Headed toward a good finish

With one month left in 2012 we are pleased to see a sustained recovery in the real estate market. A review of our November statistics provides evidence that we are closing in on our best year since 2007 - the last year before the North Idaho market fell. We have already passed the year end totals of each of the subsequent years and have a month of data left to add to the 2012 totals.

The activity is market wide although upward price adjustments continue to be concentrated in the more populated areas of the Coeur d'Alene Multiple Listing Service. Even so, the sales activity or number of housing units sold has increased across the board.

Our total number of residential sales in the Coeur d'Alene and Dalton Gardens area show an increase of 8 percent over 2011 with 665 units sold this year. The average price there increased by 10 percent over last year and the median is up by 11 percent at $165,000.

Late bloomer Post Falls has enjoyed another month of improvement as well with a 9 percent increase in sales, from 436 last year to 476 as of the end of November. Their average price held the previous month's increase at 6 percent ahead of last year while the median price was up 2 percent at $145,000.

In Kootenai County, Hayden showed the highest improvement over 2011 with a 12 percent increase in the number of homes sold or 288 compared to 257 at the same time last year. Hayden's average sold price increased by 7 percent and the median by 9 at $181,250. That represents the highest median sales price in all the MLS.

To the North, Rathdrum/Hauser/Twin Lakes activity continues to improve. The total number of sales there increased by 5 percent but their average sold price remained below the 2011 average by 10 percent. The median price in that market segment is $127,000 which reflects a 6 percent decline from last year.

Of the Bonner and Boundary County agent members reporting sales to the Coeur d'Alene MLS we see sustained growth there as well. They posted an increase in number of sold homes that was 15 percent above last year yet, like all areas to the North, their average prices are not going up. Their average reported sale as of November was off by 14 percent. The median price of $142,250 is 6 percent below November 2011.

Sales in the Silver Valley continue to improve over last year with a 2 percent increase in the total number of sales there. They continue to struggle with a lack of appreciation though as their average price fell by 15 percent from 2011. Their median price of $54,250 is off last year by 23 percent.

Conversely, Benewah/South Kootenai County has shown a 21 percent increase in median price which now stands at $115,000. Their number of sales was up 11 percent at the end of November when compared to 2011.

When we look at all residential sales in all the geographic area of our MLS we see an increase in sales volume of nearly 16 percent which provides our economy with an $88 million improvement over last year's total sales as of November. Our MLS wide median price is up nearly 7 percent (6.9) with our averages improved 4 1/2 percent over last year.

In our marketplace as with most, commercial real estate trends lag behind residential. Overall our commercial and investment property sales are nearly spot on with 2010. The reported sales from 2011 reflect an anomaly with one sale of nearly $17 million inflating those figures. Our total reported dollars from sales of this type are at just under $36 million or less than 1 percent above 2010.

As always, the statistics that affect you are specific to your locale. Your Realtor has access to the necessary data to give you an informed opinion of what to expect where your property lies.

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.