Early signs show continued recovery

Since the end of the month was just Friday, our staff has not yet compiled the market statistics for the month ending on Halloween. We want to make sure that late closing sales are reported before publishing the statistics you have come to depend on but preliminarily we see continued improvement and growth in our local housing markets.

So far this year we have outpaced every year since the frantic pace of 2005. By all accounts that year was an anomaly of higher than normal sales, not seen before or since. 2006 was also a very strong year for sales of single family homes. If our figures are correct, 2014 sales through the end of October exceed those through the end of 2006!

Of course in 2006 interest rates were significantly higher (6.36 percent) yet the market was still brisk on the heels of the record-setting 2005. We did not really begin to feel the sag until prices escalated into 2007. Ultimately, in 2008, the market collapse reached North Idaho and we waited for the long slow climb back to healthier market conditions. We have enjoyed positive improvements over the past several years, each year inching up a bit. Now, seeing that we just barely see a gain over 2006 and with mortgage interest rates slightly below 4 percent, we remain optimistic that our recovery locally is sustainable.

Even with rates the lowest in a long time though, we have not seen a stampede for homes. Rather we see a constant, yet manageable improvement that indicates something far different than the feeding frenzy of 2005. Folks are not rushing into the market, perhaps because they have learned to expect low rates and expect them to continue, or because lenders are still looking critically at the buyers' qualifications to borrow money, not wanting to repeat the errors of loose lending that fueled the past frenzied market and ultimately led to the recession.

Nationally, lending requirements are what many markets are blaming for their lackluster performance. Several articles last week stated that difficulty obtaining financing was still one of the biggest problems potential buyers faced. Even with the latest employment figures showing fewer people out of work many are having difficulty qualifying for loans, working only part time as employers seek to avoid paying benefits. Add to that workers older than 55 now outnumber those in their 40s and we see that younger people may be having a harder time due to lower wages or less than full time employment since many jobs are held by older people who in better times may have moved up.

Now that the Fed's latest round of stimulus has ended - even with its promise to keep interest rates low - we proceed with caution when predicting the short- term future of mortgage interest rates. Even so, it looks as though a lot of people are finding the homes they want and need and enough are able to get loans for those homes that our market is moving forward at a steady pace.

Most segments are not demonstrating the same double digit appreciation seen earlier in the year, but we are still seeing appreciation after several years of stagnant prices following the frenzied period that is rapidly fading into the sunset.

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