Sale Of New Houses Down; Existing Home Sales Steady

New home sales on the North Side are slightly down this year, real estate market watchers say.

This year to date, 141 new homes have sold on the North Side, down from 163 last year.

Sales of existing homes have held steady this year. Those tend to be the sales that turn renters into buyers, said Mike Hume, owner of Tomlinson Black North. Those entrylevel buyers later move up.

“Everything starts with the resale,” Hume said. “There aren’t a lot of (new) people coming to Spokane. There’s some, but not like it was a couple years ago.”

Areas ripe with deals on sprucedup older homes or fixer-uppers are the Hillyard and West Central neighborhoods, he said.

“You go into the Northeast side, and there are some tremendous bangs for the buck,” Hume said. “And the neighborhoods are great neighborhoods.”

In the West Central neighborhood, sales have really picked up for Tomlinson Black, Hume said. “There are some beautiful old homes that have been fixed up. The neighborhoods are improving.”

Don Walker of the Spokane Association of Realtors said the northwest area, as a whole, is the most active on the North Side.

Subdivisions are still the big news in new homes, as highlighted in June’s Showcase of Homes. The home show typically spotlights new homes in many areas. This year, all seven homes were at File Mile Prairie. The show attracted some 17,000 people.

“The theme was, ‘Live it Up on Five Mile Bluff,”’ said Al Haslebacher, executive director of the Spokane Home Builders Association. “Considering all its amenities … the tremendous views available … it just was a choice property for a showcase of homes.”

The homes ranged in price from $270,000 to $950,000. Four - including the top-scale property with vaulted ceilings - have been sold. Three of the homes were sold before the show began.

New homes are also being built in the Wandermere and Mead areas, and north of the Division Y off Highway 2.

“Really all types. Four-level, split-entry, middle to mid-range,” said Scott Thompson, an appraiser for Cramer Property Services. He said the new properties start at about $105,000.

According to the SAR, the median price for North Side homes this year is $85,000 - that’s the same as 1995’s median price for the same time period.

Homes are moving a little slower than in 1995. Homes stay on the market an average of 74 days now, compared to 69 days last year.

People are picky, Hume said.

“They aren’t going to buy the most expensive house just to buy an expensive house. They’re going to buy the best deal.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo