Think Boise’s apartment rents are still too high? Researchers have some data for you

What, you think Boise’s apartment leases are way too expensive? A trio of academic researchers begs to differ.

Boise’s rents have fallen to a level that is close to their historical trend of increases, say the researchers, who produce a rental index as part of a real estate initiative by Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Rents in many other Western cities have returned to points close to their trend lines too.

In fact, Boise’s rents are now below that trend line. Citing Zillow data, the researchers pegged Boise’s average rent in August at $1,798.06, a 0.54% discount from the $1,807.80 predicted by the historic trend. That tiny discount was nonetheless the biggest percentage discount among the nation’s top 100 markets, the researchers said.

Boise’s rents are even lower now. October’s average was $1,766.10, a 2.55% discount from the $1,812.36 predicted by the historic trend, the researchers said. It remained the biggest percentage discount in the nation.

Researchers Bennie Waller, Shelton Weeks and Ken H. Johnson use past leasing data from Zillow’s Observed Rent Index to model statistically the rental trend in each city.

The researchers say a Boise household would need an income of at least $70,643.88 per year to avoid dedicating more than 30% of income to that average rent — a rough barometer of housing affordability. Households paying more than 30% “could encounter difficulty developing savings and may have trouble paying for such items as food, clothing, transportation, and medical care,” the researchers said.