State of the Real Estate Market for Sandpoint & North Idaho 2011

According to the Selkirk MLS, our market has a total of 2,677 various properties (condos, land, homes, timeshares) on the market.

Average Days on Market: 305

Total Price: $799,187,649

Closed Sales January 1, 2011 – December 8, 2011: $190,495,221

Total List Price: $206,855,029

That is 970 sales with an average Days on Market of 166.

These sales represent 92% of asking price.

There are an additional 125 properties Pending, representing another $29,736,360 in sales.

While historically this is roughly 100-200 below our averages during better years, it is significant considering that for 2010 we sold 940 for $200,536,119 in total sales, and in 2009 802 for a total of $181,738,748 for a year-to-year increase of 9.5%. By end of year, we should have also increased our percentages, showing a steady increase in sales.

Clearly land sales are lagging, and we are seeing, in some cases, prices we haven’t seen in a decade. Home Sales (Residential) made up 87% of closed sales so far for 2011 with an Average Price of $229,967. Again, this represents 92% of asking price. This information is especially helpful when advising buyers what to offer. Clearly there are bargain hunters out there, but for a seller to accept a deep discount is not the norm. There are very few homes being sold at 30, 40, or 50% off the asking price.

Why Are Sales Increasing in North Idaho?

Clearly sales are increasing. This is due in large part to the decrease, while incremental, in asking price. The Average Sold Price for homes in 2010 was $246,325. The Average Sold Price for 2009 was $262,783. We have actually seen price stabilization for most homes. Bank repos are still affecting the market skewing the numbers to look like our market is showing steady declines in value.

Another trend that is small but significant are the number of Days On Market: 146 for 2009, 158 for 2010, 166 for 2011.

How Is The Local Economy?

I host the North Idaho Business show on KSPT and KBFI. In the last year, I have interviewed twenty-six new businesses. Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort has had three successive record breaking years. High water impeded our lake activities this season because of high precipitation, but local businesses had earnings that allowed them to keep the open signs on. I managed the new Dover Bay Café (sic Dish Home Cooking) which had a fantastic opening season. I also am the Wine Buyer/Steward at our local gourmet grocer Yoke’s Fresh Market and the company had a record season. This Yoke’s is the #1 store in the chain and the top seller of wine regionally. I was able, on a day-to-day basis, to see people spending their hard-earned dollars.

So, anecdotally, the appearance is that things are getting better. The stats back that up. The Idaho Unemployment Rate fell to 8.8 percent, the lowest level in nearly two years. Bonner County’s rate is higher at 10.8%. This current figure has not yet taken into account winter ski season hiring by Schweitzer Mountain. Any way you look at it the figure is considerably better than the 16.1% we experienced at the height of the recession.

One thing that people don’t know about Sandpoint and Bonner County is that we are a manufacturing town. Companies like Coldwater Creek, Litehouse Foods, Thorne Research, Unicep Packaging, Encoder, EZDog, Quest Aircraft, and many others make up the majority of employment here, followed by Government, Education, then Tourism.

From firsthand knowledge through hundreds of interviews I can tell you that entrepreneurs are doing well in Sandpoint. Are they getting rich? The answer for most is probably not.

Employment and dollars earned is not the primary reason most of us live here though. When Buck Knives relocated to North Idaho, they did so not because of ease of facility or tax breaks, but because of quality of life. Living underneath one of the Top 25 Ski Resorts in the nation, along the shores of 148-square mile Lake Pend Oreille, it is the draw of the wonder of the land and the joy of the people that makes this place magical.

What these statistics show is that our market is improving, albeit slowly. Still, it is reassuring that it has been steady and forward moving.

I teamed with Judy Delucchi this year. In a little over twelve months I was able to bring in over $3 million in accepted offers, mostly waterfront. While this in not enough to make me feel like the slowdown is over, it isn’t as bad as in other places.

Add to that, my brokerage, Tomlinson Sotheby’s International Realty is by far the top real estate firm in our region.

Finding success in Sandpoint doesn’t happen by accident. We work hard and go the extra mile for our clients.

You should visit Sandpoint and see why the year Rand McNally named Sandpoint America’s Most Beautiful Small Town.

To learn more about Sandpoint and North Idaho visit www.SandpointID.net

To learn more about Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort visit www.SkiSchweitzer.net

If you are thinking about moving here or want to know more about our little slice of paradise, call Gary Lirette 208-610-1384 garyplirette@gmail.com

Gary Lirette & Judy Delucchi, Tomlinson Sotheby's International Realty