Coeur d'Alene Real Estate - Come Live the Life Style - Christina Ethridge

The developer of some of the most exclusive real estate properties in Kootenai County and Spokane is optimistic but realistic in what the future holds for him and others in the business.

"Anybody today in the development business who tells you things are a bowl of cherries is a liar," Chesrown said.

He's right. It's not the end of the world, but it's definitely a different world.

"No one anticipated the slowdown to be as deep and wide as it's been. When we budgeted for 2006 -2007 or 2007-2008 we were looking at a slowdown estimated at 20 percent, not 75 to 100 percent."

Black Rock cut about 70 percent of its administrative personnel to a staff of about 25 and closed its downtown sales office. Chesrown has taken on the position of sales director.

He started putting his personal property on the market early last year. He sold one home in California, while Black Rock Ranch near Harrison and another ranch in Texas are for sale, with plans to keep the one that does not sell.

"Obviously the ranch is a passion, but to have those kind of things, you can't put those kind of assets ahead of your business," he said. "The other thing, when you're asking lenders and different entities to work with you on restructuring, you have to be willing to make the tough decisions. The tough decision sometimes is on a personal note."

Now this I admire - it takes a confident man to make hard decisions and then live by them.

Article here.

Despite it being one of the most challenging hiring environments in the nation’s history, 41% of workers who were laid off from full-time jobs in the last three months reported they found a new full-time, permanent position while another 8% found part-time work.

This is good news on a national level. Perhaps this is why Kootenai County's unemployment actually went down 3/10th's of a percent from 7.7 to 7.4 in the last month. Unemployment in the greater Coeur d'Alene area is actually expected to reach the 9-10% range by late summer. While not good, it's also not the worst we've seen in the last 20 or so years.

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Curious about the true sellable value of your home?
Visit North Idaho House Values to obtain a market analysis.

Tired of flipping through homes magazines only to have to call multiple people and
then finding out the property is no longer available?
Visit Coeur d'Alene House Hunter and receive free, no obligation, up-to-the-minute
updates on homes for sale that fit your parameters!

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Pend Oreille Lake, from the shores of Farragut State Park
Summer 2008 Photo Credit: Christina Ethridge

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Curious about the true sellable value of your home?
Visit North Idaho House Values to obtain a market analysis.

Tired of flipping through homes magazines only to have to call multiple people and
then finding out the property is no longer available?
Visit Coeur d'Alene House Hunter and receive free, no obligation, up-to-the-minute
updates on homes for sale that fit your parameters!

Steve Griffitts is confident in his weather prediction: The sun is going to come out in April and eventually, it will stop snowing here.

He has the same confidence in his economic forecast that businesses will rebound, jobs will bounce back, shoppers will return to stores and things will get better.

"People are not afraid of what happened," said the president of Jobs Plus. "They're afraid of what's to come. Let me put you at rest."

North Idaho has gone from a resource-based economy dependent on lumber and mining to a diverse and expanding one marked by growth in medicine, finance and tourism.

"We have seen so much investment in our area," Griffitts said. "Not only financial investment, but intellectual investment."

A cornerstone of the area's success has been manufacturing.

Interesting... so the fact that I've been telling people that medical and manufacturing are the strongest employers in the area is TRUE - wow, fancy that ;)

Full article here.

I wrote a post on my North Idaho Real Estate Blog, a list post. I'm actually participating in the #31DBBB challenge and yesterday's challenge was to write a list post.

Anyway, while it's satirical, it's based firmly in reality, so here is a synopsis of the post. You can read more over at that North Idaho Real Estate Blog.

1. What more is there to know about the area? You heard what a great place it is from your brother’s sister’s cousin who has a friend who drove through here once on their trip from Seattle to Montana.

2. The home was supposed to be a wonderful investment, it looked GREAT in the pictures!

3. Your friend moved to the area 4 years ago and they told you that the home next to theirs is available for a “Steal of a deal” right from the owner… no commissions!!!

4. You know you’ll get a “better deal” buying directly through the listing agent because the seller won’t have to pay “double” commission!!

5. Heck, the extra money you have to put into the property in improvements is made up for by the extra appreciation a particular neighborhood will have.

6. You believe that either all agents are created equal or all agents suck, why on earth do I need an investment property expert?

7. Hey, this management company cost me less money in repairs and maintenance every month. I can take care of that stuff later (or, it’s unnecessary work).

8. Of course you should go straight to the builder. They will give you the best price possible. After all, You’re experienced, You’ve “done this” a few times!

Before commenting, PLEASE read the entire post over at the North Idaho Real Estate Blog.