Region in brief: Spokane housing costs among lowest

Spokane homes are the least expensive in the Northwest and rents are among the lowest in the nation, according to the Center for Housing Policy.

The research affiliate of the National Housing Conference ranked 208 U.S. cities by fourth-quarter 2009 median home prices.

Spokane’s median price of $159,000 tied the city for 93rd with Pittsfield, Mass., and Charlotte, N.C.

Among Northwest cities, the Seattle median price was the highest; $303,000. That was good for a national rank of 20th.

Portland was 35th at $230,000, and Boise 87th at $163,000. Coeur d’Alene was not included in the survey.

In the rental market, Spokane ranked 166th, with an average monthly rental rate of $693 for a two-bedroom apartment. The city was also among only 23 that showed a decline from 2008, albeit of only $2 per month.

Local real estate officials have attributed the softening rental market to overbuilding.

Bert Caldwell

Officials seek help identifying body

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department is seeking tips on missing people in hopes of identifying a body found in the Spokane River on Saturday.

The body has “distinctive tattoos” and appears to be that of a white man between 20 and 35 years old. Clothes on the body were “indicative of cooler weather,” and investigators think the corpse was in the water for several weeks or months.

A man found the body in a shallow area of the river off South Richards Road, west of Post Falls, about 7:30 a.m. Saturday. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

Anyone with information about missing people and possible identities is asked to call Detective Jerry Northrup at (208) 446-1300.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Gilbert won’t appear in ‘Little House’

Melissa Gilbert will not appear in the national touring production of “Little House on the Prairie, The Musical” in Spokane on April 8-11 because she will be recovering from back surgery.

Gilbert hurt her back earlier in the tour and has scheduled a bilateral rhizotomy in Los Angeles. She plans to be back with the show at the next tour stop, Sacramento.

In a WestCoast entertainment press release, Gilbert said she is “looking forward to returning, feeling better and stronger than ever.”

The role of Ma will be taken over by Gilbert’s understudy, Meredith Inglesby.

Jim Kershner