'Lives transformed'

COEUR d’ALENE — Maggie Lyons asked the question Tuesday that was on the minds of many: “Is it really possible to get homeownership into the hands of our low- to middle-class workers?”

The answer, said Lyons, executive director of the Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance, is yes.

Before about 125 people at the “Navigating the Growth of Kootenai County” forum, Lyons said PAHA recently purchased 4.65 acres on Britton Road, just south of Prairie Avenue and Greensferry Road.

The plan calls for 28 lots that will be developed as shared equity homes, with 15 as land trust homes and 13 as fee simple homes.

"We're calling it 'Miracle on Britton,'" Lyons said.

In a land trust, the buyer owns the structure and the land is held by a nonprofit, in this case, PAHA. Lyons said that could allow the land trust homes to be sold for an entry point goal of $180,000. Fee simple means ownership of structure and land, with a starting price of about $300,000 to $400,000.

Lyons said 70% of shared equity homes are first-time buyers and 60% of those go on to buy market-rate homes.

“This is just to get new people in for which we have no inventory right now for them to buy,” Lyons said during the annual Coeur d'Alene Regional Chamber program at the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn.

Such projects could ease Kootenai County's affordable housing crunch, where median single-family home prices climbed 139% to $565,000 from 2016 to 2023, and 80% of locals can’t afford to buy a place of their own.

“The key is to have huge participation across the board,” Lyons said.

She said if they can underwrite the land through donors and work with builders willing to build close to cost, the hope is to break ground next spring.

"That's how we're going to make this work," Lyons said.

There would be associated fees and the resale price would be limited to about 1% to 1.5% annual appreciation.

Lyons said impact fees, along with water and sewer connection fees, remain a possible stumbling block as they could drive up costs.

Interest rates would have to be lower than they are today for the program to be successful.

"This has to be done at about 6%,” Lyons said.

If it works, it could inspire confidence in the concept and encourage similar developments, Lyons said.

The impact of home ownership can’t be understated, she added.

“Lives transformed,” she said.

Lyons said the feedback she has received over the past year on shared equity homes has been more of "show me" from developers and cities, and she believes this project will do just that.

She said there is a perception these will not be nice homes, but she said that is wrong.

"These are beautiful homes," she said. "These are homes you would want in your neighborhood."

Lyons was one of four speakers at the annual growth meeting.

Jennifer Smock, co-owner/managing broker Windermere/Coeur d’Alene Realty/Post Falls; Jimmy McAndrew, vice president of real estate sales with Mountain West Bank; and Tyrel Stevenson, legislative director with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, also spoke.

Smock said the area continues to grow. Last year, Kootenai County’s population was about 179,000. This year, it’s around 187,000.

“The growth that we’ve experienced is mostly in migration,” she said, adding that another 15,000 new arrivals are expected by 2029, with the majority coming from Washington, California and Oregon.

North Idaho areas that have experienced the largest population increases in the last three years are Rathdrum and Post Falls.

Smock said people are staying in their homes longer because they don't want to give up their lower mortgage interest rates.

She said more homes have been selling for cash, about 40% in Coeur d'Alene and Hayden and 26% in Post Falls.

New construction has been strong, accounting for as high as 41% of home sales in Rathdrum and 11% in Hayden.

“New construction is where the growth is at,” she said.

According to the Coeur d’Alene Regional Realtors, the median price of a single-family home in Kootenai County was $525,000 in September, the same as August but down from $550,000 one year ago.

Smock said home values are adjusting, correcting and pivoting, but the housing market is not going to “come crashing down."

“We’re not going to see a flood of foreclosures and short sales,” she said. “The reason I believe that is we still have a lot of equity."

Smock would like to see about 3–4% annual home appreciation.

“Getting to that would be fantastic," she said.

She said there are opportunities for first-time homebuyers in Kootenai County, where the median household income is about $75,000.

Smock said because there is less competition today than there was a few years ago, buyers have time to position themselves and meet with a lender to determine their best options.

“There’s no huge rush right now,” she said.

Stevenson said since the housing market began climbing, more tribal members have returned to the reservation.

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe built 30 housing units this year and plans to build another 30 next year as it tries to balance growth while preserving resources.

Stevenson called that “a drop it the bucket" and said the tribe has a waiting list of about 50 families looking for housing “in an area where there is not a lot of housing.”

Asked for their predictions on what’s ahead, McAndrew said “The smartest people in the world said we’d be in sub-6% rates by third quarter 2023."

Instead, the Federal Reserve Board is into 15 months of rate hikes and interest rates on a 30-year fixed loan have topped 8%.

“That’s the only silver lining is that we’re not one month into these rate hikes," McAndrew said.

He said folks waiting for lower interest rates before buying a home are “going to be waiting for awhile.” He expect rates to be in the “7ish” territory until late next year.

“I would love to be wrong,” he said.

Smock said she shook her Magic 8 Ball Tuesday morning and asked, “What do you think we’re going to be looking at next year.”

The answer floated to the small screen: “Much of the same.”

“I’m going to go with that,” Smock said.