site of The Cliffs, east of BoiseOn Wednesday night, December 20, 2006 more than two years of work paid off for Skyline Development as the Ada County Commissioners unanimously approved plans for The Cliffs.  To be built in the Foothills east of Boise, The Cliffs comprises 707 acres, with an expected 1,350 homes.  The first phase of the build-out will be for approximately 202 homesites.There has been a lot of concern in the community about the development of the plateau, which is an important wildlife area, and mule deer wintering ground, but it is unmanaged rangeland.  The developer will set aside as much as 356 acres as permanent open space and buffer zone for wildlife.  The design also contains plans for habitat restoration ($9 million), and an environmental education center.  Acco... 12/26/2006

When was the last time you went for a tour of the state capitol building in downtown Boise?  If you're like me, you might never have been inside before.  Or maybe you're like my wife, who hasn't been inside since she was in school...We went downtown last night, to see the lights, and to enjoy the Christmas holiday atmosphere.  It was a great night for it, being December's "First Thursday" , which is a monthly downtown-thing that happens in Boise.  The galleries and shops were all open, and everything is lit up and decorated.  And in the course of our walk, we noticed the big decorated tree in the front of the statehouse.  So we walked over to see it.  After trying to take a picture or two, we walked up the stairs and discovered the doors were open!  Goodness, that's an offer we couldn't... 12/08/2006

Low unemployment, low crime rates, and a lack of severe weather are among the factors that lead to the Boise-Nampa area (our Treasure Valley) being named Number 1 on the list of "Most Secure U.S. Places to Live" for large metropolitan areas.  The list is an annual ranking done by Farmers Insurance Group.  St. George, Utah takes the top spot for small towns, and Las Cruces, NM takes the honors for mid-sized cities.  Last year's list ranked Boise #4 in the mid-sized group.  That confirms what all of us already knew... we're growing fast, but our quality of life is fantastic!Boise, Idaho and the Treasure Valley continue to be highly ranked in a number of different lists and articles for our liveabilty.  MONEY Magazine ranks us #8 on their "Best Places to Live" list.  In 2005 FORBES Magazin... 12/06/2006

The Ada county real estate market continued to slow in November, as it usually does (except last year).  A quick check of the numbers shows that at the end of the month there were a total of 4309 active Single Family and Single Family with Acreage listings in Ada county.  More than 100 of those dropped off the first day of December, for a total of 4202, but we'll need to wait a few days before we know how many are going to relist and how many are "going to wait until Spring".  The inventory number is going the right way, and now down two months in a row from the peak of 4672 in September (nearly 10% decline).  Currently, I'm finding 631 Solds, but that will likely rise a bit as the reported numbers settle down in the next week.  That is just under the October number, which is also expe... 12/01/2006

While we have been reading about record amounts of rain and snow in Seattle, Colorado, and the midwest, we here in Boise have been enjoying a long, dry, drawn out fall.  Last night we got the first snowfall to cover the ground.  It's only an inch, but hey, it happened on Friday morning, so I have declared a snow day, and decided to work from home today.  This is the first day in weeks that I haven't gone to the office, and in the spirit of overcompensating for staying home I've made more than twice my usual number of calls, written letters, sent emails, and talked to listing agents about properties my customers are interested in.  Hmmm... perhaps I should stay home a little more often?On top of being a productive morning for work, it has also been refreshing for attitude too.  I drove m... 12/01/2006

Now that the residential real estate market in the Treasure Valley area has cooled off, we can take a minute to catch our breath and think about what is happening, about where we are as a city and a region, and what the future might hold.  Was it all a dream?  Did we suffer a bubble?  Will my kids ever be able to buy a home?  When will it get back to normal?  Is it over yet?  I hear variations of these questions nearly every week, and it is interesting to hear how differently long time residents phrase the question, compared to the way more recent arrivals ask it.  Long time residents seem to look at the valley, and the recent growth, with a certain amount of unbelief.  They feel caught off guard and a little overwhelmed in many cases, by the increased traffic, the new houses popping up... 11/19/2006

I was asked a question about mortgage rates the other day, and the context of the question implied that rates were much worse today than they were last year.  Actually, except for the ARM products, which have moved up just over where they were a year ago (5.76 average last November compared to 6.05 this year on a 5 year ARM), the two common fixed rate mortgage products are right where they were last year.  On an 80% to value 30 year fixed mortgage, Freddie Mac reports an average rate of 6.31 and points averaging 0.4.  This is where these rates were one year ago.  Similarly, the 15 year fixed loan at the end of last week was at 6.02 with 0.04 points, whereas last year it was 5.95 and 0.04.  Interestingly, while checking on the rates, I noticed that refinancing activity is still over 45% ... 11/08/2006

The "State" Of Idaho: The Case For Open DebateIf you would ask any schoolchild how many states there are in the United States, you will get the same answer: 50. Fifty states in the Union. It is simply an accepted "fact." If you would disagree with this supposed "fact," you would be branded insane or worse. However, mounting evidence shows that there are in fact only 49 states in the US, and the "state" of Idaho is a baseless myth. We have been trying to distribute and publish this information for over *two years*, but our scholarship has not been given any respect. We have been censored, vilified, ridiculed and spat upon by the "traditional" geographers and historians, but WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED! All we ask is that the existence of the state of Idaho be debated, as every other historic... 10/25/2006