Real Estate and You

North Idaho Real Estate Trends

Jim Haynes, Associate Broker, Realm Partners

North Idaho real estate prices have been increasing over the past several years at a double-digit pace. Following is a table of the last twelve months showing the single-family home sales for the three northern Idaho counties:

Kootenai County Bonner County Boundary County Twelve Months Ending Twelve Months Ending Percent Septenber 30, 2018 September 30, 2019 Change 4,376 4,609 5.3%

944 980 3.8%

246 213 -13.4%

* Homes, condominiums and townhomes (existing and new) Source: Coeur d’Alene MLS and the Selkirk MLS from 10/1/2018 to 9/30/2020 (information deemed reliable but not guaranteed)

The number of homes sold in Kootenai County increased 5.3% and Bonner County increased 3.8% from the previous year while nationally home sales were unchanged from the previous year. Boundary County experienced a decrease of 13.4%. Following is a table showing median home sales prices for the three northern Idaho counties:

Kootenai County Bonner County Boundary County Twelve Months Ending Twelve Months Ending Percent September 30, 2018 September 30, 2019 Change $315,000 $355,000 12.7%

$326,245 $375,000 14.9%

$223,000 $295,000 32.3%

* Homes, condominiums and townhomes (existing and new) Source: Coeur d’Alene MLS and the Selkirk MLS from 10/1/2018 to 9/30/2020 (information deemed reliable but not guaranteed)

Median home sales prices increased between 13% and 32% for the three northern Idaho counties in the year ending September 30, 2020 when compared to the same period a year earlier. Over this same period median home sales prices nationally increased 7.4% from $258,500 in 2019 to $277,600 in 2020. At the end of August 2020, the National Association of Realtors reported there were 4.2 months of inventory which is down from 4.4 months in August of 2019. Locally, Kootenai County has 1.1 months of inventory, down significantly from September of 2019’s inventory of 4.1 months. Bonner County has 1.5 months of inventory and Boundary County has 2.2 months of inventory, both considerably down from last year’s inventories of 3.5 and 3.0 months, respectively. Tight inventories in all three northern Idaho counties help explain median home price increases at two to four times that of the national average. Bonner and Kootenai County’s median home sales prices were below but extremely near the United States median home sales price in 2012. Since then median home sales prices have gone up faster in Kootenai and Bonner Counties than the national median home sales price. For the last twelve months the national median home sales price was $277,600. For Kootenai and Bonner County the median home sales price for the same period was $355,000 and $375,000, respectively. Nationally, the real estate market is picking up steam being pushed ahead in part by low interest rates (2.9% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage). National inventory is still tight which may hamper continued growth. Regionally, our market continues to be strong with double digit price gains over that same time period. Tight inventories both nationally and regionally provide headwinds for sales going forward. Given current economic conditions price increases near double digits should continue into next year in North Idaho.

1. The median home price is that price at which half of the homes sold for more than that amount, and half sold for less than that amount. The median price is used to remove bias from home prices introduced by high end properties.

Information compiled by Jim Haynes, Associate Broker, Realm Partners 208-290-7249, jim.haynes@frontier.com

Oct. 1, 2019 % change from 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 to Sept. 30, 2020 Previous Year Kootenai County * 2411 2,971 3,162 3,758 4,124 4,299 4,512 4,415 4,609 5.3% Bonner County * 615 645 736 775 837 881 999 912 980 3.8% Boundary County * 121 150 155 188 174 157 217 222 213 -13.4%

Oct. 1, 2019 % Change from 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 to Sept. 30, 2020 Previous Year Kootenai County * $170,914 $184,216 $198,838 $215,000 $230,323 $257,665 $292,000 $320,000 $355,000 12.7% Bonner County * $175,000 $199,000 $225,000 $235,000 $257,000 $280,990 $305,000 $334,000 $375,000 14.9% Boundary County * $135,000 $152,750 $159,900 $172,450 $175,000 $199,900 $194,000 $234,000 $295,000 32.3%

* Single family homes, condominiums and townhomes (existing and new) Source: Coeur d'Alene MLS and the Selkirk MLS (1/1/12 to 9/30/20, information deemed reliable but not guaranteed)