Housing prices hold their course

COEUR d’ALENE — Heading into the hot summer season, the Kootenai County housing market is showing no signs of cooling off.

According to the Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors, the median home price in the county in April rose to $549,950, a 23.6% increase over a year ago and up nearly $15,000 from March.

A total of 840 homes have sold in the county through April. That's a decline of 17.2%, which real estate agents say is due to fewer homes on the market, not shrinking demand.

The number of active residential listings in Kootenai County was at 441 as of May 11, an increase from 289 on April 12. But still far off from what would be more typical, about 1,000.

Nick Shriner, real estate agent with Windemere/Coeur d'Alene Realty, Inc., reported that through April of this year, the average sales price was $686,000 in Coeur d’Alene; $754,000 in Hayden; and $573,000 in Post Falls.

“As you can see from the statistics, our local real estate market is like nothing we have ever seen before,” he wrote.

RE/MAX released its monthly National Housing Report Wednesday. Its snapshot of Coeur d’Alene found:

• Closed transactions: 329, down year-over-year by 21.1%; up month-over-month by 1.9%.
• Median Sales Price: $610,000, up YOY by 31.2%; up MOM by 10.9%
• Days on Market: 31, down YOY by 47.6%; up MOM by 21.9%
  
• Months Supply of Inventory:.8 up YOY by 5.3%; up MOM by 52%

According to RE/MAX, of the 53 metro areas surveyed in April, the overall average number of home sales is up 0.5% compared to March, and down 12.8% compared to April 2021. The markets with the biggest decrease in year-over-year sales percentage were Miami, at -24.9%; Bozeman, Mont., at -22.5%; and Coeur d’Alene, at -21.1%.

While some have said the rising market can’t last with rising interest rates of more than 5% and inflation that forces the cost of pretty much everything to increase, asking prices don’t indicate sellers are coming down.

According to realtor.com, a one-bedroom, one-bath, 656-square-foot home in Coeur d’Alene was listed at $425,000. A two-bedroom, one-bath, 924-square-foot mobile home was listed at $92,500, and a five-bedroom, two-bath, 1,852-square-foot home was listed at $625,000.

A double-lot in the Sanders Beach area with a small home and a shed listed at $450,000 sold within days. Both structures will likely be torn down to clear the way for one or two new homes with asking prices of more than $1 million.

New construction homes are often over the $1 million mark.

A home being built at Eighth and Young is listed at $1.4 million. One near 17th and Mullan is at $1.49 million. Another at 19th and Front is listed at $1.55 million.

Homes are still selling fast.

The average number of days on the markets in Kootenai County, from listing to closing, was 69 in April, down 21% from a year ago, according to the Association of Realtors.

Lindsay Allen, president of the Coeur d'Alene Regional Realtors, said rising interest rates are having the biggest impact on the housing market.

They have increased two points this year, which means monthly payments increase, which in turn will means some can no longer afford the home they hoped to buy.

"It cuts more people out, especially in the affordable price range," Allen said.

The current average mortgage rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 5.29%, according to nerdwallet.com.

Last year, it was in the 3% range or lower.

The higher rates were "making people rethink" a home purchase, Allen said. Investors, too, are "watching things and reevaluating."

But because inventory remains low, prices are remaining where they are, or even going higher.

"That trend is continuing," Allen said.

There has been some "softening of the market," with fewer homes receiving multiple bids, and some are sitting on the market longer.

"Prices are still going up because we still have a lot of demand," she said.

Nick Bailey, RE/MAX president and CEO, said the national housing market remains strong, with sales happening quickly and demand easily outpacing supply.

“We’re starting to see a cooling in sales, which isn’t surprising given the record results of 2021 and the recent rise in interest rates," he said in a press release. "That should create more balance over time, countering the frenzied seller’s market we’ve had for so long. Driven by generational demand, rising rental costs and still relatively low interest rates, 2022 could still rank as one of the best years in the past decade."