Migration to Weiser and the need for growth

Editor’s Note:
 The following is the second installment in a series involving the real estate market in Weiser. The first installment appeared in the June 2 edition of the Weiser Signal American and can also be found at www.signalamerican.com.
The Migration
 So, why are people coming to Weiser?
 The answer seems to lie, at least in part, in what is happening in Boise where, for example, homes in a southwest Boise neighborhood sold for around $67,000 in the late 1970s, according to one homeowner who said those same 2,000-square-foot houses are now selling for around $530,000.
 Just four years ago, buyers were paying between $267,000 to $325,000 for them.
 Many of the purchases today are cash deals involving out-of-state buyers who can sell high and are left with plenty of cash to put down on a home in Boise, according to local sources.
 In many cases, a single home can receive as many as 30 offers, after only hours on the market, triggering a bidding war that often results in a sale as much as $30,000 over the original asking price.
 Cash is an easy deal for real estate agents and means no mortgage for buyers.
 The influx of transplants has caused developers to build as fast as they can, on every available piece of ground, but inventory in Ada and Canyon counties is still behind the curve, according to a local roofing contractor who wished to remain anonymous.
 And, in the opinion of some, the lifestyle that once attracted people to Boise in the first place seems to be disappearing.
 “I think that they are feeling Boise and Meridian are going to be a lot of what they just came from and so they start coming out to these more rural areas and they are feeling that appeal in the small town atmosphere that we have here in Weiser,” Hickey explained.
 Although demand for housing in Weiser is rising, it’s nothing compared to other areas where new development has been skyrocketing for several years.
 “Weiser always maintains a little bit of a protectiveness from that growth because we are just that additional 20 minutes from the freeway where things are growing up really fast,” Hickey said. “In New Plymouth, Fruitland, and Payette, I mean, they are just building like crazy.”
 Hickey, who also serves on the Weiser Economic Development Task Force, said Weiser needs to grow, too.
 “We do need to build,” she said. “Our main goal on the task force is to figure out how to get developers here.”
The Need for Growth
 Weiser Mayor Randy Hibberd agrees.
 “We are trying to work at getting developers interested in Weiser, trying to do something about housing, but at the same time, I don’t know that there is anything we can do about the prices,” Hibberd told the Weiser Signal American. “The market is the market, and, of course, we don’t have the means to construct affordable housing, but it is something I would like to find a solution to, but I don’t know what that is at this point.”
 Growth is important to the local economy and the future of every small town.
 But it’s a hard pill to swallow for those who are comfortable with the way things have always been in Weiser.
 Maintaining the status quo, however, makes it hard to attract employees.
 “It has been an issue for some time,” Hibberd said. “I was on the hospital board before this and we would recruit physicians and nurses and executives, and there was no place for them to stay and therefore they would end up on the other end of the Valley because that’s where they could find a house.”
 The City has made some moves to help stimulate development in the area, such as lowering hookup fees for sewer and water, cutting the cost almost in half, according to Hibberd, who added that both the Weiser City and Washington County Planning & Zoning Commissions are working in cooperation to figure out if there are “any impediments to providing housing.”
 Currently, some landowners are selling parcels to developers and there have been new subdivisions in recent years, but it’s not enough.
Why Grow?
 “I’ve lived in Weiser for 27 years now and I’ve seen the population grow by about 10 percent, which has been kind of nice, but that’s not sustainable,” Hibberd said. “We have the ability to grow with our services. Our infrastructure is in great shape. We could double capacity and not have a problem.”
 To those who are not in favor of growth, Hibberd said it is inevitable, but that cooperation between the City and County will be key in laying down guidelines to make sure it doesn’t get out of control.
 “I don’t want to see uncontrolled growth, but I would like to see reasonable and measured growth,” He said. “Nothing stays static. I would say that I don’t want to see Weiser die on the vine. Too many towns end up ghost towns.”
 Hickey said she believes Weiser’s distance from the interstate is what keeps the city from exploding like Payette and Fruitland.
 “The way the market is, I don’t think anybody foresaw this, but we are still not Payette and Fruitland where they are just going to the next field and putting in another subdivision,” she said. “We need some growth, but it’s also been pretty evident that our government here wants to make sure that we are protecting farm ground and I think that being just a little bit farther away from the freeway will make our growth a little bit slower.”

Category:

Signal American

18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
PH: (208) 549-1717
FAX: (208) 549-1718
 

Connect with Us