used homes are for sale, and sellers have nudged asking prices up for four weeks running. The two halves of the market are pulling apart, and which one you are shopping changes how you should negotiate.

Existing homes

The typical asking price on a resale home is $629,860, up $2,910 from last week. It has risen four weeks in a row, each week since the week of September 28. Supply keeps shrinking. There are 876 resale homes for sale, down 9 for the week and the lowest of any saved week. Since the week of June 29, the count is down 108.

What buyers actually sign for is lower. Resale homes under contract had a median price of $542,350, up $2,300 from last week. That sits just above the week of October 12, which had the lowest signed price of the saved weeks.

Buyer activity ticked up slightly, with 449 homes under contract, 8 more than last week. Still, that count is down 193 from 642 in the week of July 27. Homes that went under contract took a median of 18 days to get there, unchanged from last week but the slowest of the saved weeks. Homes still for sale have been sitting a median of 34 days.

For sellers, fewer competing listings help, but the signed prices are the real benchmark. Price to those, not to the asking numbers.

New construction

Builders keep adding homes. There are 523 new homes for sale, up 8 this week. That count has grown six weeks in a row, each week since the week of September 14. The median asking price is $599,936, essentially flat with a $36 rise. It is below the typical resale asking price.

The pace is slowing. New homes still for sale have been listed a median of 68 days, up 4 and the longest of the saved weeks. The ones that sold took a median of 66 days to go under contract, up 7 days. That has risen two weeks in a row, since the week of October 12, and is also the slowest of the saved weeks.

In the issue for the week of October 12, I noted that accepted offers on new builds were holding steady. This week they slipped. The median price on new homes under contract fell $2,238 to $577,838, the lowest of any saved week. Buyers signed 117 contracts, up 2 from the week before.

Here is my take. When builders have this many homes and they are sitting this long, they will negotiate. Ask about price, closing costs and rate buydowns.

The bigger picture

The 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 7.32% as of October 22, per Freddie Mac. That is a slight easing, but it barely changes what most buyers can afford. Bond yields are still high, which limits how far rates can fall this fall.

The Fed is widely expected to hold steady at its late October meeting, and markets are watching December. That uncertainty is likely to keep buyers cautious through the holidays. For buyers, rate help from a builder or a seller credit may be worth more than a small price cut. Entry-level buyers using FHA or 15-year loans are seeing a bit more relief than others.

None of this calls for rushing. Buyers, the new construction side is where your leverage is strongest right now. Sellers, the thinner resale supply works in your favor if your price matches what buyers are actually paying. If you want to talk through how this fits your plans, I am always happy to help.