We buck the trend
When we began this column in 2008 it was because the real estate news we were getting was contrary to our local reality. What you have been reading here over the last couple of years has been largely positive with regard to local real estate. You can imagine our surprise then, when on Thursday we read; "Foreclosure Activity Surges to 18-Month High." This news from RealtyTrac was alarming and contrary to everything we know about the North Idaho real estate market.
According to the article, "Overall foreclosure filings - reflecting default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions - are up 9 percent from a year ago and are at the highest level in 18 months. In April, the foreclosure rate was one in every 1,049 housing units received a foreclosure filing. "
Wanting to be certain we had not missed a new trend we contacted several local title companies. The first to respond, Jack Wheir of Alliance Title, was kind enough to run some numbers. He reported back that April, the same month as the article discussed, was actually the second lowest in Notices of Default and the actual lowest for filing of Trustees' Deeds in our area.
Coeur d'Alene Multiple Listing Service sales figures also support a reduction in foreclosure and short sale activity.
Our sales of bank owned properties (REO) are 25 percent fewer this year than last and our short sale transactions are 60 percent fewer than at this point in 2014. You remember that short sales are when a property sells for less than is owed.
Yet another article, this one on Friday, "Home Sales Cooled Off This Spring" reported that, "Existing-home sales slowed in April, with all major regions of the country - except the Midwest - experiencing declines as buyer demand continues to far exceed the number of homes for-sale, according to the National Association of Realtors latest housing report."
We did not realize that we were considered Midwest, but if that is the exception we must be. In reality, as reported here last week, we are 18 percent higher in home sales than at this point last year and at an average price that is 12 percent higher than in April 2014.
The statement that "buyer demand continues to far exceed the number of homes for sale" would seem to apply here but that is also unsupported by our own data. At the end of April we showed 2,895 residential properties listed in our MLS or a 7.7 percent greater supply than at the same time last year. This figure does not reflect the percentage of those sales that are under some kind of contract. That number, as of this writing, is 277. Even so, most active agents report challenges in finding specific types of properties for specific buyers so their perception is that inventory is low.
It just proves what we continually say, for a realistic view of what is happening with real estate in your neighborhood, ask your Realtor. They pay for access to accurate local information rather than making judgement calls based on what the national market is doing.
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.