Kootenai County home sales soaring

The Kootenai County housing market continued its blistering pace through the first half of the year.

For the first six months of 2005, the number of homes sold jumped 13 percent. Total volume of sales grew 42 percent.

The average home price in Kootenai County was $196,722 at the end of June, a 27 percent increase from an average of $155,538 a year ago.

In Coeur d’Alene, the average price through June was $196,027. In Post Falls, it was $193,404, a 36 percent increase from an average of $141,960 in June 2004.

The number of sales in the Hayden, Hayden Lake and Dalton Gardens area fell slightly in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year, although the average price there rose 19 percent to $229,297. The average price in the Rathdrum/Hauser area was $164,197.

Realtors have attributed the rapid price increases to a shortage of homes for sale. A year ago there were about 1,700 residential listings in Kootenai County, compared with about 1,250 homes for sale in June this year.