North Idaho real estate market continues to ‘adjust’

COEUR d’ALENE — It was September 2005 when North Idaho’s sizzling real estate market suddenly cooled off.

“There was a noticeable difference quickly,” said Pam McCormick, president of the Coeur d’Alene Multiple Listing Service.

And in 2006, sales never did rise to that feverish pitch of the previous year when homes sold in a few days, multiple offers came in and buyers scrambled after a shrinking house inventory.”We’re all adjusting from that frenzy,” McCormick said.
Which last year meant declining sales, a rising inventory and prices that held steady.

The Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors released its report for home sales in 2006 on Thursday. It said that in Kootenai County, 2,322 single-family homes sold, down 29 percent from 2005. Total volume of homes sold, at $55.6 million, fell 19 percent. Prices, however, rose 13 percent to $239,271.

In Coeur d’Alene, home sales fell 34 percent to 860, but prices were up 14 percent to $240,631, according to the MLS.

In Post Falls, sales were down 30 percent to 875, but the average sales price climbed 10 percent to $220,250.

In Hayden/Dalton Gardens, sales were off 22 percent to 446, while prices increased 12 percent, and in Rathdrum, sales declined 5 percent and prices shot up 26 percent.

The MLS reported the median price was $206,430, up 15 percent.

Fourteen percent of the homes sold were between $100,000 to $159,999; 26 percent of homes sold were in the $160,000 to $199,999 range; 31 percent were in the $200,000 to $299,999 range and 11 percent were in the $300,000 to $399,999 range.

McCormick said there are similar stories coming from other areas regarding slumping sales but firm prices.

But with the average price of a single-family home in Coeur d’Alene at $240,000, it’s forced many people to look elsewhere. Retirees and young couples with children eyeing the area have particularly been affected by the cost to purchase a house in the Lake City.

“Economically, they can’t afford to live in Coeur d’Alene anymore,” McCormick said. “We’re seeing a lot of those people buying out a little further.”

Rathdrum, for instance, attracted many new residents. And McCormick said people are also settling in Spokane after looking in Coeur d’Alene, because housing prices are lower there, especially for the first-time home buyers.

“We’re actually more expensive then Spokane,” she said.

Existing-home sales in the nation are forecast to gradually rise through 2007, while new-home sales should turnaround by summer, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors.

David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said annual totals for existing-home sales will be comparable between 2006 and 2007.

“Despite the doomsayers, household wealth will not evaporate and the economy will not go into a recession,” he said.

McCormick shared similar comments regarding North Idaho’s housing market. The number of listings at the end of December, 2,574, down 11 percent from November, a sign things are picking up.

“I think we’re still going to have people moving here,” McCormick said. “I think we’ll be fine. It’s still a good market; it’s a competitive market. I think that’s what sellers are having to understand.”

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will probably rise to 6.7 percent by the fourth quarter of 2007, Lereah said. Last week, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported the 30-year fixed rate at 6.18 percent.

“The current interest rate environment and housing inventory levels present a window of opportunity for potential buyers,” Lereah said.
Source:

http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2007/01/19/news/news05.txt