Housing sales off to slow start

Sales are off to a slow start this year in real estate, with less expensive houses responsible for the majority of transactions.

According to the latest Coeur d'Alene Multiple Listing Service report, 70 percent of the homes sold through February went for less than $200,000.

"The lower end of the market continues to be the strongest - and has been driven by the continuous supply of short sales and bank-owned properties which is reflected in the weakening of prices," wrote Peter Faust, Realtor with Century 21 Beutler and Associates.

For the first two months of 2012, the MLS reported 183 single-family home sales in Kootenai County, down 9 percent from last year. The average sales price was $173,132, a 5 percent increase.

In Coeur d'Alene and Dalton Gardens, 74 single-family homes sold through February, an 11 percent decline from 2011. The average sales price rose 20 percent to $187,115.

Post Falls saw a 20 percent decline in home sales with 45, while the average price fell 9 percent to $137,278.

"Out in Post Falls we are seeing fewer potential buyers and having a hard time finding people who are qualified to buy now due to this or that problem in spite of the rates being extremely attractive," Faust wrote

In Hayden, there were 41 homes sold through February, up 3 percent, while the average sales price was $204,332, down 4 percent.

And in Rathdrum and Twin Lakes, 16 homes sold, up 7 percent, while the average sales price of $132,638, rose 1 percent.

According to the MLS report, 70 percent of residential sales were for less than $200,000. Only 14 percent of sales were in the $300,000 to $999,999 range. There were no home sales above $1 million.

In February, the average sales price of three-bedroom, two-bath home was $140,289, with an average 118 days on the market, the MLS reported. In comparison, a year ago the same house sold for $171,612, with 155 days on the market.

"The short sale process becoming more and more efficient has been generally responsible for the dramatic shortening of the days on market," Faust wrote.

Faust said that early in the year, with fewer sales, the average prices are "still easily skewed by the extremes."