Gary Lirette

We read and hear enough bad news. Here is a blog that reports the positive things happening locally and nationally about real estate and the economy.

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Wells Fargo expected to report over $3 billion in profits this quarter, with signs that other banks will likewise be reporting positive figures.

Jobless claims, while still elevated, are 20,000 lower than last week.

Today is Thursday and the stock market is beginning strong. In fact, the stock market has been trending well for the last several weeks, ever since it began regaining ground the first week of March.

Shoppers stay cautious, but sales declines ease

Inventory levels for retailers and manufacturing are at the lowest mark in seventeen years.

According to Business Week and MSNBC, there are Signs of life emerging in housing sector - Sales are picking up in some of the nation's hardest-hit regions. With tax breaks being provided by the government, prices lower than they have been in years, and interest rates at historic lows, the market is just too enticing for many buyers to wait for an even lower bottom. KXLY reported this morning that one local bank had rates under 4%!

As of the end of March A host of data indicates that the American housing market is heating up. Overall, mortgage applications were up 21.2% last week, while application volume was up 31.2% unadjusted from the same week in 2008. Yet 72.9% of the mortgage applications were refinancings, "it may be that many of the mortgage applicants have lost their jobs and are hoping to borrow to tide them over until they find job relocation." Source (http://www.stockresearchportal.com)

Also the end of March saw the Idaho legislature approved $82 million for North Idaho roads. While this is down from the original $125 million, it is still a boon for jobs and creating better access.

Plus, there are several new businesses opening in Sandpoint. I have the great luck to interview many new operations in my role as the host of the North Idaho Business radio show. For instance, the Integrative Athlete studio just opened at the Cedar Street Bridge, and yesterday in the Bonner County Daily Bee an article about the new restaurant Dish Home Cooking packed in the crowds Wednesday night. I was there with DJ Jonny Knight, and we had a blast. Read this article.

Gary Lirette is a REALTOR® for Tomlinson Sandpoint Sotheby's International Realty and host of the radio shows North Idaho Business as well as North Idaho Arts & Adventure.

Gary provides several community websites for many communities and events.

Coming May 14-18 is Lost in the 50's in Sandpoint

For great information about Sandpoint, Idaho, visit www.SandpointID.net

To learn about our top-rated ski resort, check out www.SkiSchweitzer.net

And one of our most beautiful areas is www.HopeIdaho.net

March 18, 2009

By Gary Lirette, host of North Idaho Business radio show on KSPT and KBFI, and REALTOR® for Tomlinson Sandpoint Sotheby's International Realty

The stock market was up all week. MSNBC reported on March 18, 2009 that "Stocks had their fifth advance in six days Tuesday after a surprisingly strong report on home construction and building permit applications. Since the rally began last week, the Dow is up 849 points, or 13 percent."

Housing starts were up 22 Percent according CNBC (http://www.cnbc.com/id/29734541).

Add to that on March 11, 2009 CNN reported applications for new mortgages are up 11%. (http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/11/real_estate/mortgage_applications.reut/index.htm)

Bonner County is the only county in the whole state of Idaho that is not a declining market for housing prices, according to Jack Dyck, VP of Mountain West Bank.

For the period of January 1, 2008 to March 18, 2008, Bonner County's sales of homes, condos, and townhomes was as follows:

For the same time period this year:

(These figures are taken from the Selkirk Association of REALTORS® MLS and are deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.)

Here is what we can conclude from the data above. We sold roughly the same number of units, but the average price increased by $45,000, or 14%. The median sales price decreased. Our total market went up by four million, and our days on market went up just a bit.

Locally, home prices are going back up, unemployment is still lower than other areas, and is historically normal.

On Sunday Ben Bernanke took the bull by the horns, sounding very reassuring on 60 Minutes, and the Fed will be releasing their latest guidance today.

Another nice boost is the reappearance of cheap airline tickets. With gas prices being so much lower, airline flights have finally followed suit.

There has been so much bad news lately it was nice to note that CBS News has changed their motto to "CBS News is Very Good News."

How about the flack over AIG? Didn't the majority of this money go out during the Bush Administration? While the current administration owns responsibility for 30 billion more going to this behemoth, the lack of oversight started with the previous congress and president. President Obama's Geitner made the same mistake.

Obama recently unveiled his plans for helping small businesses, and stimulus money is already hitting North Idaho with the hiring of firefighters to help keep the danger levels down.

Add to that our unemployment rates for Idaho are among the lowest in the West, and Bonner County is the lowest in the region.

Good news? You Bet!

To learn more about our area, visit one of our 50 websites:

www.SandpointID.net

www.RealEstateSandpoint.net

www.WaterfrontHomesSandpoint.com

www.SkiSchweitzer.net

www.RealtySandpoint.com

There are plenty of cool things to do in the area around Clark Fork and Hope, Idaho, near Sandpoint and Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort.

To learn more about Hope, Idaho, visit: http://hopeidaho.net

Find out more about Clark Fork at: http://clarkforkidaho.net

Calendar of Events - North Idaho has dozens of communities and groups that host hundreds of area happenings for every season. Nearby Sandpoint is a focal point of the county, but the Montana border is a very short distance, so Clark Fork and Hope residents enjoy events from Heron to Coeur d'Alene. Check out the Calendar of Events to see a long list of things to do.

Cool Things to do within 100 miles - This page shows many of the things on this page. Check out some of the other cool things to do in North Idaho in this list of over forty choices for fun and learning more about North Idaho.

Sandpoint - Sandpoint is the county seat, and to get to Schweitzer to do a bit of skiing, you have to go there. But Sandpoint is also the center of shopping for Hope and Clark Fork, and a very cool small town. Check out this resource to find out more about Sandpoint, Idaho.

Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort - Named to Skiing Magazine's Top 25 Ski Resorts last season, Schweitzer is also rated #3 for Tree Skiing. OntheSnow.com readers voted Schweitzer the Northwest's Favorite Ski Resort this year, and AskMen.com named the Sandpoint/Schweitzer combo one of America's Top 10 Resorts. To find out what Schweitzer is all about, visit www.SkiSchweitzer.net

Biking & Hiking - One can't mention Schweitzer without talking about mountain biking. The NORBA Nationals have been held there twice, and the highways going into Montana and to Sandpoint are filled all summer long with cyclers opting for pavement rather than dirt. Certainly there are some very cool mountains to choose from for hikes, and with so much wilderness and so many forests, virtually everyone here gets out for the occasional nature stroll. Check out a couple of the favorite mountains below.

For a great resource visit our Hiking & Biking page

Lake Pend Oreille - Hope and Sandpoint lie on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille, one of the most beautiful lakes in North America. Clark Fork is a stone's throw up the Clark Fork River from the lake. Lake Pend Oreille is so deep and quiet the U.S. Navy has a submarine research facility located here. There are few lakes that host the scenery that Lake Pend Oreille provides. The lakes protected coves make for great water skiing, wakeboarding as well as an overnight camping adventure. The prevailing winds from the southwest provide sailing enthusiasts many days of quality boating. There are numerous sailing regattas all summer long providing sailing as well as social enjoyment. Because of its size, waves can approach the size of ocean and sea waves, though, for the most part, Lake Pend Oreille is a calm body of water. Since winds are more calm than not, windsurfing isn't seen as often as other great water/wind sports areas like the Columbia River. However, parasailing is growing in popularity.

Cruises are available, scuba diving, and with so few boaters on so large a lake, water skiing is superlative. If you don't have your own boat, rentals are available everywhere. For a truly great treat, try the jet boats from Lake Pend Oreille Cruises: http://www.lakependoreillecruises.com/

Learn about all of North Idaho's Lakes

Clark Fork River - The Clark Fork is a river that flows through Montana and Idaho, running roughly 360. It is the largest river by volume in Montana, draining an extensive region of the Rockies in western Montana and northern Idaho in the watershed of the Columbia River. The Clark Fork flows northwest through a long mountain valley, finally emptying into Lake Pend Oreille in north Idaho. The Pend Oreille River, which drains Lake Pend Oreille into the Columbia River, is sometimes included as part of the Clark Fork. This gives the total of the two rivers a total length of 479 miles, with a drainage of 25,820 square miles. The upper tributary of the Clark Fork in Montana near Butte is called the Silver Bow Creek. I-90 follows much of the Clark Fork's upper course from Butte to northwest of Missoula.

The Clarks Fork Yellowstone River in southern Montana and parts of Wyoming is also called the Clarks Fork, but the two rivers are distinct and separate watercourses, and should not be confused with one and other.

As the Clark Fork rises as Silver Bow Creek in southwestern Montana from the confluence of Basin and Blacktail creeks, its beginnings are less than five miles from the continental divide near Butte. It flows northwest and north through a mountain valley, then passes east of Anaconda. Here the name changes to Clark Fork. The river then progresses in a general northwest direction toward Deer Lodge and across western Montana, passing south of the Garnet Mountain Range toward Missoula. Five miles east of Missoula the Blackfoot River adds to the flow.

The river continues through an extended valley along the northeast parts of the Bitterroot Range, through the Lolo National Forest, Northwest of Missoula. Here the Bitterroot River meets the Clark Fork, then about five miles west of downtown Missoula the Flathead joins the Clark Fork. The Thompson River joins the flow near Thompson Falls in Sanders County.

At the north end of the Bitterroots near Noxon, Montana near the Idaho border, the river is hindered by the Noxon Rapids Dam forming a boatable, twenty-mile-long reservoir. From there it crosses the Montana-Idaho state line into western Bonner County. Five more miles has the river discharging into the eastern end of Lake Pend Oreille, near the town of Clark Fork.

Learn about all of North Idaho's Rivers

Fishing - In a region of many, many rivers and lakes, sports fishing is a natural. On Lake Pend Oreille, once fish were so plentiful that a commercial fishing fleet once brought in tons of fish every day. The size of the trophy catches back in the day were legendary. However, with the introduction by the federal government of tiny shrimp to northern lakes some fifty years ago, the populations declined. Originally intended to increase fish populations, the experiment has the opposite effect. That, coupled with the introduction of non-native species nearly wiped out some of the types of fish in our lakes and rivers. The fish hatcheries closed, and things looked dim for fishing in our area. Conservation and proper management has helped our fish populations grow in recent years, and sports fishing has made a substantial comeback, though the numbers that supported dozens and even hundreds of commercial fishermen will probably not be seen in our lifetimes. Still, big Kamloops and trout can be hooked and cooked.

Visit this Fishing Resource for more information, rules, pdfs, and more.

Hunting - While the state of Idaho has more wilderness acreage than any other state, the Idaho Panhandle has more game, and better hunting than any other region of Idaho. With so many acres in the wild, no other state in the lower 48 has as much big game hunting variety and quality as Idaho. Idaho is sparsely populated with huge areas of forests, canyons, and mountain wildernesses. Idaho seasons generally run from 20-65 days. Hunter congestion remains rare. An amazing amount of land remains in the hands of the federal and state governments: 21,621,000 acres of the state's total acreage remains forested. The Federal Government holds 65.2% of all land, with estimates of 78 percent of all of Idaho belonging either to state or federal forests, etc.

Hunting around the mountains and waterways near Hope and Clark Fork are exceptional, and there are many guides that make their living trekking the trails. There are several entrances to the vast National Forests, and it is said there is more game in this area than any other place in the United States with the exception of Alaska.

Visit this Hunting Resource for more information, rules, pdfs, and more.

Observe the Ample Wildlife - You don't have to be a hunter to enjoy the wildlife and nascently beautiful wilderness surrounding Clark Fork and Hope, Idaho. There are numerous trails, waterfalls, and quiet Alpine lakes. The following choices are just a few of the things to do and places to see if you want to be with nature in our neck of North Idaho.

Watch the Trains - One place to do this, as well as watching the moose, elk, and deer cross the expanse, is at the mouth of the Pack River, on the way to Hope from Sandpoint where the train trestles cross. Killer views, and tres romantic on moonlit nights.

Montana Rockies Rail Tours operates the Montana Daylight, a tour train on MRL, between Sandpoint, ID and Livingston, MT. This a excursion/tour train that operates in the summer on MRL. It operates 3 levels of service utilizing coaches, domes and deluxe cars. Train includes a night in Gardiner with the Montana Blues Chuck Wagon Dinner Theater and a tour of the restored Livingston Depot Museum. 2660 West Ontario, Sandpoint, ID 83864, Phone: (800) 519-7245, Email: mtrail@netw.com This is a great way to see from the rails the lake and region.

Lakeside Park at the Old Litehouse Restaurant - Not far after the city of Hope and the Hope Peninsula on Lake Pend Oreille there is an octagonal building that once was the Litehouse Restaurant. This is where the famous Litehouse Salad dressings began. Now it is a manicured lawn park with fantastic views of the lake.

The National Forest - Entrance at Trestle Creek for great hiking and hunting.

Denton Slough - There are two things that make a trip out to Denton Slough, on the southern side of the Hope Peninsula, Denton Slough Waterfowl Area is an elongated shallow slough, forming a bay near the Clark Fork River. This area is a favorite for migrating waterfowl, and is visited each fall by Tundra Swans and each spring by a nesting colony of Western Grebes. This inlet provides habitat to waterfowl, songbirds, and spiny ray fish. The second thing that makes a trip out to this area is just a bit farther down the road. There is the driftwood collection area for Lake Pend Oreille, and outstanding pieces of driftwood can be found any time of year. Many artists get pieces there for works that sell for up to hundreds of dollars, but you can get yours for free.

Diamond T Ranch - The Cabinet Gorge is astonishing, and the beautiful valley floor is surrounded by medieval forest covered mountains and pristine snow capped peaks. Here, just a few hundred yards through a wildlife refuge from the spectacular Clark Fork of the Columbia River is the Diamond T Ranch. Offering hiking and biking in woods, pastures, near lakes, rivers, and ponds, wildlife abounds. The ranch offers prime hunting and fishing, horseback riding, and a return to the natural life that North Idaho has become so renowned for. To learn more, go to www.diamondtranch.com

Scotchman Peak - There are three famous mountain peaks in our area: Schweitzer Mountain where we have a world-famous ski resort, the Roman Nose with its two strikingly beautiful Alpine lakes near Naples, Idaho, and the Scotchman Peaks which are famous for the fantastic views of Lake Pend Oreille and the Clark Fork River, plus incredibly friendly long white haired mountain goats. The Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness describes them on their website: Looming above Lake Pend Oreille and the Clark Fork River in the Cabinet Mountains, Scotchman Peak is the highest point in Bonner County, Idaho, at 7009 feet. Straddling the Idaho/Montana border, the Scotchman Peaks offer a place of quite refuge. Nearby are the communities of Troy, Noxon and Heron, Montana, as well as Clark Fork, Hope and Sandpoint, Idaho. To learn more about preserving and hiking the Scotchman Peaks, visit www.scotchmanpeaks.org

For a great resource visit our Hiking & Biking page

Hike the Green Monarchs - This wavy ridgeline hike offers a healthy hike with awe-inspiring views down an almost vertical cliff 3,000 feet above dramatic Lake Pend Oreille. Sailboats, islands, and speed boats appear the size of ants in the distant tableau. The town of Hope is a mere dot in the distance surrounded by the peaks of the Selkirk and Cabinet Mountains. A great hike to see wildlife and lake views

For a great resource visit our Hiking & Biking page

Waterfalls, like Cabinet Gorge and Char Falls - Visit this website to learn about all the waterfalls in North Idaho: http://www.sandpointid.net/N.Idaho-Waterfalls.htm

International Selkirk Loop - Biking it, hiking it, or driving it, one of the coolest things you can do in the Pacific Northwest.

Friday night concerts at the Old Icehouse Pizzeria - In Hope, they have cool concerts on hot summer nights.

Idaho Club Golf Community - This was Hidden Lake Golf Course and community, then a few years ago Jack Nicklaus bought it, and the course should be open in 2009. Nice digs if you can afford them. Can't wait to check out the new course. Visit http://www.theidahoclub.com/

Cabinet Gorge Fish Hatchery - Constructed in 1985, this hatchery is operated by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and was designed to raise up to 16 million Kokanee salmon annually. The decline in fish populations in Lake Pend Oreille was dramatic after the introduction of tiny krill, originally intended to help with fish populations. The government experiment had the opposite effect, and the fish hatchery was instituted to help reverse that decline. The day this was written a school class of third graders was visiting, learning all about the lake and its species. The hatchery also raises westslope cutthroat trout, fall chinook salmon and rainbow trout. All of the Kokanee fry are released into Lake Pend Oreille each June. The hatchery is empty of fish from July to October for maintenance. Daily tours are available and open from 8am - 4pm with free admission.

Cabinet Gorge Dam - The Cabinet Gorge Dam is located outside of Clark Fork, Idaho on the Pend Oreille Scenic Byway, about fifteen minutes down Highway 200 near the Idaho-Montana border. While the dam itself is beautiful, the surroundings are breathtaking. The hike down to the water is worth it, and the entire area around the gorge deserves to be explored

According to Idaho Public Television, the Cabinet Gorge Dam was built by Morrison Knudsen Corporation, a worldwide construction firm headquartered in Boise, Idaho. The dam was a project sponsored by the Defense Program. The designer and supervisor of the project, Ebasco Services, Inc., contracted with Morrison-Knudsen. Construction began in 1951 and ended in April of 1952. Total cost of the dam was $47 million.

The dam had to be constructed in one season so spring floods would not wash away the temporary cofferdams. The dam was actually completed in half the time estimated by the Defense Program. The construction company claims that it was also completed at half the cost. It takes a lot of force to keep a dam standing against the incredible force of the water. The strength of the Cabinet Gorge Dam lies in the outward forces the arch design places on the canyon walls.

The dam is a true arch dam, which is 208 ft high and 600 ft long. Throughout the whole dam its thickness never exceeds 40 ft. The first step in construction was the diversion of the Clark Fork River to clear a construction site. 32 tons of dynamite blasted 50,000 cubic yards of rock down the canyon walls of the river. The blast was felt 32 miles away in Sandpoint. Water was then shunted through a pair of tunnels each 1000-ft. long. Cofferdams were built above and below the site to divert the water. Half a million cubic yards of rock were excavated.

The Floating Restaurant - In Hope, at Hope Marine there is a house boat that has been a literal floating restaurant for twenty years. Can't beat the location, but only open during warmer months. A must to experience. One of the best things about it, you can boat up to the marina for lunch.

Hope Hotel - The original hotel was named the Hotel Jeannot and it became a busy success because it was able to capitalize on its location right above the major division point for the region's railroad. Though up the cliffside face of Lake Pend Oreille, it provided easy access for passenger to the hotel. Many say the tunnels were used to entertain Chinese "Coolees," who were normally not allowed in the establishments that served the locals and travelers.

When the division point moved to Sandpoint, Hope started to become the draw it is today. The hotel continued to attract people until the 1960s, partly because the picturesque setting of the town beside Lake Pend Oreille was such a magnet for tourists. Some of them quite prominent, such as J.P. Morgan, Teddy Roosevelt, Gary Cooper, and Bing Crosby.

Today the Hotel is closed, though it does open from time to time, depending on the current owner's mood that year. The hotel has a fine restaurant, the Wily Widgeon Cafe, and a great saloon, called the Soiled Dove Saloon, both of which afford outstanding lake views. The saloon is in a decor definitely out of the turn of the century, and both are a treat to take advantage of, imagining years gone by, from another era.

Hope Peninsula - The Hope Peninsula is the home to Sam Owen Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, as well as Island View RV Resort and Beyond Hope Resort, with its RV park and renowned restaurant. It is also the home of Idaho's first white trading post called the Kullyspell House named after the Kalispel Indian Tribe (See Hope/Clark Fork History), a structure that is still standing. It was the home of famed artist Ed Kienholz, and much of his tableau art is on the Groenk Estate. The old entrance to the Groenke Estate also has an unusual edifice in the plexiglas encased full section of the Berlin Wall. Kienholz had quite a following in Berlin, and another well-known German family has a compound of cabins on the peninsula. On Kullyspell Drive you can see the name Factor on the mailboxes, belonging to the Max Factor family. On that same road are a couple of works of art in a whimsical airplane and other pieces, and the views are inspiring. One of the coolest things about the peninsula is that it is a protected wildlife sanctuary, so tame deer, turkeys, and tiny bunnies are everywhere. Take the family for a day, or have lunch or dinner at the Beyond Hope Restaurant. Beyond Hope is slated to be developed into something else, probably as soon as the economy turns around, so it might not be there next year.

Sam Owen Park and Wildlife Sanctuary - One can hardly help notice that our Hope Peninsula is a protected wildlife area. The signs prohibiting feeding the deer abound. The deer abound. An exact number is hard to put a finger on, with estimated of less than 100 to several hundred. Still, there are plenty of them. There are fewer turkeys, but there are still more than most people have ever seen, plus many tiny bunny rabbits, called Lops, miniature Lops, or Hoobly Lops. There are many other kinds of wildlife, so stick around and you will see.

Located 21 miles east of the town of Sandpoint, Idaho, the campground is situated along the banks of Lake Pend Oreille in a heavily pine wooded area. Restrooms are provided. Within a short drive popular activities include skiing, hiking, boating, photography, wildlife watching in the Game Preserve, and fishing on the lake. A campground host is on site. Firewood is available. Some campground roads and spurs are paved. Boat launch and dump station are provided at no charge to campground users; others will be charged a fee for use.

In addition to the state park there are two RV parks, attesting to the popularity of the peninsula. One of the RV parks - Beyond Hope Resort - has one of North Idaho's most popular restaurants. In fact, there are many great eateries in the area, including the Floating Restaurant, Dock of the Bay, Icehouse Pizzeria, and Hope Market Café. Around the area from Clark Fork to Hope and East Hope, there are a number of fine places to dine or have a casual meal. There is also Red Fir Resort, and though there are plans to close Beyond Hope Resort and develop it into a lakeside luxury community, it will reopen for 2009. Red Fir sold parts, and there is no information at this time as whether it will open again. One of the most famous landmarks is Hotel Hope, where writers and scholars, presidents and actors have stayed and played for over 100 years. The Hotel no longer takes guests, but the saloon and restaurant still offer tasty fare and libations with unbelievable Lake Pend Oreille views.

You can learn a wealth of information about North Idaho by visiting:

http://sandpointid.net

Want to ski the Inland Northwest's best ski resort?

http://skischweitzer.net

The Hope/Clark Fork area stretches along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille from the Pack River to the mouth of the Clark Fork River, the major waterways that feed mighty Pend Oreille. Lake Pend Oreille is one of the West's largest freshwater bodies of water with several islands near the Clark Fork estuary, including the islands off Hope and the Hope Peninsula, Warren, Cottage, Pearl, Eagle, and Memaloose Islands, as well as the Islands at the end of the Clark Fork River, called the Clark Fork Flats, which includes Derr Island. There are three major peninsulas that thrust into the lake: Sunnyside, the Hope Peninsula, and Sagle. Sagle is actually more like an area the lake wraps around, but nonetheless is a major abutting feature of Lake Pend Oreille.

It is important to note that the histories of the two communities are closely tied to one and other. They have a shared past of railroads, mining, and logging, and sportsman activities. More recently, both Lake Pend Oreille and the Clark Fork River have been a draw for tourists seeking the mountain/lake lifestyle. In recent years the area has attracted national public attention, being featured on several broadcasts, in articles, and by developers. The most famous golf course in this part of North Idaho, Hidden Lakes, was purchased by Jack Nicklaus, and is slated to open in 2009 as the Idaho Club. However, with the federal and state owning over 70% of the land, growth has been measured.

Glacial Floods and Lake Pend Oreille

The most prominent feature of Hope and Clark Fork, Idaho is Lake Pend Oreille. With 111 mile of coastline and 148 square miles, it is one of North America's prominent lakes, and the nation's fifth deepest. Formed by cataclysmic floods when the mile high Ice Age ice dam broke time after time, the features of the land and lakes of Bonner County and Western Montana all the way to the coast in Oregon were formed by these monumental floods. Just one of these deluges was ten times the combined volume of all the rivers on earth, with walls of water moving at super highway speeds. To learn more about the Ice Age Floods visit http://www.iceagefloodsinstitute.org/

To get a better picture of our lake and river life, visit http://sandpointid.net/What_to_do_on_Lake_Pend_Oreille.html

Centuries before white man discovered the region, the Kalispell and other Indian tribes, such as the Flatheads, inhabited North Idaho. Visit North Idaho History The first white men to trade in North Idaho were the intrepid adventurers "Big Finan" McDonald and explorer and "land geographer" David Thompson, who established the first permanent wooden structure in 1809 on the Hope Peninsula, taking advantage of Lake Pend Oreille and the Clark Fork River. This trading post, Kullyspell House, is still standing as a stone building on the shores of the lake. Kullyspell House still stands on the Peninsula, Idaho's most historic home. It sits at the end of Kullyspell Road. As you turn right on David Thompson Road, you will pass several white houses on the left. This grouping of summer homes is the family retreat of the Kienholz family. Ed Kienholz is easily one of our nation's most famous artists.

The first true transportation the region enjoyed were the steamboats of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, which brought its first engine and hardware from Portland, building the 108-foot Mary Moody in 1866.

As the railroads came into the area, Northern Pacific Railroad built the 150-foot Henry Villard in 1883 to supply the men laying the rails. Steamboats continued to be an integral part of transportation around Lake Pend Oreille until the 1930s. Later in the era, steamboats became popular excursions, much as Pend Oreille Cruises is today, and dignitaries staying at Hotel Hope and other resorts would spend days on the water.

In 1864 Congress granted the Northern Pacific Railroad a charter to build a line from Lake Superior to Puget Sound on a route north of the 45 parallel. In 1872, the Clark Fork Pend Oreille route was chosen. With the railroad came the people who established the towns of Clark Fork and Hope.

Railroads came to prominence in the 1880s, as local construction began on the northern transcontinental line in 1881. Trestle Creek, at more than a mile long, became the line's longest structure. It was at this time that Hope became the center of railroad activities and the largest city in the county. Along with Chinese Coolies, over 4,000 rough and ready railroad workers lived in a tent city along the Clark Fork River. Railroads brought people, and the lumber industry, which began to service the rails and trains, became the stalwart of the North Idaho economy for the next 100 years.

History of Hope, Idaho

At first Hope was just a stopping point along the railroad, but in 1890, the Northern Pacific moved its division point west from Montana to the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. Hope was incorporated on July 17, 1891. East Hope was incorporated on June 28th 1902. Hope was a busy port in its early days. Steamboats crossed the lake carrying supplies and mail to mining sites around the shore before roads were built. The boats were used to carry supplies up the Clark Fork River to Cabinet Gorge while the railroad was being constructed. The lake had long supported a fishing fleet, bringing in tons of fish every day. The populations were decimated by the introduction of tiny krill. The Federal government added these small shrimp in an attempt to increase fish populations; the experiment had the opposite effect. Recent years have seen a small recovery in fish populations, and now Hope is the center of some fine sports fishing.

Hope began to grow in 1882 when the Northern Pacific came through and in 1900 set its Rock Mountain division point in the hillside village. Incorporated in 1903, the village was named in honor of the veterinarian who tended the construction horses. A wise and kindly man, Dr. Hope was widely respected. Hope was the largest town in the area during the 1880s, achieving prominence as the Rocky Mountain division point on the Northern Pacific line. Engines turned around in the large roundhouse, and the railroad built shops, offices, and a "beanery" there.

The Hotel Jeannot, now known as Hotel Hope, was able to capitalize on this business with its location right above the depot, and with its tunnels providing easy access for passengers to the hotel. Many say that the tunnels were used to entertain the Chinese "coolees," working on the railroads, who were normally not allowed in the establishments that served the locals and travelers.

In contrast to Hope's early boom, Sandpoint grew slowly following completion of the railroad. An 1883 visitor found only 300 people in town, and nine years later another traveler reported that "Sandpoint is made up of between three and four dozen rude shacks and perhaps a dozen tents." The town experienced tremendous growth, however, following the turn of the century.

When the division point moved to Sandpoint, Hope began to decline. Hotel Hope continued to draw people until the 1960s, partly because the picturesque setting of the town beside Lake Pend Oreille attracted many tourists. Some of them prominent: J.P. Morgan, Teddy Roosevelt, Gary Cooper, and Bing Crosby.

The original Hotel Jeannot (Hotel Hope) was a wooden structure which burned down in about 1886. It was then that Joseph M. Jeannot started on his fireproof commercial building, which he shared with his brother Louis. He constructed one section at a time, and added on over the years, finally completing the three-bay, two story hotel in 1898. The rectangular building has two full stories above two separate basement sections. The facade is divided into three approximately equal bays which vary in design and building materials indicating that the hotel was built in sections over a period of years. This theory collaborated by the analysis of the structure during restoration as well as through oral accounts. The first section to be built was the first story of the east bay with its walls of rock-faced random-coursed granite ashlar with beaded joints. Next came the first story of the center bay with its lower facade walls of poured concrete. Following this, or possibly built at the same time, was the red brick second story over the center and east bays. The west bay was the last to be built, either all at once or in two stages. The first floor is of poured concrete with the second floor of red brick.

Various businesses have occupied the building over the years including a saloon, a restaurant, a general store, a meat market, and even a post office. The vaulted meat cooler adjoining the west basement was probably built when Louis ran his general store and meat market in the period from 1895 to 1897. Hotel Hope still stands as a testament to the times.

J. M. Jeannot's hotel and saloon were not his only business interests. He was also involved in mining and had several claims across Lake Pend Oreille in the area of Green Monarch Mountain. Hope had a large Chinese population which had arrived with the railroad, and Jeannot supposedly took advantage of this source of cheap labor for his mines. According to one of Jeannot's friends, he allowed these men to use the meat cooler under the hotel as a clubhouse. They gained access to this room through the small tunnel which connected it to the railroad depot, thus bypassing the more obvious entrances. This vault in the hotel is one of the few sites left in Hope which may be connected with the large number of Chinese who used to live in the town.

Jeannot's mining operations as well as his losses at gambling led to his unstable financial condition which may have been one reason the hotel took ten to twelve years to complete. According to one source, the construction was held up for more than a year when Jeannot lost all of his money in a bet on William Jennings Bryan in 1896. Uncertain finances continued to plague Jeannot and he mortgaged and remortgaged the hotel over the years between 1907 and 1918, eventually losing the building in 1918. A friend paid off the debt in 1920, and ran the hotel until her death in 1968.

Today the era of lumber and trains has been supplanted by tourism and manufacturing in Bonner County, and Hope and Clark Fork have become known as an artist colony. This is in great part due to Ed Kienholz.

Born in 1927 at Fairfield, Washington. He studied at schools and colleges in the Inland Northwest. He first earned his living as a nurse in a psychiatric hospital, as the manager of a dance band, as a dealer in secondary cars, a caterer, decorator and vacuum cleaner salesman. In 1953 he moved to Los Angeles.

In 1954 he made his first reliefs in wood. In 1956 he founded the NOW Gallery, and in 1957 the Ferus Gallery with Walter Hopps. In 1961 he completed his first environment Roxy's, which caused a stir at the documenta "4" exhibition in 1968. His retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1966 provoked the County Board of Supervision to attempt to close the exhibition. The theme of his environments is the vulnerability of the private life of the individual to intervention by the environment and social convention.

In 1972 he met Nancy Reddin in Los Angeles. In 1973 he was guest artist of the German Academmic Exchange Service in Berlin. He moved to Hope with his wife Nancy, and around this time also established himself in Berlin . His most important works during this period were the Volksempfänger (radio receiving apparatus from the National Socialist period in Germany). In 1975 he received a Guggenheim Award.

He died in 1994, but his wife, Nancy Reddin Kienholz continues as a world-renown artist, frequently visiting Hope.

Because of their notoriety, and the astonishing beauty of the area, we now have over 600 artists in our enclave.

The Kienholz couple befriended many wealthy patrons in Berlin, and over the years, two families have also created their own family retreats on the Hope Peninsula. As you turn from David Thompson Road on to Kullyspell Road, the Max Factor group of homes is on your right. These go down to the beginning of the property line for Kullyspell House. The other family is the Groenke family. Klaus Groenke is the managing director and part owner of Trigon Holding GmbH, a Berlin based international real estate company. He is also reported to be a leading share holder in Coca Cola Company, and a regional board member of the Deutsche Bank Berlin/Brandenberg. They built the Groenke Estate, a 150 acre compound at the end of David Thompson Road that becomes Kienholz Road. It is here that a full section of the Berlin Wall stands, encased in lexiglas, graffiti and all intact as it was before its fall. Recently the family sold half the estate, where many multi-million dollar homes have been built or are planned.

Today Hope, Idaho is a tourist and summer lake destination, with numerous artists and eclectic folk. It is a bedroom community to Sandpoint, and is considered by many, with its spectacular lake and mountain views, to be among the most picturesque areas of North Idaho. In fact, many travel magazines have called the journey along the cliffsides from Sandpoint to Hope one of the most beautiful drives in the world.

History of Clark Fork, Idaho

While totally distinct towns, many in North Idaho think of Clark Fork and Hope as one community. In fact, the two share the same Chamber of Commerce website: http://www.poby.org/

The City of Clark Fork also became a viable town in the early 1880's as the construction by the Northern Pacific Railroad continued through the nearby Bitterroot and Cabinet Mountains. This small community has been geared towards mining, logging, sawmills, farming, Forest Service activity, fish hatcheries, dam construction, fur trapping activity, collegiate studies and homes for teens. Also, for most of its history the railroad maintained a station and section crew in Clark Fork. Clark Fork was incorporated 1912. Today the University of Idaho Clark Fork Field Campus is located there.

In the 19th century the Clark Fork Valley, like the shores of Lake Pend Oreille around Hope, was inhabited by the Flathead tribe of Native Americans. It was explored by Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition during the 1806 return trip from the Pacific. The river is named for William Clark. A middle segment of the river in Montana was formerly known as the Missoula River.

Much of Clark Fork's story over the following years had to do with crossing the river. The bridge fording the Clark Fork River provided one of the only passes to the north, and with the steamboats bringing miners making the arduous journey to the Kootenai gold rush, this was one of the only ways to travel. Before a bridge was built, Clark Fork had a ferry to make the crossing. Early ferries were nothing more than logs lashed together. Later, some records indicate a ferry was operating in 1893, but this was a decade after the Northern Pacific line was put in place, so it is safe to assume there was a brisk business with ferry crossings during construction.

It is important to be reminded that the Cabinet Gorge Dam was not in place then, and reporters at the time wrote in 1916 that "The Clarksfork river handles a volume of water much larger than the Snake river. At times during high water, the flow amounts to as much as 94,000 cubic feet per second. The average width of the river is about 1300 feet. The velocity of the river at certain times is very large, about eight miles an hour. Due to this it is necessarily very hazardous to operate a ferry at Clarksfork at any time and very dangerous and at some times impossible to operate a ferry at all."

Certainly this ferry crossing created a need and a place for travelers, not only to cross, but at times to rest, restock supplies, and take advantage of the occasional saloon.

Until WWI there was a lot of sawmill activity, then to a lesser degree through the 1950s. Early sawmills include McGillis and Gibbs, Lane and Potter. From the start until the late 1950s, mining operations played an important role in the community's economy. The Whitedelph mine and mill located near the Spring Creek fish hatchery began operation in 1926 until it closed in 1958. It yielded galena ore assaying principally in silver, lead and zinc. The Lawrence mine was located on Antelope Mountain near Mosquito Creek and near the University of Idaho Clark Fork Field Campus. Area hills and mountains had numerous small mining holes tended by small operations and prospectors.

To learn more about Hope, Idaho, visit: http://hopeidaho.net

Learn more about Clark Fork, Idaho at: http://clarkforkidaho.net

Get your best info about Sandpoint, Idaho by going to: http://sandpointid.net

Learn all about Schweitzer Mountain at: http://skischweitzer.net

By Gary Lirette, host of the North Idaho Business radio show on KSPT and KBFI, economic researcher, and REALTOR® for Tomlinson Sandpoint Sotheby's International Realty

Recently, I attended a lecture by Anthony Grasst, a very astute MBA who runs a mortgage division of MetLife. It was gratifying to hear words of wisdom that offered another view of our economy besides the doom and gloom one hears on the radio waves or sees on the tube.

Graast explained that the job losses after the dot.com boom/bust and 9/11 was, if not worse than we are having now, at least comparable.

According to E-commerce News, 2001 went into the record books as the most devastating year in terms of Internet jobs lost.

In an article released in 2002, "For the year (2001), 100,925 positions were cut -- about 250 percent higher than the 41,515 cut during all of 2000, when the dot-com shakeout began in earnest."

Figures were much higher than that according to ComputerWorld.com, spanning many sectors and totaling over 2 million job cuts for 2001.

True numbers are often fleeting. Certainly hundreds of thousands lost jobs from the dot.com debacle, and probably millions. Post 9/11 job losses were also staggering. Our current recession passed that benchmark for total job losses in November 2008. Still, many forget we had these two recent large downturns in employment: the dot.com bust and 9/11. We recovered.

There is no doubt we experienced a double whammy. As our national economy began to recover from the dot.com bubble burst, 9/11 sent us right back down the tube. Yet we recovered.

In fact, the financial losses from these two events may have been even worse than our current crisis, with many experiencing greater losses because the stock market affected more real wealth in much greater fashion than today.

According to Wikipedia: "Several communication companies, burdened with unredeemable debts from their expansion projects, sold their assets for cash or filed for bankruptcy. WorldCom, the largest of these, was found to have used illegal accounting practices to overstate its profits by billions of dollars. The company's stock crashed when these irregularities were revealed, and within days it filed the second largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history. Other examples include NorthPoint Communications, Global Crossing, JDS Uniphase, XO Communications, and Covad Communications. Demand for the new high-speed infrastructure never materialized, and it became dark fiber, impacting companies such as Nortel, Cisco and Corning, whose stock plunged from a high of $113 to a low of $1." It wasn't only internet and tech related companies that caused national financial pain. Who can forget Enron?

The financial losses from 9/11, hurricanes Gustav and Katrina, and other disasters during the Bush administration, as well as the true costs of the war in Iraq, have some comparisons to our dismal condition today. While the press appropriately covered these disasters, the overplay and total consuming coverage of today's crisis makes those pale in comparison.

For those trying to buy homes, money is tight. However, according to Grasst, liquidity is changing. True liquidity right now is not as tight as the press would have you believe. Stated Grasst, "The money supply has increased by 20% over the last few months, but takes 6-9 months to show in the market."

The message Grasst related in his lecture was that financing is available; you just have to have a job, pay your bills, and you can't lie. What a concept. Other sources of money have become available from companies like MetLife, which came into the credit and mortgage business in 2007, after all the bad loans had already been made. Other revamped sources are the loans from the USDA that has revised its rules, making their loans a great alternative. Most local and Inland Northwest banks for the most part did not make the kind of questionable loans that put other banks in jeopardy, according to Jack Dyck V.P. and Regional Sales Manager for Mountain West Bank in Sandpoint.

Our problem, it seems, is that we have become a society that expects instant gratification; we demand results that occur instantaneously. The Great Depression lasted at least six years, from 1931 to 1937. While one can argue that the stock market is responding to President Obama's policies and actions, only those born yesterday would not reason that these problems and issues were years in the making. How sad we as adults and intelligent Americans, so educated to instant gratification, now believe that in just sixty days in office, one man can fix what we as a nation took years to bring to fruition.

Grasst pointed out that according to the press, our banks and financial institutions are broken, much like the Great Depression. The Great Depression had four years of banks going broke. We have had one. The stock market lost 90% of its value during the Great Depression. Currently our losses are at 40-50%. In both cases, stocks were extremely overvalued. Remember when the stock market first broke 7,000, then 10,000. As a younger investor fresh out of business school, I didn't think I would ever see 10,000. After all, the market had hovered between 500 and 1,000 from the late 1950s to the mid 1980s. Then, for ten years it was between 2,000 and 3,500. The remarkable run up to 14,000 points took place in a little over ten short years. (See this historical chart) One could say the same happened to home values. Too much, too fast? This is the opinion of many economists.

Job losses hurt, but a more important factor is consumer spending. While seven or eight percent unemployment is caustic, keep in mind we still have 92% employed: consumer confidence is key.
Grasst states, "Changing the sentiment of the public, and in my business of real estate, the most important thing we can do is to educate buyers. We are close to the bottom when it comes to home prices. Has gas begun to go back up?"

"Recently, about two months ago, we were informed we have been in a recession for over a year. Were the pundits a little bit behind on that info?"

So, where is the bottom? Yahoo Education posts the United States population growing at an annual rate of .92%, though other sources quote .88% annually, with Wikipedia putting the number closer to 1%. With a current population of over 306 million, this increases our population by 3 million every year. This puts US housing needs well above our current levels of construction.

Chris Kaucnik, former marketing director of the National Association of REALTORS®, on February 11, 2009 wrote, "The average number of months for inventories to fully shift during this 56 year period is 35. Optimistically, we could be entering the downward curve of the bell beginning in the second quarter of 2009, especially with some added government incentives." See this article published by RIS Media written by Chris Kaucnik, currently director of marketing for Home Warranty of America, Inc.

Current numbers in North Idaho around Sandpoint back up the premise that our inventory is low, or at least at normal levels. According to the Selkirk Association of REALTORS®, closed sales of homes, condos, and townhomes for 2004 was 1,241 units, 1,190 units in 2005, 920 in 2006, 936 in 2007, and 605 in 2008. Certainly there is strong evidence for up to 1,000 homes a year to be available for our market's growth. We currently have 1,097 residences for sale. Are we oversupplied? It doesn't take a statistician to divine we currently have a one-year supply of housing. Last year, in spite of declines in pricing coupled with low interest rates, we saw a substantial decline in sales. We all know the reasons. How long can a downturn last for an area that is touted as the next Lake Tahoe? Predictions make sense for having a better year than 2008. (The Selkirk Association of REALTORS® deems these numbers reliable, but not infallible.)

Unemployment is another great concern. Spokane just hit 9.6%, (Reported by the Spokesman Review on February 24, 2009) so our local figure, basically matching current national levels at 7.8% is a bright spot. (Figure taken from the February Newsletter of the Idaho Department of Labor) This is due in large part to our manufacturing base. While many think of Sandpoint as a tourist economy, tourism-based employment is actually in fourth position, behind manufacturing employment (See this Bonner County Profile published by the Idaho Department of Labor)

With such a diverse employment picture, coupled with our continued success as a tourist destination, the needs for more homes available outweigh the bleak national picture. To date, our units sold for this same time period year over year is the same at 79 sold. However, our market is already ahead of last year's figures by $3,000,000, and the average sold price is up by almost $54,000 per home. Even the median sold price has increased by $35,000. Any way you look at it, thus far we are ahead of 2008.

This brings up another great worry for potential buyers of real estate in the Bonner County area of North Idaho; that is the concern that if they buy now, they could be upside down in their purchase very quickly. Many of our buyers are coming to North Idaho from parts of Arizona and California; places that have seen declines of up to fifty percent. According to the OFHEO's Home Price Index, the United States saw a decline in home values of 4.5% for 2008. Washington State declined 3.7%, Idaho lost 1.76%, Spokane at 1.26%, and the closest community to Sandpoint that was measured, Coeur d'Alene, went down 4.45%. Our own numbers showed a decline of 4.4% for 2008. With predictions taken into account, many economists are predicting this trend will change in the Inland Northwest by the end of the year. The most consistent economist giving analysis about North Idaho has been Jeff Thredgold, CSP and self-described economic futurist who puts out quarterly info for Zion's Bank. His prediction for Idaho is a turnaround by the latter half of 2009. (Read his Winter Predictions)

Still, even if North Idaho housing values decrease by a couple of points, many REALTORS® point out homes are at the best price levels in years.

Another factor comes into play. Interest rates are at an all-time low. (See this news report from CBS) Tony Grasst points out, "Every one percent saved on interest rates translates to a 10% savings in value. So, when the Fed gets out of the mortgage business in June, we will probably see interest rates go up. We have artificially low rates currently." Just Google the keywords 'Artificially low interest rates' and you can find zillions of articles on the web. Will rates go up? Probably. So, if buyers are buying homes at reduced prices, with incredibly low interest rates, does this mean it is the right time to buy? These indicators arguably point to a favorable yes. Does this mean it will be a bad time to buy after June? Interest rates historically begin to rise slowly. So, towards the last two quarters of the year, prices and interest rates will still be at historic lows. This suggests 2009 to be one of the best years to buy a home this decade.

Checking today's interest rates, buyers can expect to get a rate between 4.85% and 5.17%. If we believe some of the predictions for next year, interest rates could be between 6.5 - 7%. Certainly the Fed doesn't have much room to move rates down with the Federal Discount Rate at ½% and the Federal Funds current target rate of 0 - ¼%. Can you say, "Less than zero?" If rates do approach 7% by 2010, the real cost of buying a home could be 20-25% higher than today, even if the selling price remains the same. Put into perspective, a $300,000 loan at 4.85% for thirty years will have a total payout of $569,000 and a monthly payment of $1583.00. Change the rate to 6.85% and the total payout changes to $707,000 and the monthly payment to $1965.00. In real terms the amount payed to the bank would be $138,000 higher. Could you put a child through college for that additional amount? Even in a smaller, but still significant way, paying an additional $382.00 a month could put many buyers out of the market.

In conclusion, what is the truth about the economy? Numbers seem to be skewed for the highest possible drama by politicians and the national and local media. Looking closer, while times are disconcerting to some and devastating to others, the truth seems to be a more mixed bag. Certainly, we have been here before, and not so long ago. Locally, we are faring considerably better than other parts of the world. What is our job and commitment to our community? Personally, I believe it is our task to cut through the maligned figures and malaise, give out real numbers, and continue to work towards making our community what it is: the best place to live in the world.

Gary Lirette, host of North Idaho Business and North Idaho Arts and Adventure on KSPT and KBFI, economic researcher, and REALTOR® for Tomlinson Sandpoint Sotheby's International Realty.

To learn more about Sandpoint, Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort, and our North Idaho Panhandle Paradise, visit

http://sandpointid.net

&

http://skischweitzer.net

To call Gary Lirette personally, dial 208-610-1384

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Lirette