Home Sales Leap 34 Percent In Kootenai County Market Strong Showing Defies Predictions; Softening Prices Help To Lure Buyers

The Kootenai County home market rebounded sharply in April, putting it ahead of 1995’s home selling pace.

Strong sales in Post Falls spurred a 34 percent increase countywide, compared with April 1995.

The average price of homes sold in Kootenai County bettered last April’s by 3.4 percent. However, year-to-date price averages still are 2.3 percent below 1995 levels, reflecting that the supply of homes has caught up with demand.

But by most measures, the market is exceeding expectations.

“We were thinking sales this year were going to be somewhere between 10-20 percent off from last year,” in terms of sales, said Marshall Mend of Marshall Mend Realty in Hayden. “But these are great numbers.”

Home sales in Coeur d’Alene rose a healthy 38 percent from last April. In recent months, Coeur d’Alene had shown stronger sales than Post Falls, but that changed last month with 51 homes sold in Post Falls and 47 in Coeur d’Alene.

“It’s a buyer’s market right now,” Mend said. A high inventory of homes continues to offer locals the chance to move up to bigger homes or look at housing as investment opportunities, he said.

This year’s home market is closer to the record pace of 1994 than to the numbers of 1995, Mend said. Last year was off about 5 percent from 1994’s record pace. “We could have as good a year as 1994 or even better.”

Mend said the largest volume of sales is in the $85,000-$100,000 range, even though the average price is higher than that.

Mend said that about 85 percent of his buyers recently have been locals. “There’s a lot of variety out there with all the new construction coming on.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Home sales