Housing market not cooling off

COEUR d’ALENE — It was just last year The Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com announced that Coeur d’Alene was the nation’s top housing market.

Little has changed.

The Lake City remains among the country’s most in-demand places to live and it’s not expected to cool off this year.

It’s not just a matter of dealing with rising prices. It’s the challenge of finding a home for sale.

Chad Oakland of Northwest Realty Group has nearly 30 years of experience in real estate. He said it’s most definitely still a seller’s market and the current inventory is the “weakest” he has seen.

“It is bleak,” he said. “I’ve got people looking for homes, but there’s nothing on the market.”

Oakland has actually had to discourage some people from selling their home because he didn’t know where they could move.

“Selling your house isn’t the problem. Where do I send you?” he said.

According to the Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors, there were fewer than 200 active residential listings in December. In a normal market years ago, there were probably more than 1,000 homes for sale.

Sarah Kestler, CAR spokeswoman, said that in 2021, 3,510 homes in Kootenai County were sold, a decrease of 5.67% compared to 2020.

The median sales price continued to climb in December to $480,000, an increase of 35% from December 2020.

 “End-of-the-year numbers are in and they continued to break records,” Kestler wrote.

Buyers are getting less for their money in Coeur d’Alene than they could have a few years ago.

According to Realtor.com, the current asking price for a two-bedroom, 690-square-foot home in Coeur d’Alene was $359,900. A 1,300-square-square-foot home with three bedrooms was listed at $495,000, while a one-bedroom, 1,168-square-foot home was offered at $549,000.

Larger homes come with higher prices. A 3,160-square-foot home was offered at $895,000, while a 2,835-square-foot home on 2 acres was listed at $1.3 million.

According to Redfin, a real estate brokerage based in Seattle, Coeur d’Alene home prices were up 25.3% in December compared to last year, selling for a median price of $627,000.

“On average, homes in Coeur d’Alene sell after 18 days on the market,” it said.

Idaho lost some luster among those seeking to move, according to the results of United Van Lines’ 45th Annual National Movers Study, “which indicates Americans were on the move to lower-density areas and to be closer to their families throughout last year.”

Idaho, which previously had the highest inbound percentage for two years in a row, fell to No. 9 in 2021. 

The annual study determined Vermont as the state with the highest percentage of inbound migration (74%) with United Van Lines. Topping the list of outbound locations was New Jersey (71%), which has held the spot for the past four years.

Idaho has a reputation as a state of people who like their independence and value their freedom. That reputation has been bolstered by the way its economy has grown throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with few regulations regarding vaccines and masks.

Other states have taken different approaches.

Oregon continues to have an indoor mask requirement.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in October requiring K-12 students to get the vaccine.

That has led some to look to escape such directives and make Idaho their next home.

“Mandates are making Idaho looking a little more attractive every day,” Oakland said.

Asked if there were any good deals out there on the housing market, Oakland said no.

“There’s nothing that’s a good buy. It’s all expensive now,” he said.

With interest rates expected to increase, that normally would mean reduced housing prices. Oakland doesn’t think so because of low inventory and so many eyeing Idaho.

“It’s business 101, supply and demand,” he said.

Lindsay Allen, CAR president, agreed that even in the generally slower winter housing market, it’s busy.

It’s not what it was a year ago, buyers are not as aggressive, and there have been some price reductions, but “it’s still crazy with competition among buyers.”

Allen continues to receive many calls from people wanting to buy in the area. And she is still seeing multiple offers on turnkey homes that are basically nice and clean.

Asked if new home construction would help meet demand, Allen said builders are booked out well in advance and for those buying vacant property, getting a well drilled could take two years.

Eleven new listings recently came up in North Idaho, but that’s far fewer than what is needed.

“We’re still in a tight spot right now,” she said.

A recently released Housing Availability and Affordability Study for Kootenai County found “many negative impacts” due to rising rents and prices. Just a few of those:

• Regional employers cannot find housing for their employees.

• New potential firms may not relocate to Coeur d’Alene.

• Long-term residents are squeezed out of the market.

“Kootenai County is one of the fastest growing counties in Idaho and Idaho is at the top of the list for fastest growing states in the U.S.,” the study concluded. “Not coincidentally, Kootenai County is ranked nationally as having the fastest increase in housing prices and rents within the last four years. The county is at a crossroads with regards to long-run character of the community.”

Oakland said he doesn’t think the housing market can remain as it is. As a friend told him, “trees don’t grow tall forever.”

“Something needs to happen. We can all agree on that,” Oakland said.