Inland Northwest real estate remains robust

Wonder of wonders — real estate activity in the Inland Northwest continues to be one of the special areas of the “US of A” that hasn’t had a dent in its sales as has occurred in other parts of the country.

The reason behind this success in our area is the fact that home prices prior to the skyrocket sales in the past few years were fair and reasonable and the homes available were worth what the owners paid for them.

Last month, the Spokane County average home sales price was $203,910. Several years ago, a friend of mine in the film industry in Los Angeles purchased a home in West Lake Village, a nice area out of the city that features homes that border a lake. The cost for the three-bedroom home a couple of years old was over $200,000.

When the red hot real estate activity hit the L.A. area, he called to tell me he had been offered $700,000 for the place. At that time in Spokane, the same home would be a good buy at $150,000.

The next phone call from Los Angeles three months later was to tell me he had been offered more than $1 million for his home. Not a bad rate of return for sure. But, he turned it down. The reason was that he felt he needed to be in L.A.

However, we in the Inland Northwest should not have to worry about the value of homes and the land they upon which they are located.

The Inland Northwest is in very good shape in real estate with affordable prices for land and homes.