Early signs point to continued recovery

Editor's Note: An old Kim Cooper column erroneously ran in Sunday's Press. This is the column he submitted for Sunday.

It is still early in the year so statistics are sparse. The small amount of transactions this soon do however, give us some insight of things to come. Last week CoreLogic reported that Idaho represents the third strongest market in the nation with appreciation in property prices of 14.9 percent. As noted here, our overall price performance in Coeur d'Alene last year was 11 percent stronger than in 2011.

Our year-to-date figures are nothing short of astounding and a reflection that recovery is continuing. Our statistical geographic area that includes Coeur d'Alene and Dalton shows a remarkable 17 percent increase in the number of sales while Post Falls is up over 47 percent! Certainly a moderate February weather wise, was likely a factor, but the increases are more than anticipated. Prices did not sustain their pace of gain although our average prices are still on the rise. 4 percent is the average increase in Coeur d'Alene and 14 percent in Post Falls, their largest increase in several years. Builders agents in the Post Falls newer subdivisions are all reporting brisk sales activity. New construction numbers are notably up, with the first two months of 2013 standing head and shoulder above 2012, nearly doubling in number of new homes sold. The average price of a single family Post Falls home this year stands at $160,514 or 14 percent higher than 2012's $140,894.

The usually strong Hayden market is a slow starter this year. Their numbers of sold properties are actually down with an average price drop of 2 percent from last year. Silver Valley prices experienced a nice average price increase with flat activity. Their prices moved up by 68 percent from an average of $54,985 in the first part of last year to an average of $92,193 so far in 2013.

Our Washington counties reporting are up, Benewah County is up, almost everywhere is up with the exception of Rathdrum and other rural cities that lie in the Northern part of Kootenai County. As reported here last week, the loss of the USDA Rural Development loan for Post Falls may well be the factor that pushes the activity levels up there as qualified RD buyers reach out to those areas for qualifying properties. Residential homes on acreage, which make up a large part of the inventory there, seems to be picking up steam with an increase of 6 percent in number and average price increase of 25 percent over 2012.

Wintertime bargains appear to persist in the waterfront properties in our area. Total waterfront sales are down slightly, from 17 sales last year to 14 this year and their average price is 3 percent below last year. Not so with secondary waterfront. The Multiple Listing Service reports two and a half times the number of sales - from 2 to 5. This illustrates how miniscule the amount of data can be from which to spot trends. Small amounts of data yield large percentages so it may be mid-year before we get a true picture of the market.

There does seem to be a renewed interest in vacant land. In the category of 10 or more acres we are nearly double the sales of last year with 21 reported versus 11 by the end of February last year. Smaller acreages are right on track with the previous year's activity. Scarcity may drive those prices up.

Inventory in all categories is down by 12 percent and in residential properties we show over 16 percent fewer than last year. We actually have 13 percent fewer homes on the market than we did at the end of January. If this decline in available properties continues we will undoubtedly see continued upward movement in prices.

Trust an expert....call a Realtor. Call your Realtor or visit http://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.