Rick Evans - Sandpoint Idaho Real Estate Waterfront, Ski, and Resort Property

Sandpoint Idaho has once again received incredible recognition in the latest issue of 'Where to Retire', a magazine that is available in every airport in the country.

This article talks about Sandpoint being 'the next great place' to not only retire, but also to live and enjoy the four season outdoor lifestyle and the many cultural events, so unique to such a small town. A fellow Sothebys agent and friend of mine, Gary Lirette, was one of several people interviewed and highlighted in this article.

The article talks all about Schweitzer, Lake Pend Oreille and the beautiful natural amenities we have. It also goes on to discuss the many festivals and cultural attractions. And it touches on the real reason that my family and I chose Sandpoint over so many other outdoor/ski towns...the fact that so many of us have come here for the same reasons, the old fashioned values, neighbors caring for one another, and a place where you are free to be an individual and are accepted for who you are, no pretension.

Finally the article discusses the relatively low prices of real estate, when compared to other towns that share even close to the amenities and quality of life that we enjoy.

To read the entire article follow this link:

http://www.sandpointresortrealty.com/pdf/WhereRetireNov2009.PDF

To see more press on Sandpoint:

http://www.sandpointresortrealty.com/sandpoint.html

Dover Bay Waterfront Resort has selected a core team of Real Estate Agents to represent most of its property sales, including Bayside South condos, Parkside Bungalows, Cabins in the Woods, Cottages at Dover Meadows, Bayside North and Reedwalk Homesites. This new team is comprised of myself, PJ Nunley, Carrie LaGrace, and Brian Harvey, all with Jeff Bond's team at Tomlinson Sandpoint Sothebys International Realty.

TSSIR has and will continue to be the Listing Broker for all Dover Bay real estate transactions. This change has simply reduced the number of Listing Agents on the Dover team. And rather than having two agents responsible for different neighborhoods, the four of us now form a core team sharing equally in the responsibility for all listings.

What this means for the customer and for Dover Bay property owners ...

1) Easier to form relationships with the Dover sales team, as all of us will have our primary offices at the Dover Discovery Center

2) A team approach means we all work together to help our customers. So if one of us is unavailable there should always be someone to help out at the time the customer wants assistance.

3) We are all experts on Dover Bay and all the real estate products offered. This eliminates the need for a customer (or another Agent) to be passed along to several people to get the help they need.

Any outside Real Estate Agents, Property Owners, or interested parties will also be able to call on any of the four of us for help with all of the above listings. We will work closely together to ensure an excellent experience for anyone interested in Real Estate at Dover Bay.

To meet the new Dover Bay team, stop by the Discovery Center at the entrance to Dover Bay or call our office at 208-265-0627.

For the latest information on Dover Bay, visit the Dover website at http://www.DoverBayIdaho.com as well as my site at http://www.SandpointResortRealty.com.

Fred and Trevor Greenfield have contributed greatly to the cultural aspect of Sandpoint by bringing us the Lakedance Film Festival. In its fourth season at The Panida Theatre, the Lakedance Festival is now one of the top 100 festivals in the country.

The event started on October 31 with a 'Horror on the Lake' Halloween special, airing four of the scariest movies of all time including Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Night of the Living Dead. It then picked up last night for the actual opening night and will take place each evening through Saturday. The first evening was devoted to North Idaho Filmmakers, a category this is growing each year and provides a unique opportunity for our local aspiring filmmakers.

Evans Brothers Coffee, a new coffee roasting business owned by my brother and I, has participated in the Lakedance Festival this year as a sponsor. We donated coffee for the sponsors event at Lakedance on Thursday evening and attended the Friday reception at Laughing Dog Brewery. My brother (the real coffee genius of the partnership- I just do sales and marketing) hosted the first ever espresso bar at the Panida Theatre last night, and will continue to do so through the rest of the week.

It has been fun for us to be involved in this event and we look forward to doing our part to help this and other cultural events thrive in the Sandpoint community. The Lakedance Festival is one of many events unique to our town that really make it special. Of course we have the amazing natural amenities with Lake Pend Oreille and Schweitzer Mountain. But the artistic, musical, and cultural offerings make us a complete destination in my book.

For more information on Sandpoint events, visit www.SandpointResortRealty.com.

The Sotheby's name has always been synonymous with luxury, and in most every location these offices have the lion's share of the luxury listings. This was certainly the case in Southern California when I lived there, and its definitely the case in Sandpoint and North Idaho.

Here are some interesting stats, showing year to date numbers in the Selkirk MLS through Sept 09.

% of all closed transactions:

Tomlinson Sothebys (TSSIR) $66 million 30%

Century 21 $47 million 21%

Evergreen Realty $19 million 9%

Coldwell Banker $16 million 7%

All Other $73 million 33%

Pretty good numbers for Tomlinson, and these figures seem to have held pretty true in the 25-35% market share year in and year out. However in the high end this dominance is even more pronounced.

All sales greater than $500,0000- TSSIR has almost HALF!

TSSIR $36 mil 47%

C21 $15 mil 19%

Sales greater than $1 million (TSSIR has 77% of the market year to date)

TSSIR $24 million 77% of luxury market closed sales

C21 $15 million

Another impressive stat is in vacant land over $1 million, where TSSIR has 100% of the market year to date.

So in summary, its clear that our office is the best choice for listing or buying high end property. We have a core group of top producing agents who all communicate regularly, work together to get our office listings sold, and who make it easy to quickly find the best values in the market.

As a specialist in waterfront, Schweitzer, and resort properties, my personal average sale has been in the $600s range. While I put the same hard work into helping all of my clients, regardless of price range, I believe that I am in the right position to help this niche of buyers and sellers. To discuss listing your property or to search for properties at Schweitzer, Lake Pend Oreille, Dover Bay, or others, visit www.SandpointResortRealty.com or email me at Rick@SandpointResortRealty.com.

Mandy, Trace, Bentley and I were looking for something to do on Sunday in this in-between Fall season...meaning in-between being able to go swimming in the lake or playing in the snow. So we took the short drive to Faragut State Park just a half hour or so south of Sandpoint.

I had been mountain biking a few times and had a blast on all the fast single track that lines Lake Pend Oreille but had never really taken the time to just walk around and explore. Faragut is really an amazingly beautiful spot on the south end of Lake Pend Oreille, near Bayview. This area is near where the lake hits about 1150 feet deep, and the mountains just shoot up from the water.

With the water level a bit low we were really able to enjoy hanging on the beach, feeding ducks, and my boy's favorite pasttime... throwing rocks in the water!

We did a bit of swinging at the kids park.

And we took a nice family hike on one of the many trails along the shoreline.

Next time we plan to campout in one of the great campgrounds they have set up at the park. Even better we'll make sure to have a boat there for the weekend, along with our bikes. Definitely another cool spot in North Idaho for the whole family!