A Sanders Beach mystery
While searching online for new home listings in the downtown Coeur d’Alene area, I was excited to see a couple new properties pop up in the Sanders Beach area… houses not quite on the water but close enough to be a tempting find for more budget-conscious buyers.
I drove out there, excited by the prospects. I stopped on the side of the road — specifically in front of a green street sign that said “Lost Ave.” — to double check my app to find the new listings.
But the listings were… gone. Lost. In a snap, it was as if what I found before never existed at all.
I’m not saying a smoke monster or polar bears were involved, but I was on LOST Avenue. Yes, I know that television show ended years ago, and a better writer might come up with a more recent pop culture reference or omit the television references in a real estate column entirely, but here we are. At least we’re not talking politics, am I right?
Anyway, this particular area of Downtown Coeur d’Alene has always been intriguing to me, probably because I spent many summers “trespassing” on Sanders Beach as a kid. Nestled on the east side trailhead of Tubbs Hill, next to the 11th Street Marina, the area just feels more isolated from the tourist hustle and bustle of the main stretch of downtown.
The Lakeshore Drive properties, with their incomparable views of Lake Coeur d’Alene, surely get imagined as dream homes for lottery winners. Priced just under $4 million, a five-bedroom, 6,000-square-foot listing with a private lawn, beach and dock right on the water gets top billing. Of course, if you need twice this space and have twice the cash, there’s a beautifully restored Victorian home just down the road. Me, I’m not greedy. I can get by with at least half that space.
Assuming you need something a little more affordable, there is property just up the road from the marina with just over 2,800 square feet, five bedrooms and a unique exterior design. It’s priced at $659,000.
Then you have a couple of decent-sized homes (a little under 2,000 square feet) a few blocks up from the waterfront that were listed in the $275 to $350K range that went LOST suddenly and without explanation. I don’t know the specific prices, but I believe they included the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42.
Since I can’t find those, I’ll mention a couple of homes sold earlier this year in this same area. This includes an 1,800-square-foot home with three bedrooms and an appealing front porch and lawn that sold for under $250,000. Great deal. Another nice craftsman home with three bedrooms and almost 2,200 square feet that has a much higher price value estimate but sold for… the final price is LOST!
If condominium living is more your style, there are a few active listings in the tree-surrounded Ridge Pointe condos near The Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course. A two-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot property is listed at $635,000, while a three-bedroom, 2,400-square-foot property prices out at $749,000.
Now a few active options for less. Just north of LOST! Avenue sits a two-bedroom, 1930-built cottage with almost 900 square feet priced at $240,000. Go a bit more north and you find a newly updated 1910 home with three bedrooms and almost 1,500 square feet priced at just under $350,000.
You might find more options by heading out to the area, just be on the lookout for strange happenings. And if you see anyone wearing a Dharma Initiative jumpsuit, run.
The “jokes” in this column today are brought to you by the year 2004.
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Let us know about more standout neighborhoods and developments that we may feature in an upcoming Neighborhood of the Week. Contact Tyler Wilson at twilson@cdapress.com.
Real Estate Agents, take advantage of Neighborhood of the Week by sending in your suggestions for featured areas, including sites outside the normal confines of Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Hayden.