The Treasure Valley luxury real estate market is hot. These Boise-area homes top the list
Expensive luxury houses tend to be controversial. Some people see them as gorgeous and lustrous blends of architecture and art, others as gaudy monstrosities and tacky odes to capitalism.
Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, it’s hard not to imagine yourself with the kind of moolah to afford one of these beasts. It’s even harder to stop your eyes from wandering over them when you catch a peek behind the trimmed hedges.
Luxury listings are popping up more and more. That raises the question: Where are the most expensive homes in the Treasure Valley?
You’d be disappointed if you guessed any of the Valley’s big four: Boise, Meridian, Nampa or Caldwell. Five of the six most expensive homes ever sold in the Treasure Valley are in Eagle. The sixth is in Star.
The Idaho Statesman reached out to the brokers and agents who sold these homes. Read on for a delicious feast, or a nauseating showcase, of all six.
6 & 5: A vineyard and views of the Boise Foothills for $5.2 million each
Located north of Eagle, south of the Finca Besada and Rolling Hills vineyards, sit two homes clocking in at $5.2 million each.
The first, next to Farmers Union Canal, sits on five acres and boasts a 25-car garage, 26-foot ceilings, herringbone floors and translucent counter tops.
The single-level, 6,736-square-foot home, designed by Eagle-based Trey Hoff Architecture, includes six bedrooms, 5½ bathrooms, a pool and hot tub, a wine room and views of Bogus Basin.
The home was built in 2023 and sold in April by Matt Bauscher, owner of Bauscher Real Estate and founding partner at Amherst Madison Real Estate Advisors.
Bauscher said his heart was pounding the first time he walked through the house.
“Your eyes can’t stop blinking,” Bauscher said by phone. “It’s like a really good trailer to a movie.”
The second $5.2 million home, sold by Krista Coleman of Fathom Realty, has 5,628 square feet and includes four bedrooms and 4½ bathrooms.
Built in 2000, the home was Coleman’s for about three years until she sold it in February 2022.
Coleman said there was a clever reason the home pulled in so much more than the appraiser’s estimate of $2.7 million: She split the 10-acre property in two, remodeled the house and sold both pieces of the property for a total of $5.2 million. One half of the property included the house and all its amenities. The other half included a main barn and shop, a three-car garage, four irrigated acres and a horse arena.
“It was my way of teaching the appraiser, if you will, that ‘no you’re wrong,’” she said. “I knew from experience that it was worth a lot more.”
The home has a large tiered backyard with patios and decks, a creek and large pond, four fireplaces, a three-car garage and equestrian facilities.
A vineyard in front adds to the sense of privacy, Coleman said. The Eagle-based Dude DeWalt Cellars buys the grapes.
4: A spa-like home with views for $5.5 million
The next home takes us just south of BanBury Golf Course, where Jennifer Carr of Timber and Love Realty sold a $5.5 million home in 2023.
The four bedroom, 6½-bathroom home is the largest in this list, with 8,645 square feet.
Mike Falash, of the Boise-based firm Falash & Co., designed the modern-style house for Todd and Christi Ketlinski.
“They bought the lot a couple years before and designed the house to maximize the view of the Boise Foothills,” Carr said. “The house was built to accommodate their family as well as for entertaining.”
The ground-floor master suite offers a “spa-like retreat with a fireplace and walk-in closet,” while a second-level master suite offers extra living space and the option for a utility room, according to the property’s listing page. Guest rooms each include walk-in closets and en-suite bathrooms.
The house, which has an elevator connecting all three floors, sits on the Eagle Rim and offers views of the city and the golf course.
“The house is truly breathtaking,” Carr said. “Upon entry, you can see straight through to the back patio and an unobstructed view stretching all the way to the Boise Foothills, providing a stunning 180-degree view.”
3 & 2: A tech-heavy home and a former NFL player’s lodge for $6.2 million
Two homes share the next price point at $6.2 million — one in Eagle and one in Star.
Kate Gruber of Silvercreek Realty Group represented the home in Eagle. Gruber, with agent Garrit McGuire, sold her offering of a six-bed, seven-bath home north of BanBury Golf Course in September.
The home was designed in 2012 for former employees of Microsoft who moved from Seattle. The technology they brought in, Gruber said, was ahead of its time.
“Tech was really important in the house,” Gruber said by phone. “It had technology that I had never seen before.”
Some features included thermostats as dots on the wall and a multitiered and soundproofed movie theater.
“They thought of everything,” Gruber said.
McGuire said the home was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. The glass kitchen island was worth $10,000 alone.
“(It’s) just unbelievable,” McGuire said by phone. “It was mind blowing doing that transaction and just very humbling.”
Brett Hughes of Boise Premier Real Estate sold the other $6.2 million home in Star in April. The five-bedroom, seven-bathroom house was the former home of ex-NFL and University of Idaho guard Mike Iupati.
“(It’s) crazy,” Hughes said by phone. “It has everything.”
The 8,577 square feet include a full basketball court, a 12-car garage, a wet and dry sauna, a gym and game room. The home, Hughes said, feels like a lodge in Sun Valley.
The 17-acre property includes several fire pits, nearly 1,400 feet of private river access and a “resort-level pool and spa,” according to the property listing.
“Every single thing you could think of, it had,” Hughes said. “There wasn’t anything that hadn’t been thought through in great detail.”
1: A Spanish Colonial home in Eagle for $6.4 million
The record for the most expensive home ever sold in the Treasure Valley goes to a house just north of BanBury Golf Course. It was sold by April Rinehart of April Rinehart Real Estate at Keller Williams Realty Boise in August for $6.4 million.
The five-bedroom, six-bathroom home is 7,710 square feet and was built in 2015 in a traditional Santa Barbara and Spanish Colonial architecture style.
Trey Hoff Architecture, which also designed the $5.2 million home Bauscher sold near Farmers Union Canal, designed the house.
“We just don’t build properties like this anymore,” Rinehart said by phone.
The cabinetry, trim and flooring are walnut, with built-in walnut closets. The kitchen’s pewter countertops were specifically crafted for the house. A bell tower offers views of the Boise Foothills and Bogus Basin.
“They kept everything consistent,” Rinehart said. “They didn’t skimp at all.”
The house is fully automated, with everything from the lights to temperature controlled by an iPhone or iPad.
An infinity pool sits in the backyard, and the walls have room for the sliding doors to disappear into.
“It just feels like you’re walking into a spa,” Rinehart said. “It’s just tranquil and private.”
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