It may have been tough to guess that Boise, Id. would be the harbinger of the state of the U.S. housing market, but a new Wall Street Journal article makes the argument that this could actually be the case. 

The city saw a huge spike in population during the pandemic due to remote workers, but the boom has since cooled. 61% of listings in the area have seen a price cut, according to the report. This marks the highest rate of 97 metro areas surveyed. Just last year, home builders couldn't keep up with demand, the report says. 

People were flocking to the area because of its affordability and its fewer pandemic restrictions, the report says. Now, with prices higher and the rest of the country finally coming to its senses about restrictions, its allure has worn off. 

Shauna Pendleton, a Boise real-estate agent for Redfin, commented that rising rates made it as if "somebody just turned the lights off" in the city. "The buyers just disappeared off the face of the earth," Pendleton said. 

The article noted stunning inventory hitting the market in Boise, stating that "inventory of existing single-family homes for sale in Ada County, which includes Boise, surged 179% in June from a year earlier, according to Boise Regional Realtors."