Market continues to encourage

When we started this column in 2008 it was predicated by the need for accurate local information. The real estate market had begun falling in many parts of the country in 2007 and the resounding crash was evident in newspapers worldwide. Of course we are not the rest of the world and it would be many months before our local market began its decline. At the end of 2007 our Multiple Listing Service reported the average price of all residential listings was still 4 percent ahead of the previous year. Ten months later, we found our market had shifted. By the end of 2008 our average sales price had declined by 5 percent. Although our declines were not as rapid or severe as in other areas, we had to admit that we were headed for tougher times.

Now, almost five years later, our market is still different than others. As we were among the last to fall, we are too, one of the first to rise out of the real estate recession. As reported in this paper on Friday, many areas of our MLS reflect positive growth both in numbers of sales and their average price. Our average for all types of residential sales as of the end of October had increased by 4.3 percent over 2011. We are regaining ground and the differences in our market are not so different than other parts of the country as they too show appreciation.

According to the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales rose strongly in October with mixed regional results. The Pending Home sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 5.2 percent to 104.8 in October from an upwardly revised 99.6 in September and is 13.2 percent above October 2011 when it was 92.6. The data reflect contracts but not closings. An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales; it coincides with a level that is historically healthy.

NAR chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said buyers are responding to favorable market conditions. "We've had very good housing affordability conditions for quite some time, but we're seeing more impact now from steady job creation, and rising consumer confidence about home buying now that home prices have clearly turned positive."

Outside of a few spikes during the tax credit period, pending home sales are at the highest level since March 2007 when the index also reached 104.8. On a year-over-year basis, pending home sales have risen for 18 consecutive months.

As we have reported here, we too have seen steady increases throughout the year, albeit specific to the more densely populated areas of the county. We are seeing inventory lower than last year in most areas of our MLS and in areas where prices have not risen, even fallen, our number of sold properties is well above 2011.

It is obvious to us that the worst is over. Even so, it does not pay to be complacent. At the risk of being redundant, we ask that you contact your congressmen and women to implore them to protect the Mortgage Interest Deduction. Should this incentive be removed, it is reasonable to assume that many who would like to own a home will see the loss of this deduction as cause for delay.

Trust an expert...call a Realtor. Call your Realtor or visit www.cdarealtors.com to search properties on the Multiple Listing Service or to find a Realtor member who will represent your best interests.

Kim Cooper is a real estate broker and the spokesman for the Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors. Kim and the association invite your feedback and input for this column. You may contact them by writing to the Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors, 409 W. Neider, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815 or by calling (208) 667-0664.