BOISE, Idaho — As the search for housing in the Treasure Valley becomes more competitive, any little advantage is a big help. That's why the city of Boise has launched a new housing database.
The new database offers more transparency on housing developments in the area, as well as affordability.
"We didn't just want to throw a bunch of data on our website and call it good, we wanted to design it around the needs of our users," said Kyle Patterson, Director of Innovation Performance for the City of Boise.
Being intentional with the database, the city worked closely with community members on what they wanted to see and to make sure it was user-friendly.
Linsey Seeley recently moved to the area and tells the Idaho News 6 team the data housing portal would have been beneficial for her as she planned her move. Instead, she had to rely on Google to find out about housing in the area.
"I feel like when I was searching for housing it was really hard to compare the different pricing," said Linsey Seeley.
One of the other focuses of the database includes keeping Boise residents up to date on the progress of building over 1,250 affordable homes.
A goal they hope to reach by 2026 and one that Seeley, who struggled to find housing within her budget, called one of her biggest challenges.
"When we originally moved here, only my husband had a job and it was very difficult," said Seeley.
The city says since the launch of the database last month they've seen about 50 visits, and that, along with the info in the database, is increasing daily.
During a 2021 Boise housing analysis, the city found the community needed 2,772 new homes each year from 2021 to 2030 to keep up with growth.
