Idaho home prices showed the fourth-biggest gain in the nation in a national survey comparing home prices in March to those a year earlier; Idaho home prices were 14.5 percent higher. Nevada saw the largest gain at 22.2 percent; California was next at 17.2 percent, and Arizona was third at 16.8 percent. Oregon was just behind Idaho with a 14.3 percent increase.

The data, from Core Logic, a real estate data provider, showed that nationwide, home prices increased 10.5 percent, and that they've now increased for 13 straight months. Record low mortgage rates, more demand and a limited supply of homes for sale were among factors driving the increases; the number of homes for sale in March was 17 percent below that of a year earlier. Click below for a full report from the Associated Press in Washington, D.C.

And soon they will be showing Inland Northwest lake places to various critters in the market for winter homes.

www.dnr.wi.gov

“This next cabin I'm going to show you has loads of charm.”

www.pyxurz.blogspot.com

Buddy's sign says “Call me.” So I did.

Wanted to ask if he enjoyed his motel scene — in 1999's “American Beauty” — with Annette Bening.

But I reached a directory assistance service. It could be the 555 ensures that will happen, no matter what the other numbers.

…don't ask too many questions about the previous residents.

www.fridaythe13thfranchise.com

An eastern Idaho house that's infested with so many snakes that the ground around it appears to move has been abandoned by its traumatized residents, who were told when they bought it that the snakes were was just a story invented by the previous owners to escape their mortgage, reports AP reporter Jessie Bonner. The former residents of the five-bedroom Rexburg home said it was like living in a horror movie; a wildlife biologist says the house likely was built on a winter snake den, where  snakes gather in large numbers to hibernate for the winter. Click below for the full story.

A $1,500 reward is being offered for tips that solve a burglary ring that preys on vacant homes.

Crime Stoppers already had offered a reward for tips that help solve 23 burglaries in Spokane Valley in which kitchen appliances were stolen from vacant homes.

Now the Spokane Association of Realtors has pitched in to increase the amount of cash available for helpful tipsters.

Police say the thief first steals the real estate lock box from the front door of the vacant homes that contains the key, then returns with a truck to steal ovens, stoves and refrigerators.

“The boxes are designed to be difficult to break open, so the thief does that elsewhere,” according to a February Crime Stoppers news release.

Anyone with information on the burglaries is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or submit tips online.

Real estate agents are being targeted in a theft ring that preys upon vacant, for-sale homes.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for tips that help solve 23 burglaries in Spokane Valley in which kitchen appliances were stolen from vacant homes.

Police say the thief first steals the real estate lock box from the front door of the vacant homes that contains the key, then returns with a truck to steal ovens, stoves and refrigerators.

“The boxes are designed to be difficult to break open, so the thief does that elsewhere,” according to a Crime Stoppers news release.

Anyone with information on the burglaries is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or submit tips online.

Spokane County homes sales tumbled in July, but prices slipped only slightly from year-ago levels, according to the Spokane Association of Realtors.

A total 347 homes sold during the month, off 36 percent from July 2009 and 31 percent from June, when the last of the sales prompted by an $8,000 federal income tax credit closed. The credit expired April 30.

The July retreat broke a nine-month string of year-over-year sales increases.

Median and average prices sagged to $170,000 and $191,074, respectively, down 3.4 percent and 1.7 percent from July 2009.

The 321 pending sales for July also fell significantly compared with July 2009, which tracks a national downturn Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said he expects to continue until later in the year.

Although inventories of unsold homes remain high, Yun said prices are stabilizing, or even improving in some harder-hit markets.

In Spokane, 3,500 homes were listed as of Aug. 4, a 10-month inventory at the July rate of sales.

Home sales in Spokane County dipped slightly in the past month but remain near levels seen a year ago.

The average sales price in June was up from May but lower than one year ago, the Spokane Association of Realtors reported today.

Closed sales totaled 506 in June, down from 519 in May. In June 2009, there were 501 closed sales in the county.

The average sales price in June was $190,308, up from $180,523. A year ago, the average sales price was $193.164.

Closed residential sales in the first half of the year are up 24.5 percent from the same period in 2009.

The number of homes and condominiums for sale grew in June to 3,406. That’s up by 102 properties from May. A year ago, 3,282 homes and condos were on the market.

Realtors today reported a burst of home sales in Spokane County during the first three months of the year.

Residential sales of single-family homes and condos on less than an acre were up 23.2 percent over the first quarter of 2009, according to the Spokane Association of Realtors.

The group reported 790 closed sales during the January-March period, up from 641 a year ago.

The pickup in sales corresponds with a surge in interest among homebuyers taking advantage of a federal homebuyer tax credit. The popular tax credit, which expires April 30, has benefited millions of first-time and move-up buyers purchasing new homes.

Another reason for rising sales may be falling prices. The median price of Spokane County homes sold in the first quarter was nearly $160,000, which is $15,000 less than homes sold in the first three months of 2009. Realtors say first-time homebuyers are drawn to those prices.

The average sales price in the first quarter was $177,480, down from $200,125 in 2009.

More homes were listed for sale in the first quarter: 2,897 versus 2,138 in the first three months of 2009.

During memorial services, former 49ers quarterback Joe Montana imitates coach Bill Walsh holding a cup “filled with margaritas” on the field. Associated Press

If you’re looking for a home, Joe Montana is selling his “simple” retreat.

“Standing in the upstairs living room on a brisk October morning Jennifer Montana described her husband, football great Joe Montana as a simple guy. “He needed a beer tap, a pretty good-sized television screen and a barbecue area,” she said.

Simple wouldn’t be the first word that comes to mind in describing the couple’s retreat, which extends into both Napa and Sonoma counties. Set on 500 acres on a hilly, forested expanse with year-round creeks and uninterrupted views, the couple’s 9,700-square-foot Tuscan villa-style house with a tower boasts the beer tap and many hidden flat-screen televisions, but what commands attention are the baronial flourishes and details, many of them imported from Europe.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703740004574513473606656990.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_realestate#project%3DSLIDESHOW08%26s%3DSB10001424052748704013004574517811938284996%26articleTabs%3Darticle

I guess simple is a relative term. If you could affored a 9,700-square-foot home, would you buy one?