Cost of Living & the Market
What a home costs here, how Idaho taxes work, and what to expect from a small market.
Most of the buyers we work with are moving from somewhere more expensive, and the first week here feels like a bargain: the tax bill, the power bill, a cart of groceries. Home prices are a different conversation, and an honest one is better than a surprise. This chapter puts real numbers on both so you can plan with your eyes open.
The median home sold in Boundary County brought $485,000 in 2025, property taxes are low by national standards, and Idaho has a 5.3 percent flat income tax and a 6 percent sales tax. Land, acreage and waterfront vary widely in price, and inventory is limited, so the market rewards buyers who are prepared.
Acreage with a pond and pasture below the Selkirks. What it costs depends on the well, the road, the power and the view as much as the house. Photo: CENTURY 21 Four Seasons Realty
The numbers
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median sold price, homes | $485,000 in 2025 | Selkirk and Coeur d'Alene MLS, as of September 23, 2026 |
| Idaho homeowner's exemption | 50% of home and 1 acre, up to $125,000 off assessed value | Idaho State Tax Commission |
| Idaho income tax | 5.3% flat rate | Idaho H.B. 40, 2025 |
| Idaho sales tax | 6%, groceries included, offset by a $155 per person grocery credit | Idaho State Tax Commission |
| Average residential electric bill | About $127 per month at 12.6 cents per kWh | FindEnergy county data |
| Median household income | $67,237 | U.S. Census, 2020 to 2024 ACS |
How property tax works in Idaho
Idaho assesses property at market value as of January 1 each year, and the county assessor mails assessment notices in early June. If the home is your primary residence, apply with the Boundary County Assessor for the homeowner's exemption. It removes half the value of the house and up to one acre, up to $125,000, before the tax is figured. Starting in 2026 the exemption is no longer prorated, so a timely application gets the full amount in the first year.
Seniors 65 and older, widows and widowers, and people with disabilities may also qualify for the Property Tax Reduction program, often called the circuit breaker. For 2026 it can cut up to $1,500 from the tax on a home and one acre for households with 2025 income of $39,130 or less after medical expenses. Applications run January 1 through April 15 each year.
The tax bill itself is the sum of levies from the taxing districts a property sits in: the county, the school district, the city if inside one, a fire district, a highway district, the library, the hospital, the ambulance service and others. Two homes of equal value in different parts of the county can have different bills, so ask for the levy breakdown on any property you are serious about.
Farm and timber ground is taxed differently. Land in active agricultural use is assessed on its farm value, not market value, and forest land over 5 acres can be designated as timber ground and taxed on productivity or at harvest. Both can cut the bill substantially, but neither transfers automatically, so ask us how a property is designated before you buy.
What the market is like
Boundary County is a small market. Sales in a typical year span town lots, acreage, farms, timber ground, waterfront and bare land, and there are never many of any one kind for sale at once. Prices depend heavily on what comes with the property: legal access, a producing well, a permitted septic, power at the road, usable ground, and internet at the address. A clean, well-documented property moves quickly; one with open questions sits.
Sources: Selkirk and Coeur d'Alene MLS data; U.S. Census QuickFacts, Boundary County; Idaho State Tax Commission, homeowner's exemption; Idaho Code 63-604, agricultural land; Idaho State Tax Commission, forest land taxation; Idaho H.B. 843 guidance; Idaho grocery credit; FindEnergy, Boundary County electricity.
