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Residential Home Sales Data for North Idaho- First Quarter 2008 Report:

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The first quarter numbers are in! While most of the Nation peruses rather dismal residential sales data, North Idaho has often stood out from the rest! Let's see if that was true in the first quarter of 2008 versus the first quarter of 2007 in regards to residential home sales.

Is It Really That Bad?

We have all heard how bad the Real Estate market is, and continue to hear about foreclosures nationwide. But we also hear that the market in North Idaho is distinctively different than other parts of the country. So how did the market perform in the first quarter of 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007? Let’s find out!

At first the data does not seem surprising. When we look at Residential units on less than an acre sold in the first quarter of 2008 versus the first quarter of 2007 we see that the number of units sold was down across the board. Down sixteen percent in CDA/Dalton, down twenty-six percent in Post Falls, down sixteen percent in Hayden, down twenty-one percent in Rathdrum/Hauser and down a whopping fifty-six percent in Silver Valley!

But the unit sold data, as dismal as it appears, is only part of the story. In Coeur d’Alene and Dalton Gardens the average sales price was down only one percent despite the sixteen percent drop in units sold! Post Falls and Hayden had average sold price drops of nine and twenty-one percent. Rathdrum, however, had an average sold price increase of six percent! What happened in Silver Valley where the number of units sold was down so drastically?

The average sale price in Silver Valley was only down five percent! In terms of residential sales on less than one acre the number of units sold was certainly down in the first quarter of 2008 over the first quarter of 2007, but there were also pockets of upside pricing pressure and generally flat prices in Coeur d'Alene. Some areas, however, like Post Falls and Hayden were both hit pretty hard in terms of price and units sold.

However it remains clear that only properly priced homes are selling. How do we know? Every single area mentioned except Silver Valley had the sold homes sell for ninety seven percent (or more on average) of their list price. Silver Valley residentials sold for ninety-five percent of their list price on average. What this means is that if the home was not priced within about three percent of market value then the home didn’t sell. That’s a pretty tight margin and strongly suggests that a qualified Competitive Market Analysis is critical if you are looking to sell your home for maximum value without overpricing it in this constantly changing environment.

The computerized CMA’s that just about anyone can print out in five minutes or less should not be trusted in this environment! Realtors with experience and training in Economics as well as those that have had additional Broker level training in Appraisals will be better equipped to properly price a home – regardless of whether it is your home that you are selling or if you are a buyer and you need a better idea of how comparable homes have fared recently in the marketplace. However both buyers and sellers should remember that a Competitive Market Analysis, while particularly important in today’s environment, is not a replacement for a full appraisal.

Let’s see how some of the other markets performed:

Multifamily:

Down twenty two percent in CDA/Dalton and down sixty six percent in Post Falls in terms of units sold.

Vacant Land under 10 Acres:

CDA/Dalton saw no vacant land sales in the first quarter of this year versus seven sales in the first quarter of last year. Post Falls saw five units sold versus three and Hayden had only one this years' quarter versus three over the same period last year.

Rathdrum/Hauser sold 4 in the first quarter of 2008 versus 7 in 1Q of 2007).

Keep in mind that multi-family and vacant land (excluding lots) that are sold in urban areas are often few in numbers so the percentage increases and decreases often appear to overstate the data.

Pent up buyer demand coupled with melting snow and confident home sellers could push prices higher in North Idaho. Only time will tell for certain but it does appear that buyers and sellers are meeting on like ground!

Remember: Properly priced homes sell. If you are a home seller one of the most important steps you can take is getting a good, qualified CMA – not something spit out by computer!

To see data on Washington County Home Prices and Sales, click here.

CAR reorganized and renamed categories in the second quarter of 2008. Data in this report has been updated to reflect those changes as of 7/7/2008. Data has been restated to reflect average sold prices.

First Quarter Sold Price by Zip Code - North Idaho

Average Days on Market 1Q 2008 by ZIP Code

Blue Star is Hayden, ID

Above: Silver Valley Riverfront Lot for Sale!

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Above: Silver Valley River View Acreage!

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