The number everyone will quote is the drop. The numbers that explain it are sitting two lines further down the report, and they tell a more useful story than the headline does. September is still the most recent month Boise Regional REALTORS has published, so this is the report the market is working from in early November, and we have added what has changed since.

Did Ada County Home Prices Drop in September 2026?

Key Takeaways

• Ada County's median was $575,000 in September, down from $595,000 in August, per BRR.
• Year over year the median is still up 2.9%, and closed sales rose 8.5%.
• Inventory fell 8.5% and months of supply held at 2.4, still a seller's market.
• The 30-year fixed peaked at 7.40% on October 8 and eased to 7.18% by November 5, per Freddie Mac.
• New construction was just over half of active supply, which is the number sellers should watch.

September 2026 at a Glance

• Median sale price: $575,000, up 2.9% year over year, per Boise Regional REALTORS
• Closed sales: 854, up 8.5% year over year, per BRR
• Days on market: 39, down 4.9% year over year, per BRR
• Inventory: 2,006 homes, down 8.5% year over year, per BRR
• Months supply of inventory: 2.4, down 17.5% year over year, per BRR

Trying to figure out what this means for a home you are about to list or buy? Talk with our team and we will run your situation against the actual numbers rather than the headline.

A Falling Median Is Not the Same as Falling Prices

This is the distinction that matters most, and it is the one most coverage skips.

The median is the middle sale. If more lower-priced homes close in a given month, the median drops even when no individual home lost value. September is historically a month where the mix shifts: the summer buyers who stretched for larger homes have mostly closed, and the fall buyer pool skews toward first-time and move-down purchases.

Look at the year-over-year figure for the cleaner read. September 2026's median of $575,000 compares to $558,545 in September 2025, up 2.9%, per Boise Regional REALTORS. That is slower growth than the 6.9% year-over-year gain August showed, but it is still growth, and it is measured against the same month a year ago rather than against a summer peak.

Year to date, the picture is steadier still. The county's year-to-date median sits at $569,000, up 1.6% from the same period in 2025, per the same report. That is the number that describes 2026 as a whole, and it says the year has been modestly positive rather than volatile.

So the honest framing is this: prices in Ada County are roughly where they were a year ago, slightly higher, after a summer that ran hot and a September that cooled the mix.

The Rate Move Is the Bigger Story

What changed between August and September was not the housing data. It was the cost of borrowing.

The 30-year fixed sat at 6.71% in early September, crossed seven percent in late September, and peaked at 7.40% the week of October 8, per Freddie Mac. Since then it has eased for three straight weeks, to 7.18% the week of November 5, per the same survey. That is welcome, and it is still nearly a full point above the 6.22% a year earlier.

A buyer who was approved in August at one payment is looking at a materially higher one now for the same house. That pressure shows up exactly where the September report shows it: buyers trading down in price, which pulls the median lower, and pending sales going flat at 1,140, up just 0.4% year over year, per Boise Regional REALTORS.

Pending sales are the leading indicator. Closed sales in September reflect contracts written in July and August at lower rates. Pending sales reflect buyers deciding right now. Flat pending activity against a year ago, after months of double-digit gains, is the first real sign that the rate climb is slowing demand.

Why Sellers Are Still in a Strong Position

None of this has moved the supply side, and the supply side is what decides who holds the stronger hand.

Ada County finished September with 2,006 homes on the market, down 8.5% from a year earlier, per Boise Regional REALTORS. Months of supply held at 2.4, down 17.5% year over year. A balanced market is generally considered four to six months. The county is nowhere near it.

Homes are also still selling faster than last year. Days on market averaged 39 in September, down 4.9% from 41 a year ago, per the same report. That is up from August's 37, which is the normal seasonal drift, but it is not the profile of a market where listings sit.

And more homes sold, not fewer. Closed sales totaled 854, up 8.5% year over year, per BRR. A market with rising sales, falling inventory, and tight supply is a seller's market, even in a month where the median dipped.

What sellers should take from September is narrower than panic and more useful: the buyers still out there are more payment-sensitive than they were in July, so pricing at launch and being open to concession structures matters more than it did three months ago.

What This Means If You Are Buying

The September data is better news for buyers than the summer data was, and it is worth understanding why.

You have slightly more room. Pending sales flattened, days on market lengthened a bit from August, and the median mix shifted toward lower-priced homes. That is not a buyer's market, but it is a market where a well-structured offer gets a hearing rather than being one of six.

You are also paying more to borrow, and that is the tradeoff. At 7.18%, per Freddie Mac, the payment on any given price is higher than it was in August, even after three weeks of easing from the October peak. The practical move is to ask for help with the rate rather than the price: a seller-paid buydown or closing cost credit often does more for your monthly number than the same dollars off the asking price, and sellers in a 2.4-month market can afford to say yes.

Get fully underwritten rather than prequalified. Rates are moving weekly in both directions, and a letter from August or from early October may not reflect what you qualify for today. Your lender can tell you where you actually stand before you tour.

If you are weighing timing, our buyer's guide covers how the process works once you are ready to write.

How This Plays Out Differently Across Ada County

The county median is an average of very different markets, and September's dip did not land evenly. BRR's September stat sheet, which breaks the county into resale and new construction and calls out individual cities, shows where.

Resale homes sold at a median of $561,065 in September while new construction sold at $622,704, leaving new homes about 11% higher at the median, per Boise Regional REALTORS. The two segments also moved differently: resale closings rose 18.2% year over year while new-construction closings fell 10.0%, and resale homes sold in 35 days against 48 for new builds, per the same stat sheet.

By city, BRR noted that Boise's median moved down to about $535,000 while Star rose to roughly $627,500, per BRR, which is as clear an illustration as you will find of a countywide median masking very different local trends. Boise's established neighborhoods, where almost everything for sale is resale, saw a normal seasonal cooling. Star, Meridian, and Kuna, where builders dominate the active listings, saw pricing shaped by rate buydowns on standing inventory. In Eagle, where our team's transaction data puts the median well above the county figure, volume was thinner and pricing depended heavily on the specific property.

The supply mix is the part sellers should read twice. New-construction inventory rose to 1,051 homes in September while resale inventory fell 16.2% to 955, per Boise Regional REALTORS, putting new construction at just over half of everything for sale in the county. New homes also accounted for about 57% of pending contracts. A resale seller in a subdivision with active builders is competing with a model home and a lender incentive, and the pricing has to reflect that.

The practical point is that the county median tells you the direction of the market. It does not tell you what your home, or the home you want, is worth this month. That takes comparable sales from your specific neighborhood, pulled in the last sixty days.

Where Ada County Sits in Early November

BRR's October report will not publish until mid-November, so the freshest read comes from weekly listing data rather than closed sales.

In the first week of November, Ada County had 1,931 single-family homes for sale with a median list price of $659,990 and a median price on newly listed homes of $569,880, per Altos Research. Forty percent of those active listings had taken at least one price cut, and Altos put the county's Market Action Index at 36, which it labels a slight seller's advantage, down a point from the prior month.

Read those together with September's 2.4 months of supply and the picture is consistent: a market that still leans toward sellers on supply, where buyers have more negotiating room than they did in the summer and where a growing share of sellers have already adjusted their price once. Note that Altos measures days on market and list prices from active listings, so its figures run higher than the IMLS closed-sale figures BRR reports and are not directly comparable.

Want the November read on a specific neighborhood rather than the county average? Call us at 208-789-4320 and we will pull the comparable sales for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Ada County home prices going down?

The September median fell to $575,000 from $595,000 in August, per BRR, but it is still up 2.9% from a year ago. A one-month median drop usually reflects a shift in which homes sold rather than individual homes losing value.

Why did the median drop if the market is still tight?

The median is the middle sale. When more lower-priced homes close in a month, it falls even if nothing lost value. September typically skews toward first-time and move-down buyers after the summer move-up season ends.

Is this a good time to sell in Ada County?

Supply is still at 2.4 months with inventory down 8.5% year over year, per BRR, which favors sellers. What changed is that buyers are more payment-sensitive, so pricing correctly at launch matters more than it did in the summer.

What are mortgage rates right now?

The 30-year fixed averaged 7.18% the week of November 5, down from a 7.40% peak on October 8 and up from 6.22% a year earlier, per Freddie Mac. Rates have eased for three straight weeks after climbing through September and early October.

Should I wait for prices to fall further?

Nobody can promise that. Rates eased a quarter point from their October peak, per Freddie Mac, and prices have held, so the trade between waiting on price and waiting on rate is close right now. Run both numbers with a lender before deciding.

What does months supply of inventory mean?

It is how long current listings would last at the present sales pace if nothing new came on. Four to six months is generally considered balanced. Ada County sat at 2.4 in September.

How does Canyon County compare?

Canyon County's median was $443,523 in September, up 5.1% year over year, per BRR, with 48 days on market and 2.6 months of supply. It is growing faster on price than Ada County right now, from a much lower base.

About the Author

Denise Abmont is an Associate Broker and REALTOR® who leads Abmont Realty Group at Amherst Madison in Eagle, Idaho, with her husband and co-owner Joe Abmont. Since founding the team in 2017, they and their 10 agents have helped more than 700 families buy and sell across the Treasure Valley, representing $400M+ in total sales. She reads the Boise Regional REALTORS report the morning it drops and spends the rest of that week translating it for people who have to make decisions with it. Reach the team at 500 E Shore Dr, Ste 218, Eagle, ID 83616, call 208-789-4320, or visit the Abmont Realty Group team page.