2017: What is in store?

No one knows for sure but the indications are that our strong real estate market will continue at least through the first quarter of this New Year. Even with interest rates at two-year highs there does not appear to be a lot of dissension from would be home buyers. The biggest obstacle as reported by the Coeur d’Alene Multiple Listing Service may be that there was nearly 10 percent less inventory on the market at the end of November than at the same time last year. Even so, November real estate closings were up nearly 20 percent last month when compared to November of 2015. We will have the usual report next week as the late figures come in for December.

So what would happen if there were more houses on the market? Agents regularly send email blasts to other members seeking particular properties and it is not unusual to receive a half a dozen each day as agents dig to find properties suitable to their buyers. Many prospective sellers have somehow become convinced that winter time is not the time to put their property on the market. If you are one of them read the first paragraph again; sales are up and inventory is down.

Selling your home is a trial at any time of the year. Keeping the place tidy and finding things to do to occupy your time while strangers peruse your home is unsettling at best and downright stressful for some. When snow is on the ground it takes a good reason for most people to get out and about. This is exactly why now may be the absolute best time for you to sell.

Inventory is low and likely much lower today than it was at the end of November. This means there is far less competition for your home than in warmer times when it is easier to get around. Basic economic principles of supply and demand dictate that fewer homes on the market mean higher prices for available properties.

When it is challenging to navigate the streets and temperatures are sub zero you can bet those buyers out looking at properties are dead serious about finding one to call their own. In warmer times hobbyists and HGTV fans are out looking for ways to kill time and get ideas for decorating homes they already own. Their interest in your property may be completely self-serving and they are unlikely to layer up and venture out into the cold just to find the perfect paint color.

According to last week’s news from the National Association of Realtors; “Higher mortgage rates and home prices aren’t deterring first-time buyers yet. Those new to the home-purchase game comprised 32 percent of the market in November, up from a 30 percent share a year ago. Overall, this has been a good year for this segment of the population. NAR’s 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, released in November, showed the annual share of first-time buyers was 35 percent in 2016, which is the highest since 2013 (38 percent).”

And, regarding higher prices dictated by lower supply NAR provides some additional good news: “As of Jan. 1, households will be able to get larger FHA loans for their home purchase. In high-cost areas like San Francisco and Washington, D.C., borrowers will be able to get loans as high as $636,150, almost $11,000 more than what they were able to get in 2016. In low-cost areas, they’ll be able to get loans for up to $275,665. That’s up from $271,050.”

So at least for the beginning of the year we are optimistic for 2017. We hope the New Year brings new opportunities, discoveries and successes for each and every one of you.

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.