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NOT EVEN A PANDEMIC CAN DROP PRICES
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ou’d think a global pandemic that upended the nation’s economy and left tens of millions of Americans unemployed would have an effect on the Sandpoint area’s real estate market. It’s been on fire for years, with year-after-year price increases and a dwindling inventory that leave potential buyers with fewer options. But it’s pretty much business as usual—or even more business than usual—for our local real estate market. Its superhero strength is supported in the numbers: residential sales in the Sandpoint area from September 10, 2019, through April 20, 2020, totaled 331; that’s nearly equal to the number of sales in the previous year’s time period of 338. It’s rather remarkable considering the upheaval this year, when social distancing and face masks gave home sellers and buyers momentary pause. According to Tia Eagle with Realm Partners, president of the Selkirk Association of Realtors, real estate prices in the area are likely to tick their way still higher. “As long as the interest rates stay low and the inventory is as low as we’ve seen, we’ll continue to see a steady market that may have a gradual increase.” It doesn’t take much research on the internet to discover on websites such as Realtor.com or Zillow.com that Sandpoint’s real estate market is a pricey one. The hottest-selling homes are anything under $400,000 (a stretch to find nowadays, with the average sales price coming in at a whopping $463,000); that’s a 13 percent
increase over the previous year. Buyers can find relief in one market that’s cooling off a bit—the areas of Priest River and Priest Lake posted notable decreases in number of sales and average sales price. As for Sandpoint, Eagle explains that the lack of inventory could see some relief soon. “There are some great developments in the works for Sandpoint, and the price points range anywhere from trying to provide affordable housing all the way to luxury waterfront condos. We have some plans in the works for the Whiskey Jack area, there’s a great development off the Elks golf course, one coming soon to where the old field campus was, and another one a little further up on North Boyer.” In the meantime, as buyers await those new homes, today’s sellers are at an advantage. “It’s a seller’s market, especially for those who bought four to five years ago. Those are the sellers that are going to see huge returns with selling their homes and with the equity, and have the potential to upgrade to a larger home or one with more property. They’ll have more buying power.” Only time will tell how the COVID-19 situation plays on the real estate market—but all indications appear that it will only make Sandpoint a more desirable place to live. “We anticipate that our last quarter of the year will be our busiest as we’re likely to see people from highly populated areas moving into our oasis to get away from their current situation,” said Eagle.
-Beth Hawkins
- For The Art Of The Build -
Dan Fogarty GREAT NORTHERN BUILDER
- Custom Homes Since 1981 -
208.263.5546
Sandpoint, Idaho www.greatnorthernbuilder.com 114
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