Sun Valley, Idaho Having Serious Housing Crisis “It is Close to Toppling”

Home prices in Idaho have been on a roller coaster mostly one that just keeps going up with a few dips here and there for years now. Sun Valley is in a place where it is becoming a serious problem - far more so than other places in the state.

It is no secret that Sun Valley is a beautiful and sought after destination for wealthy individuals. What about everyone else though? If you thought workers where getting prices out of the Boise area, you are not wrong but it is about ten times the problem in the Sun Valley and Ketchum area.

The New York Times reports, "In the Idaho resort area of Sun Valley, there are so few housing options that many workers are resorting to garages, campers and tents. The housing shortfall is now threatening to paralyze what had been a thriving economy and cherished sense of community. The hospital, school district and sheriff's office have each seen prospective employees bail on job offers after realizing the cost of living was untenable."

Buffalo News said "Already, restaurants unable to hire enough service workers are closing or shortening hours. And the problems are starting to spread to other businesses, said Michael David, a Ketchum council member who has been working on housing issues for the past two decades. "It's kind of a house of cards," he said. "It is close to toppling."

So how much are the homes averaging currently? "In Ketchum, the town next to Sun Valley, officials found that home prices shot up more than 50% over the past two years, with the median reaching about $1.2 million. Two-bedroom rentals went from less than $2,000 a month to more than $3,000." -Buffalo News

The local fire department is has been fundraising just to provide financial home relief for their staff to make sure they continue to have a staff. Sure resort towns are great and Billionaires and Millionaires love to visit and live there but what happens when there is no local emergency response teams, local hospital workers, no local teachers, no local grocery store workers? The whole town will crumble without the base needs that every community has to have.