North Idaho Real Estate Blog Keeping the “invisible” property owners of Kootenai County in-the-know, as if you were here on a daily basis. 208.769.9464 * dreamteam @ nidt . com * Author: Christina Ethridge, REALTOR(R)

I’ve been temporarily posting on my “other” blog (it’s really my “old” blog but I keep it active because a lot of you have found me in searches from that blog) - here are a few of the posts:

• North Idaho is great for vacations - especially affordable ones!

• Idaho holds it’s own in the 2009 ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index

• Video tour of a beautiful Coeur d’Alene Idaho custom home on acreage - it’s my first, enjoy!

• Idaho holds it’s own in the 2009 ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index

• Video tour of a beautiful Coeur d’Alene Idaho custom home on acreage - it’s my first, enjoy!

• A 6,000+ seat event arena, in Coeur d’Alene? It can be done!

• What do spiders and robins have in common???

• All right, here it is - Going directly to the builder WILL NOT save you money in the Coeur d’Alene Area!!! ARGGGHHH!!!

• Idaho ranks #8 in “Healthiest States”

• Stop giving away information to consumers - they won’t “need” us . . .

• The economy is helping some industries - North Idaho Nudist Community

• Need tailoring services in Coeur d’Alene Idaho? Then stay FAR away from . . .

• Mica Flats (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) puts new community on the drawing board - and it’s drawing debate…

• In a time of extreme unemployment, you’d think “time is of the essence” would be important! Post Falls Life Care Facility - NOW OPEN!

• Wordless Wednesday - Ribbit

• Wazza up with the online version of the Coeur d’Alene Press??

• You too can “know the future”… all it takes is watching the present with eyes wide open…

• Coeur d’Alene Idaho ranks #2 for best performing cities - We’ve done it again!

• Do you know that geese are LOUD???

• Coeur d’Alene Real Estate - Short Sale Opportunities

• Post Falls is examining 277 acre annexation request… for immediate development.

• Out with the old and in with the new!!! And no, this isn’t another resolutions/goal post

• Recession cuts Idaho’s numbers, but state still has sixth-fastest rate

• I’m running a business, not a charity - but apparently, all too many agents think the opposite.

• Ok people - relax, calm down, I’m not stalking you if I have your mailing address…

Posted under For Buyers, For Investors, For Renters, For Sellers

I have been very behind the times on keeping y’all updated and I sincerely apologize.  I don’t know that I’ve ever truly found the “balance” between truly working with buyers and sellers and keeping this blog updated so that buyers and sellers can stay informed.

Frankly, blogging takes a lot of time.  The beauty is, I very much enjoy my interactions with y’all, both virtually and live.  It’s been busy the past 2 months.

So, what does “busy” mean?

The North Idaho Dream Team LLC is now powered by SKE Realty Group LLC. The brokerage we were affiliated with, GMAC Northwest Real Estate essentially went “belly-up”.  The owners closed down the business and we had all of 24 hours to relocate.  Thank goodness we had already begun the work necessary to form our own brokerage.  It was our intention to open our brokerage in late spring of this year (2009) but with the advent of the actions of our previous brokerage, we opened on January 5th, 2009.  So, it was up to me to do 5 months worth of work in as short of a time as possible - and yes, I achieved that, but not without some downside - one being consistent updates to y’all via this blog.

I also was inaugurated as the local chapter President of the Coeur d’Alene Chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors. An honor and I very grateful for and am enjoying immensely.

AND, although number of sales are down this year over last year (so far), I’ve been incredibly busy working with sellers (and Chuck has been busy working with buyers) and well, actually ASSISTING you in your real estate transaction is our number 1 priority so this blog became a #3 priority.  But that is OK!

So, although we are still very busy helping you buy and sell real estate, I’m not as busy with the “nuts and bolts” of opening up a new business (SKE Realty Group LLC) as I was in January and February and, I feel as though I’ve “settled in” to my position as President so, I am fairly sure I’m back to keeping you updated on the real estate goings on of Kootenai County.

It is my absolute pleasure to assist you!

Posted under For Buyers, For Sellers, General Real Estate

Here’s what’s been happening in the Kootenai County real estate market in the past 7 days…

Residential Real Estate in Kootenai County:

• 2,521 residential properties are available for sale
• 30 properties received offers and went into pending status.
• 39 properties were closed and recorded (sold)
• 144 properties expired (failed to sell)
• 32 properties were canceled (taken off the market until another time)
• 5 properties were withdrawn (temporarily taken off the market)

Inventory is decreasing which is very typical for this time of the year.  So many people think of it as taking the last gulp of air right around the end of October and start breathing again in March.  The thing is, properties still sell in the winter - people still move.  The key?  Price your home perfectly so it doesn’t languish on the market over the winter months.  Buyers are in a prime position - plenty of options, not much buyer competition.

Multi-Family Real Estate in Kootenai County

• 91 multi-family properties available for sale
• 0 properties received offers and went into pending status
• 1 property was closed and recorded (sold)
• 2 properties expired (failed to sell)
• 0 property was canceled (taken off the market until another time)
• 0 properties were withdrawn (temporarily taken off the market)

There are plenty of Multi-Family properties available right now.  This is a ripe time to buy as properties have been languishing on the market and many sellers are ready and willing to consider lower but serious offers.

Posted under Market Reports

Here’s what’s been happening in the Kootenai County real estate market in the past 7 days…

Residential Real Estate in Kootenai County:

• 2,619 residential properties are available for sale
• 28 properties received offers and went into pending status.
• 31 properties were closed and recorded (sold)
• 65 properties expired (failed to sell)
• 38 properties were canceled (taken off the market until another time)
• 3 properties were withdrawn (temporarily taken off the market)

Homes are still selling, buyers are still buying.  North Idaho Real Estate is still going strong.

Multi-Family Real Estate in Kootenai County

• 93 multi-family properties available for sale
• 0 properties received offers and went into pending status
• 1 property was closed and recorded (sold)
• 7 properties expired (failed to sell)
• 1 property was canceled (taken off the market until another time)
• 0 properties were withdrawn (temporarily taken off the market)

There are plenty of Multi-Family properties available right now.  This is a ripe time to buy as properties have been languishing on the market and many sellers are ready and willing to consider lower buy serious offers.

Posted under Market Reports

2008 Residential Real Estate Stats for Kootenai County - North Idaho Real Estate

A quick look at the residential real estate market in Kootenai County for the past 12 months.

Even with this crazy market, there are still some subsets that are doing very well.  For example, Coeur d’Alene residential homes are showing no drop in average or median sales price.  Homes in Rathdrum and Hauser have shown an 8% (average) & 9% (median) increase in sales price.  We are seeing a higher list price now than the average over the past 12 months and days on market are still very good for our area.

2,943 Active listings
$475, 242 Average list price (today)
$412,577 Average list price over past 12 months
2,198 Sold homes
$270,005 Average sold price
123 Average days on market
2,597 Expired homes (homes that failed to sell)

What’s it look like?  Like this:

10 Year Comparison Feb thru July

This is a comparison chart, provided by the Coeur d’Alene Multiple Listing Service of the past 10 years - February through July only - total number of sales.  Currently, we are sitting somewhere between 2001 and 2002 (although this isn’t totally accurate as it only shows and compares the past 6 months).  This is not a year-over-year comparison.

All information is taken from the Coeur d’Alene Multiple Listing Service.  Information deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.  Information provided is for Kootenai County only and does not encompass all areas that the Coeur d’Alene Multiple Listing Service includes.

Posted under Market Reports

“…I am really curious what you and your colleagues are saying about the current market conditions.  Are you still saying that things are stable?  Are things down?  Looking at the first ½ of 07 vs. 08, one might say things are down, however it is in my opinion a little too early to say.  Just curious what your take might be.  I have read a number of articles from your website/newsletter and so forth.  It is great information.  I am just fishing for some educated opinion…”

Definitely sales are down first 1/2 08 (by 25%) or so - and listing inventory is up by 7% or so.  With that said, that’s all encompassing - in other words, it’s everything in the MLS, not just Kootenai County.

What we are seeing is more instability (prices are all over the place) than ever before and this is usually indicative of a bottoming out - how long this instability lasts is the unknown.  It’s pretty much all dependent upon the credit markets and what that is going to settle down into being in the future.

The other factor we had this year was our incredible winter - this definitely affected sales significantly in fact - but knowing just how much that alone affected sales is impossible to determine.

We are seeing several things -

1. If sellers want to sell, they absolutely must price their home at the bottom rung of the price point with little to no competition.  If they don’t, they simply get lost in the sea of homes available and won’t get their home sold this season.

2. Buyers seem to think that they can make offers 10-20% below listing price on ‘best priced’ homes.  By this I mean that if a home is at the best price for it’s competition, buyers think that the seller is desperate or needs to sell (or whatever they are thinking) and they offer ridiculously low offers.  With sellers that are priced well, I can confidently advise how to counter back and whether to hold out or not.

3. Buyers are not separating our market from the markets that are seriously hit such as California, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Florida.  Buyers seem to think that since people are making offers at up to 40-60% off listing price and getting great deals, that must be the case everywhere.  Even REO’s aren’t going for more than 10% below market value in our area.

4. On the flip side, because so many of my sellers are from other parts of the country - I’m seeing more realistic expectations from sellers I work with that live out of state than I do from sellers that live locally.  The sellers from out of state are innundated with their local markets downward spiral and actually listen when I explain our market here.

5. On the other side of the above, I have a couple of sellers that are unrealistically freaked out - one seller brought over $30,000 to the table to close his property only because he was nervous about the market (out of state seller).  That $30,000 would have sustained him with a tenant for 4-6 years (it is a very strong rental market in our area) - well beyond our current market conditions.  My honest opinion, if you have to bring money to the table - sit down and figure out how long that money would last should you rent it out - even at a negative cash flow.  Then determine if that is long enough to get you into a better time of year to sell or even a better year to sell.

Posted under For Buyers, For Investors, For Sellers, Market Reports

Apparently they simply just do not exist in cohesive harmony.

This article in the local paper’s opening sentence is:

“The number of residential homes for sale through the Coeur d’Alene Multiple Listing Service has topped 4,000.”

The writer of the article offers NO explanation on this sentence.  The sole intent is to show how saturated inventory is (I agree) and to get people shaken up over the housing market in North Idaho (not necessary).

Let’s get right down to it.  This time last year there were over 4,000 residential homes for sale in the Coeur d’Alene MLS.  This years numbers are no different.  If anything, it is showing inventory levels are flattening out, meaning there isn’t any more inventory this year than last year.

Secondly, the Coeur d’Alene MLS covers areas as far as 150 miles away.  Yep, that’s right - the Coeur d’Alene MLS allows residential home listings from all 5 northern counties as well as adjacent Washington and Montana state counties.  The area expands constantly.  This means that there are more and more properties in the Coeur d’Alene MLS from OUTSIDE of Kootenai County.

Most people don’t know or realize this.  There can easily be an increase in listings in the MLS just from our expanding territories!!

If only the media would step beyond the shallow sentence into the gut of reality.

Posted under Economics of North Idaho

Kootenai County job growth 4.6%

Kootenai County population growth 3%

Kootenai County 1st quarter home prices (compared with 1st quarter 2007) -0.8%

Yes, we are so in a recession.  Yes, Kootenai County just can’t hold it’s own.  Yes, Kootenai County’s economy is terrible.

In case you haven’t guessed, I’m being sarcastic
Article here.

Posted under Economics of North Idaho

Yes, I know people are worked up about this - but let’s be realistic. Has it really declined? I don’t agree, no matter what the county says on paper. Here’s why . . .

First and foremost, the county was over-valuating properties in 2007. Seriously over-valuating them. I’m going to use somewhat specific examples (and I have hundreds):

Woodbridge sub-division - A property in that neighborhood was valued by the county at $188,000. I thought that was high because I knew for a fact that the home wouldn’t sell for more than $180,000 ($182,000 given the right buyer). I got my comparables from the same place the county was looking, the MLS. The difference in what I found and what they found? It appears that the county was looking at ACTIVE listings, not sold and pending listings. Big mistake. Active listings provide no concrete idea of value, only what has sold shows value, especially in this tough market.

I’ll go on. The Landings at Waterford - A property in that neighborhood was valued by the county at $175,000. Exact same floor plans were selling for $160,000 - $163,000 during the same time period (although there were plenty of over-priced homes on the market for the county to get perceived value from).

The county determines that the value of your property is based upon its value on January 1st. If values rise or fall thereafter, that value doesn’t change until the following year. Problem is, the examples given above don’t support this method. The county seriously over-valued properties and now they are expecting the community to believe that values have dropped.

Looks like that $500 million in value “drop” is approximately 3-4% of the total value of the county. Hum, from the examples above, that sounds about right.

Posted under For Buyers, For Investors, For Sellers

Please note - this information only encompasses Kootenai County residential properties. It does not include the entire Coeur d’Alene MLS (commercial, businesses, etc nor other geographic areas included in the MLS).

Residential Stats for May 2008

Active Listings: 2,630
Average listing price $459,065
Average square feet 2,354
Average list price per sq. ft. $187.73
Average days on market 106

Pending Listings: 309
Average pending price $258,895
Average square feet 2,012
Average pending price per sq. ft. $133.19
Average days on market 137

Closed Listings: 154
Average closed price (listed) $264,328
Average closed price (sold) $251,092
Average list/sale price: 95%
Average square feet 1,974
Average closed price per sq. ft. (listed) $134.03
Average closed price per sq. ft. (sold) $129.31
Average days on market 125

Months of inventory
… based upon closings: 17 months
… based upon pendings: 8.5 months

More North Idaho residential real estate stats for May 2008:

County:
Kootenai County

By Town:
Coeur d’Alene/Dalton Gardens | Post Falls | Hayden | Rathdrum/Hauser

By Community:
Coeur d’Alene Place | Harmony Place | Hawks Nest | Sunshine Meadows | The Landings at Waterford | Broadmoore Estates | Best Hill Meadows | Bentwood Park | Armstrong Park | Fieldstone | Prairie Falls | Woodbridge | Avalon Estates | Greensferry Landing | Riverside Harbor | Hunters Glen | Northridge |

Don’t see your community? Let me know.

Posted under Market Reports