A tale of two markets

Posted: Monday, Nov 24, 2008 - 09:45:24 am PST
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By LINDA BALL
Special sections editor 

COEUR d'ALENE -- The Spokane real estate market is chugging along just as the Coeur d'Alene market meets its challenges. Rob Higgins, executive vice-president for the Spokane Association of Realtors said in Spokane County there are 3,068 residential listings which include homes on less than one acre and condominiums. The total residential count in Spokane County including homes on acreage is 3,495.

The good news is, average market time in Spokane County is 67 days.

"People have the idea it's a lot worse than it is," Higgins said.

Spokane Realtor Patty Boyd said they are seeing the struggles of the economy, but it's certainly not as bad as it is in markets across the nation.

"We are optimistic about next year -- we're hoping at the end of the first quarter the market will start picking up," Boyd said.

She said the median price range is off a little bit. Higgins said the median price on sales is $184,700, but the average year-to-date sale price is $207,000 on single family homes and condos.

In comparison, Rick Vernon, the executive officer of the Coeur d'Alene Multiple Listing Service said currently there are 1,548 active residential listings in Kootenai County, which includes condominiums. With 485 homes on acreage, that brings the total to 2,033. The median sales price is $198,572, a bit higher than Spokane.

The average sales price year-to-date in Kootenai County is $243,825, almost $40,000 more than Spokane. However, average market time here is 120 days, significantly more than our western neighbors. Vernon said most sales are occurring between $209,000 and $279,000.

"We're really, really active under $200,000," Vernon said. "Over a million -- a substantial amount are on the market."

Higgins said there are three homes on the market in Spokane County that are more than $3 million and three homes in the $2 million range. Eleven homes ranging from $1,750,000 to $1,999,000 are on the market in Spokane.

Vernon said the market is actually in pretty good shape since the majority in the lower price ranges are moving. In the $300,000 to $400,000 range, some listings are hanging around awhile. How long will it take for the inventory to dry up? He really didn't know.

Anne Anderson, owner of Lakeshore Realty in Coeur d'Alene, said in February of this year she analyzed the condominium market, deducing there were two years of condo inventory left. She said it may have increased since then.

As far as active agents in the Coeur d'Alene MLS, Vernon said membership is currently at 971 compared to 1,082 a year ago. This includes licensed appraiser members. He said both the Spokane MLS and Coeur d'Alene MLS have agents licensed in both states.

Higgins said Spokane's MLS is down 170 members from last year, and they currently have about 2,000 licensed Realtor members.