Good news for North Idaho real estate
The National Association of Realtors released an article on Friday, based on findings of real estate research company CoreLogic, that four million homeowners have returned to positive equity positions as of the end of February. That means that these owners are no longer underwater with their mortgages. Of the five states with the highest negative equity, Idaho is not listed. Five states alone account for nearly 37 percent of the negative equity in the U.S. CoreLogic reports that the following five states have the highest percentage of mortgaged properties in negative equity:
* Nevada: 30.4 percent
* Florida: 28.1 percent
* Arizona: 21.5 percent
* Ohio: 19 percent
* Illinois: 18.7 percent
As we have indicated here before, our property value increases in 2013 helped many local homeowners rise above water with their own mortgages. Though still early in the year, our trends of appreciation appear to be maintaining even as market activity slows in some areas.
Our comparisons are always the current year to date versus the previous year and here is how those figures are trending:
Coeur d'Alene/Dalton continues to show appreciation with our year to date average price 10 percent higher than 2013. Our number of sales at the end of February was exactly the same as 2013 with 96 units sold.
Even as Post Falls activity slowed, with seven fewer sales than last year, its average price showed marked improvement, rising 19 percent above the previous year.
Hayden squeaked out one more sale than last year with an average price that is 21 percent higher than 2013. Even as strong as that is, the real winner in appreciation was the northern geography that includes Rathdrum, Hauser and Twin Lakes. There it sold more than twice the single family units as last year and at prices 37 percent higher on average.
Other areas to the north seem to have found their mojo after lagging behind the more populated areas of the Panhandle. The area designated as North County outsold last year five to one - and those are the actual numbers - at an average price that is 142 percent higher than last year! Before you put your house on the market with unrealistic expectations though, remember that average is of only five homes compared to one the prior year. One bargain priced home in 2013 would be a statistical game changer.
South Kootenai County's small numbers also make for some dramatic statistics. With a total of four sales this year it improved production by 33 percent. The average price of those four is 25 percent higher than the average of the three sold last year by February's end.
Throughout the Multiple Listing Service we see signs of continued improvement with the exception of the Silver Valley. Its winters are typically less forgiving than Kootenai County and a slowdown is usually anticipated. Again, small numbers early in the year may not present a true picture of its housing market. The average sale price there was 14 percent lower than last year.
Our overall figures show that MLS-wide we have exactly the same number of sales as last year. Our MLS average sales price is 16 percent higher than 2013 which bolsters our confidence that many more of our neighbors will find themselves in a positive equity position this year.
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.