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 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

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

I found three articles in the Calgary Herald recently (I know there are more articles, I only read these 3).  It seems that Calgarians are loving the Coeur d’Alene Idaho area.  There are plenty of reasons why, that is for sure!

Calgarians flock to little slice of heaven

Calgarians have known what Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, has to offer for years.  Located just 661 kilometres (411 miles) from Calgary, the beautiful lakeside city has long been a destination of choice for Alberta vacationers and outdoor enthusiasts — and with good reason.  It’s an idyllic way of life, and one that is attracting Calgarians in growing numbers.

Buyers discovering hidden treasures

In Alberta, the name Mike Meldman probably means very little to most people — but in the U.S. resort development world, he’s right up there.  Meldman, president and CEO of Discovery Land Co., is in the business of creating resort properties out of nothing.  The newest development for Meldman is on the far shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene in Idaho, a 280-hectare golf resort on a bluff of basalt — rock that is formed during volcanic eruptions — that goes by the unromantic, but nonetheless intriguing, name of Gozzer Ranch.

Developer puts together pieces of land ‘puzzle’

Marshall Chesrown is the guiding hand behind Black Rock Developments — which, with at least seven projects, is one of the largest residential land developers in the Coeur d’Alene/Sandpoint area.  “I could never figure out why this area had not grown like Sun Valley or Lake Tahoe,” says Chesrown.

Posted under About the Area, For Buyers

North Idaho is simply gorgeous and has become a wealthy “second-home” retreat. With over 200 homes currently available with sales prices over $1,000,000 - there is plenty to choose from.

Currently, the highest priced home available for sale is on Coeur d’Alene Lake and offers over 9,500 square feet of living space and over 900′ feet of waterfront. Priced at $10,500,000 it is definitely not for the faint of heart.

My concern is that with the photos currently promoting the property, the beauty of the property is lost. The photos are clearly not professionally taken, they are not promoting the best aspects of the property and, there are too few of them (with the vastness of this property/estate, more photos are needed) - the agent offers up 29 amateur photos on this property.

The very next priced home (at $6,200,000 and on Lake Coeur d’Alene) shows beautifully - with over 100 photos available for the voyeur to enjoy - a mix of professional photos and amateur photos (or, if not professional, at least taken with wide-angle lenses and the photographer has some idea of what they are doing). This home offers 7,200 square feet of living space and stunning views of Coeur d’Alene from the decks of the home.

Another one, clearly a stunner, offers up 11 pictures at a price of $4,495,000 and yet another one, at $4,1995,000 offers 2 pictures. Yes, that’s right - a $4.2 million dollar home offers up 2 pictures for all the world to see.

What I simply do not understand is why owners of luxury property are choosing agents who so clearly have no clue what it takes to market a luxury property? I’m addressing the very basic marketing element of photographs. Excellent photographs of a home are the starting point for marketing that home. How else does one expect to get a luxury property sold?

Luxury home buyers do not typically want to spend their time personally looking at every single potential property. All too often they research areas via the internet, utilizing extensive photographs to get a feel for the area and the homes they are interested in. In some cases, when the buyer is a high-profile buyer, they send an ‘advance’ team (either via phone or in person) to preview the property for them. Why not help these buyers? Help them do their research in privacy and confidentiality? Give them what they are looking for - extensive photographs and information.

If you are a luxury home seller - don’t put up with shoddy marketing of your beautiful property. Give me a call today and we’ll get your home exposed to buyers thoroughly and competently.

Posted under For Buyers, For Sellers

I received the strangest phone call last night . . .

Someone called me about Radiant Lake - a man-made lake in Rathdrum Idaho - it’s becoming quite beautiful there actually (I’ll run out and take some photos and post them in the next day or two).

Anyway, apparently this person had driven around Radiant Lake and found it beautiful. Then, they found our website and were looking up listings on Radiant Lake (via our link to the MLS). The individual called me and expressed their disappointment about how I market beautiful areas such as this.

?????

They left a name and phone number (it rang through on my cell so I had the number) - but when I called back, it went to a spanish voice system (I don’t speak spanish so I have no clue what it was saying) so I wasn’t able to speak with this person directly unfortunately.

Why am I perplexed? Well, because I do not market Radiant Lake directly. I will work with individual sellers there (don’t have any current sellers in Radiant Lake) and Chuck will work with buyers there.

In other words, the individual was seeing another agents version of marketing and thought it was my marketing (or rather, lack thereof).

This is NOT good. Not good that another agents sloppy representation of a real estate development is being looked at as MY representation of the development.

So, the question is, how do I communicate this to prospective buyers and sellers? I do excellent marketing, just take a look at our virtual tours, and feel high quality photos are the first line of marketing of real estate (one of many avenues used in marketing properties).

How do I communicate to buyers that when they see properties for sale, although they are seeing them by accessing them through my websites, I am not actually the person responsible for marketing those properties??

It disgusts me how few agents actually utilize beautiful photos in promoting their properties. Considering that fully more than 80% of buyers utilize the internet in their search, you’d think it would be a priority. With a digital camera - taking a ton of photos is FREE - utilizing maybe 45 minutes of the agents (or photo takers) time to actually take the photos.

Anyway, I’m posting this to clarify to everyone, what you see in the MLS as available for sale - is simply that - available for sale. I am not necessarily the listing agent on the property, although I (and Chuck) am(are) here to help prospective buyers on any property in Kootenai County.

Posted under For Buyers, For Sellers

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

The Idaho Housing and Finance Association is cranking out mortgage loans at a furious rate in Idaho, with about 10 percent being made in Kootenai County as homebuyers rush to take advantage of dropping prices and interest rates that remain low.

For once the media isn’t kidding - buyers are rushing to take advantage of low interest rates and excellent home prices.

In the first four months of 2008, loans are within a couple dozen of what were created in all of 2006 in the county, with most going to the category known as “workforce” or “affordable” housing, priced at $200,000 and less. In 2007, IHFA made 385 loans totaling $63.6 million in Kootenai County. This year 140 loans totaling $23.7 million were made through April, compared to 162 loans totaling $25 million in all of 2006.

How’s that for buyers out in full force?

The $200,000 and under price range is going like hot cakes.  It’s essentially a balanced market (not quite a sellers market because of the intense amount of inventory, but also not a ridiculous buyers market where they can offer 10% below market value and get it).

IHFA mortgage rates are as low as 5.39 percent, and as much as 6 percent depending on borrower qualifications. A credit score of at least 620 and as much as 700 is required to qualify. IHFA has maintained an excellent portfolio of loans, with a delinquency rate of less than 5 percent and foreclosure rate of less than 1 percent, Hunter said.

It is very important that buyers keep their credit in good shape and save money away for a down payment.  There are no longer programs available for bad credit buyers.

Do you want to know if you qualify for an IFHA mortgage, or any mortgage? We highly recommend Veronica Garnsey with First Horizon Home Loans.  She enjoys working with buyers and you will enjoy working with her.  She’s got a tremendous amount of experience and will help you find the best program to meet your needs, not the one that enriches her pocket book.  Just give her a call today: 208.661.3409 - just tell her Christina sent you (no, I don’t get any money or gifts - it’s just nice that she knows I’m referring her because she’s done such a great job for us).

Article here.

Posted under Economics of North Idaho, For Buyers, For Investors

The Idaho Housing and Finance Association is cranking out mortgage loans at a furious rate in Idaho, with about 10 percent being made in Kootenai County as homebuyers rush to take advantage of dropping prices and interest rates that remain low.

For once the media isn’t kidding - buyers are rushing to take advantage of low interest rates and excellent home prices.

In the first four months of 2008, loans are within a couple dozen of what were created in all of 2006 in the county, with most going to the category known as “workforce” or “affordable” housing, priced at $200,000 and less. In 2007, IHFA made 385 loans totaling $63.6 million in Kootenai County. This year 140 loans totaling $23.7 million were made through April, compared to 162 loans totaling $25 million in all of 2006.

How’s that for buyers out in full force?

The $200,000 and under price range is going like hot cakes.  It’s essentially a balanced market (not quite a sellers market because of the intense amount of inventory, but also not a ridiculous buyers market where they can offer 10% below market value and get it).

IHFA mortgage rates are as low as 5.39 percent, and as much as 6 percent depending on borrower qualifications. A credit score of at least 620 and as much as 700 is required to qualify. IHFA has maintained an excellent portfolio of loans, with a delinquency rate of less than 5 percent and foreclosure rate of less than 1 percent, Hunter said.

It is very important that buyers keep their credit in good shape and save money away for a down payment.  There are no longer programs available for bad credit buyers.

Do you want to know if you qualify for an IFHA mortgage, or any mortgage? We highly recommend Veronica Garnsey with First Horizon Home Loans.  She enjoys working with buyers and you will enjoy working with her.  She’s got a tremendous amount of experience and will help you find the best program to meet your needs, not the one that enriches her pocket book.  Just give her a call today: 208.661.3409 - just tell her Christina sent you (no, I don’t get any money or gifts - it’s just nice that she knows I’m referring her because she’s done such a great job for us).

Article here.

Posted under Economics of North Idaho, For Buyers, For Investors

All too often we get caught up buying when everyone else is buying and selling when everyone else is selling.  Every once-in-a-while we get lucky and do the opposite.

Why does it seem that people like Warren Buffet and Donald Trump always do it right?  It’s because they are contrarians.  What’s a contrarian?  Someone who sells when everyone else is buying and buys when everyone else is selling (in a nutshell).

So here’s the thing… We are at the bottom of the market.  Do you know how I know this?  Because there are signs - obvious signs and little known signs.  A good investor doesn’t wait until everything points up.  A good investor doesn’t wait until the media says it’s good.  A good investor watches the signs and follows the direction the signs lead.

One of my goals on this blog is to help you know and see the signs in the North Idaho Real Estate market.  I see them every day.  The last 2 years we’ve been at a standstill - prices have held pretty steady with minimal loss of value.  Inventory has sky rocketed, but we have to take that with a grain of salt (inventory is naturally going to be higher since our population base is higher and the number of housing units that are now existing are higher - I’ll get to a post on this whole issue in a few weeks).

Here’s a sign:  Every once in a while, the media allows something to come through - although they will seriously down play it just to make sure we all know they are the investment guru’s.

What’s the sign?  “Surprise” rebound in housing.

Construction of new homes increased by the biggest percentage in more than two years in April…

The Commerce Department reported Friday that housing construction rose by 8.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million units. While apartment construction rose by 36 percent, building in the much larger single-family sector of the market fell by 1.7 percent

Applications for building permits, considered a good sign of future activity, recorded an increase in April, rising by 4.9 percent to 978,000 units.

The housing report showed that construction activity was up in most regions of the country in April, rising by 24.4 percent in the Midwest, 18.5 percent in the West and 3.6 percent in the South.

Is it a surprise or was it expected?  It was expected by some - with so many foreclosures, people must have a place to live.  The rebound was seriously strengthed by growth in the multi-family market.  Multi-family building trends tend to following single-family home trends by anywhere from 18-24 months.  Hum… let’s think about that.  About how many months has it been since the peak?  Anywhere from 18-30 months, depending upon your local market.  Looks like real estate is sticking to it’s historical cycle.

Article here.

Posted under For Buyers, For Investors, General Real Estate