Single-family inventory is up 11% from last year, yet well-staged homes under $350k still average multiple offers. New construction accounts for 38% of active listings, with builders like Hubble and Coleman offering $5k–$8k toward closing if you use their preferred lender—though NMHL often beats those incentives with our Rexburg Gold credit and keeps your loan local instead of selling it to a Wall-street servicer.

Price bands worth watching:

• $250k–$300k: 1970s ranches in Carterville, 1,300 sq ft, 0.15-acre lots. DOM 7 days.
• $300k–$375k: Highlands 3-bed builds, 2-car garage, HOA $25/mo. DOM 9 days.
• $375k–$450k: South-bench custom homes, 0.4-acre lots, Teton views. DOM 14 days.

Interest rates for a 740-score conventional buyer sit at 6.75% (0.7 pt), but our Idaho Housing First Loan can shave 50–75 bps off for eligible borrowers—saving $130/mo on a $300k mortgage.

Young Families: Look at Heritage Park where Madison Memorial Hospital is a 4-minute drive and Madison Care-A-Lot preschool sits inside the subdivision. Sidewalks line every street and the city’s snow-removal schedule is prioritized for school-bus routes.

BYU-I Students/Investors: The micro-apartment zone along 2nd East and 3rd South allows four-bedroom-by-the-room leases. Cap rates hover at 7% because students pay premium for furnished units within walking distance of campus.

Second-Move-Up Buyers: Highland Ridge offers 2,800–3,400 sq ft floor plans with 9-ft basements plumbed for future apartments—perfect for the area’s new short-term-rental ordinance that allows Airbnb in owner-occupied homes.

Active Adults: The master-planned Seasons at Rexburg (55+) has ranch condos with 2-bed/2-bath and HOA-covered lawn care, plus a clubhouse that hosts weekly pickleball tournaments—sales start in the mid-$380s.

Most Rexburg buyers stack at least two assistance layers. Here’s the 2024 playbook:

1. Idaho Housing First Loan – below-market 30-yr fixed plus a 10-year forgivable second up to 3.5% of sales price. Household income limit 80% AMI.
2. Rural Development 502 Direct – payment assistance that can drop the effective rate to 1%; must be outside city limits (think Salem, Sugar City) but still within the Rexburg mailing address.
3. Madison County Community Development Block Grant – $5k toward down-payment or closing, 0% interest, due-on-sale. Funds release July 1 and are gone by September; reserve your spot in June.
4. Home$tart – Federal Reserve Bank match of $3 for every $1 saved (max $6k match). Takes 6–10 months to vest, so start the IDA account before house hunting.

NMHL underwriters will structure your closing so the seller can still contribute 6% and you can combine layers 1 + 3 + 4, trimming your cash-to-close to roughly $2,500 on a $300k purchase.

Madison County’s average levy is 0.65% of assessed value—$2,210 yearly on a $340k home. However, urban-services district fees add another $85/yr for streetlights and storm drains. If you buy in the Highlands, expect a $25/mo HOA that covers snow-removal of communal sidewalks; the Seasons at Rexburg charges $145/mo but includes lawn care, cable, and trash. Insurance runs below state average because Rexburg sits outside the wildfire-urban interface; most carriers quote $650–$750 annually. Winter utility budget: city power is 7.3¢/kWh and NorthWestern Energy gas averages $38/mo in summer, $110/mo in January. Budget an extra $600/yr for private well-water testing if you buy acreage south of Hwy 33.

Madison County has one of the highest per-capita enlistment rates in Idaho, yet many vets still believe they can only use their benefit once. NMHL’s VA team closes 100+ purchase and IRRRL refinances here annually and we teach three local CE classes each year. Key Rexburg VA facts:

• Limit in 2024: $0 down up to $766,550 (yes, that covers most Teton-view builds).
• Funding fee: 2.15% first use, 3.3% subsequent—roll it in or ask seller to pay.
• Residual income: Madison County uses the West region table; a family of four needs $1,003 left after all debts. We pre-calculate before ordering the appraisal.
• Manufactured homes: VA allows double-wides 2010 or newer on owned land; we closed one in St. Anthony last month at 5.875%.

Our in-house appraisal desk maintains a rotating panel of VA-certified appraisers who understand Rexburg’s unique mix of stick-built, modular, and barndominium housing—cutting turn-times to 12 days instead of the national 18.

Drive east on Hwy 33 and you’ll see potato-cell storage units, drone aerial-photography studios, and Etsy craft shops—Rexburg entrepreneurs rarely show W-2 income. NMHL offers four documentation paths tailored to Madison County’s 1099 economy:

• 12- or 24-month Business Bank-Statement: Use 75% of deposits, no tax returns, down to 10% with 660 score or 15% with 620.
• 1099 Only: Average the past two years of 1099s, add back depreciation, allow 5% gift funds.
• Asset Depletion: For landlords with 25+ doors, we divide liquid assets by 60 and treat as monthly income—perfect for retiring farmers.
• Profit & Loss Only: CPA-prepared YTD P&L plus three months statements; ideal for seasonal businesses like snow-removal or farmers-market vendors.

Last quarter we helped a Rexburg drone-mapping contractor qualify for $410k with 12 months of business statements showing $9,200 net monthly after the 75% haircut—closing in 19 days.