Is history about to repeat itself?

This month marks the fifth year of this column. It began as an effort to keep you informed of our real estate market in the face of gloomy news as the market began to sag in other locales. While the real estate bubble burst in some areas, we appeared still strong. It wasn't until late in 2008 that the cold reality struck - it was over. The phones grew silent as the snow began to pile up. Traffic came to a halt as the plows struggled to keep up with record snowfall that winter, on the heels of a record boom in the real estate market.

No matter how we tried to keep a positive face, our columns grew less and less optimistic. At one point we were even called negative when we reported the stark truth that sales of foreclosures had become one of the biggest market segments for us. There was no escaping the facts, just some who wished it weren't so. But our purpose was never to mislead. It was only to provide information to you that would empower you to make better decisions on what to buy or when to sell and how to choose the best professional representation to assist you when you needed it.

It is a long haul out of the sagging hole that is now known as the great recession and we would not try to fool you that it is over. Local housing however, is leading us out and in a way we have not seen for several years.

Pre-licensing courses for real estate agents are full again. Next week, the Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors will host its largest orientation anyone can remember, meaning more new agents will soon be in the market plying their trade with the enthusiastic outlook that it is boom time again. Could they be right?

All we can tell you is that activity is at a level not seen in several years. It almost feels like 2004 again with all the new agents and the multiple offers on homes for sale. Available housing inventory is lower than it has been for many years and any full time agent will tell you, it is getting tough to find properties for clients to view in several price ranges. That is where it all started before.

Are we predicting another boom? No. At least not to the extent we reached in 2005-2007 when any price was a good price and properties of all types were flying off the market with bidding wars the order of the day.

For one thing, today you have to prove you can repay a real estate loan before you can get one.

Easy loans, or "liar loans" as they were referred to then are not what's driving the market but the motivation still comes from the lending community. This time though, the driving factor is low interest rates. Interest rates are still wiggling around the bottom ground established last Fall and the Fed seems committed to staying the course until employment improves. Their monthly purchase of Treasury Bonds and Mortgage Backed Securities are what is keeping interest rates low. This cheap money empowers the buyers today like never before in history. Never before (last year) can one buy so much house for so little money - at least when measured by monthly payments.

So yes, we will commit that there is a strong housing recovery under way locally. The next sign will be the proliferation of mortgage companies sprouting up like the springtime crocuses on every bare patch of land. Let's just hope that when they open their doors, there are still enough houses to satisfy the buyers.

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