Priced-out Californians are moving to Idaho in droves

It’s the new
frontier.
Paul W
Thompson/Shutterstock

• Californians
  priced out of Pacific border states are heading to Idaho,
  Arizona, and Nevada.
• A recent Bloomberg story calls the trend an “echo
  boom” ignited by California’s record housing prices,
  volatile politics, high taxes, and “constant threat of natural
  disaster.”
• It’s driving up prices in places like Idaho’s capital, Boise
  — the city experienced an 18% jump in home prices since last
  year.

Idaho may be the new frontier for Californians. 

In
a new Bloomberg story, reporters Prashant Gopal and Noah
Buhayer describe an “echo boom” in which Californians are
invading landlocked cities out west, like Boise, Phoenix, and
Reno, Nevada.

The move is ignited by California’s record housing prices,
volatile politics,
high taxes, and “constant threat of natural disaster,” like
the recent wildfires up and down the state. 

It wasn’t long ago that people priced out of California were
fleeing to Seattle and Portland, but prices — along with traffic and
frustrations — are rising there, too. Earlier this year,
Forbes named the roughly 700,000-person Boise metro area the

No. 1 fasting-growing city in America, followed by Seattle.

“Eventually the laws of supply and demand are going to
drive people to other parts of the country,” Glenn Kelman, chief
executive officer of real-estate firm Redfin, told
Bloomberg. “Boise isn’t five times worse than California as a
place to live. But places in California are five times more
expensive.” 

The median home price in California
hit a record $600,000 in June, more than twice the national
median. Kelman says it’s easy for homeowners relocating to places
like Boise to feel like they’re spending “monopoly money.” But
naturally, the Californians are driving up prices and frustrating
some locals.

The cost of a typical home in Boise’s Ada County hit nearly
$300,000 in September, an 18% jump from the previous year, Gopal
and Buhayer reported. One new gated community sells
homes with huge windows and “wine walls” to mostly
Californians.

Rent is also much cheaper. According to Zillow, median rent in
the Boise metro is $1,400, compared to $2,300 in the
Seattle metro area, and $3,324 in the San Francisco metro
area.

But the economic relief of moving to a down-home city is just one
reason Idaho experienced a rise in popularity among Californians,
who made up 85% of the state’s total net domestic immigration in
2016, according to US Census
Data cited by Bloomberg.

Boise has for years appeared
on rankings of the best places to live by outlets like US
News, Niche, and SmartAsset, touting spectacular outdoor
attractions, high quality of life, and safety, in addition to low
taxes, affordable housing, and a strong job market.