2950 S Auburn Ave

Run June 7, 2026 · via boise-home-eval skill · rate 6.5% (Freddie 6.48% / Bankrate 6.53%, 6/7/2026)

Listing facts

• Source: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2950-S-Auburn-Ave-Boise-ID-83705/79600559_zpid/
• List price: $399,000
• 3 bd / 2 ba · 1,400 sqft · built 1975 · lot 0.85 acre · no HOA · ~$285/sqft
• The draw here is the big lot, not the house.

County record — Ada County Assessor (the truth)

• Parcel: S1020449110 · Subdivision: 3N 2E 20 · Zone A-1 · 0.850 ac
• Owner of record: MURPHY RONALD G (a person → owner-occupied)
• 2026 assessed value: $668,500 — land $385,200 (cat 200, MARKET) + improvement $283,300 (cat 410, COST)
  • Land alone ($385k) is bigger than the whole list price minus the house. The 0.85-acre A-1 parcel is the value; the 1975 house is almost incidental.
• List price is ~$270k (40%) BELOW assessed value. That is a giant gap and the headline question of this property — see flags.

Actual property tax history (Total Taxes billed)

The tax has risen every single year (no exemption “drop” event visible) and is by far the highest of any candidate — driven entirely by the $668k assessed value. Effective rate ≈ 0.80%.

Eric as owner-occupant w/ exemption: apply the ~$125k Idaho exemption → taxable ≈ $543,500 × 0.80% ≈ $4,350/yr ≈ ~$362/mo. Even after the exemption this is ~$362/mo — roughly double the tax on every other house on the board.

Affordability — VERDICT: FITS $2,500 (barely), but it’s a TAX TRAP, not a budget house

Under the new params (20% down for everyone, no PMI; $2,500 ceiling) the payment squeaks in — but the value/risk picture is what kills this, not the monthly.

• 20% down = $79,800 → loan $319,200
• P&I at 6.5%: ~$2,018/mo
• Property tax (owner-occupant, exemption applied): ~$362/mo — roughly double any other house
• Insurance: ~$110/mo
• PMI: $0 (20% down)
• All-in: ~$2,490/mo → ~$10/mo UNDER $2,500 (and ~$490 OVER the old $2,000). Clears $2,500 by a hair. ✓

Cash — now fits at $105k

• 20% down ($79.8k) + ~$12.0k closing (3%) ≈ $91.8k — inside the $105k fund, leaving ~$13.2k of cushion. The cash wall is gone; the binding problems are tax-creep and value, not affordability.

Flags

• The $270k list-vs-assessed gap is the whole story. Assessor says $668,500; seller asks $399,000. Either (a) the assessor is over-valuing a development-potential A-1 lot the market won’t pay for, or (b) something is wrong with the house/lot, or (c) it’s a genuine under-list. Do not treat the gap as free equity — it’s a question. The A-1 zoning + 0.85ac may carry split/ag/development assumptions in the assessment that don’t translate to a buyer who just wants a house.
• Tax is the killer: ~$362/mo even exempted, because tax follows the $668k assessed value, not the $399k price. Buying at $399k does NOT lower your tax bill — you’d pay tax on the county’s $668k number.
• 1975 build, 1,400 sqft — 50-year-old house; budget for deferred maintenance (roof, systems, septic if the big A-1 lot is on septic/well — verify utilities).
• Owner is a person, so no flip/LLC signal, but also means the current ~$5,300 tax is what it is.

Bottom line

Still a no — but for a sharper reason now that affordability isn’t the gate. The payment fits ($2,490, $10 under $2,500) and the cash fits ($91.8k inside $105k). The problem is the tax is anchored to a $668k assessed value you cannot escape by paying $399k — ~$362/mo even after the exemption, roughly double every other house — and Idaho has no assessment-increase cap, so that already-worst tax drifts up every single year (it’s risen every year on record). You’d be buying a 1,400-sqft 1975 house and paying tax like it’s a $668k estate, with the worst tax-creep exposure on the board. The $270k list-vs-assessed gap is a question (A-1 development-value assumption the market may not pay), not free equity. The only world where this is interesting is a deliberate land play on the 0.85-acre A-1 lot — not a “fits the plan” house to live in. Pass.