Foreclosures drive home sales in Kootenai County

Slightly more than one out of three homes sold in Kootenai County during the first quarter of 2010 was in foreclosure or already bank-owned, according to RealtyTrac. The 182 homes sold was more than triple the number sold out of or after foreclosure in the first quarter of 2009, and 50 percent more than the fourth-quarter 2009 sales, said RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosure activity nationally. But the average foreclosure price, at $194,639, was an increase from the $184,707 for the last quarter of 2009, and the $169,472 for the first quarter. Foreclosed homes sold at less than a 5 percent discount to other homes sold in the county. In Spokane, the number of homes sold out of foreclosure was identical to Kootenai County’s, but they represented only 18 percent of sales. The rate declined from first quarter 2009. The average price was $147,170, an 18 percent discount compared to other homes sold. Sales of foreclosed homes represented 19 percent of Washington’s total, and 34 percent of Idaho’s. Nationally, 31 percent of homes sold were foreclosures.