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

What are the best values for condos and homes at Schweitzer Mountain? This is a question that I always get from prospective Schweitzer buyers, and I take pride in having found and negotiated some tremendous deals for Schweitzer buyers in the past couple years. Today was the annual Schweitzer property tour for our Selkirk MLS, where we had a chance to preview 38 listings before the ski season gets started.

The best values to me overall are in the middle price levels, from $400 to $600k. Also I would encourage people to consider some of the condos and homes that are not necessarily ski-in/ski-out, as the price/value gets much better for some of these units. The Schweitzer Recreation District started a free ski shuttle on the mountain last season, picking people up from their residences within 15 minutes of calling. There is also a new ski bridge at the end of Telemark Road that makes the ski access to Musical Chairs way better than before for property owners in this neighborhood.

Following are the properties that stood apart as being very good values relative to everything else on Schweitzer:

115 Crystal Run #10 - $299,021 -- 1600 sft, 2bdr, 3 bath -- Ski in/Ski out -- this is definitely one of the best buys on the market in my opinion. Located just above the Village with the ski trail to its door - nothing in this price range on the ski trail other than Selkirk Lodge. There are no rental restrictions. The downstairs garage was converted into a separate studio along with a hot tub room. You could rent out the studio separate from the upstairs main condo. This is a bit dated but you could fix it up pretty nicely.

Snowdrift Condo #B2, listed at $279,000, 750sft, 2/1. Snowdrift is located on the left just before entering the Main Village parking lot. This unit has been completely redone, and the ski and village access is great.

130 Stella Lane #202 -- not on tour, trustee sale taking place on 12/23 with First American. My sources tell me the bank would accept $215,000. The property next door is listed at $385k, near the most recent sale.

20 Snowghost, Cedar Ridge unit 2- $589,000, 2007 sft, 3/3. Very nice unit sold furnished including a huge flat screen, two story townhouse next to the St Bernard with good ski access from the trail behind Chapel Point.

Cornice Condos #202 - $349,000, 1330 sft, 2/2. Very nice, vaulted ceiling, 2+ loft, big jacuzzi tub in master bath, furnished, big fireplace; ski access is average but a very nice place for the money.

369 Telemark Road-- $495,000 -- 2268 sft, single family house, lake views, very nice open floor plan. This is a great house and one of my favorite places on the mountain. The ski access is much better now with the new bridge at the end of Telemark Road. One of the rare single family homes available, meaning no HOA, no rental restrictions or rules. Also has a good rental history.

205 Ullr - $550,000 -- Beautiful residence with high vaulted ceiling near The Ridge. Finishings are very high end including Viking appliances and hydronic flooring. 4bdr 3 bath, 2628 sft. A creek runs by the property. One of the nicer places on the mountain.

Whiplash Circle #10-- $339,000-- also at The Ridge, 9 of the 12 of these condos have sold, with the most recent closing at $365,000. 3bdr, 2.5 bath, and 1918 sft makes it best price per square foot at Schweitzer.

Granite Peaks -- several units still available, now at short sale prices starting at $359,000 for 1700 sft with high end finishes and near Schweitzer Village. Problem was the landscape engineering from the beginning, but these challenges have apparently been addressed.

Also noteworthy is that Schweitzer Resort is moving forward rapidly on the first three homes in their new neighborhood above the Village. Two of these will be sold as 1/8 fractions supposedly under $200k per fraction. The homes look beautiful at this point with unbelievable views. Schweitzer has done a nice job replatting the former Trappers Creek neighborhood into all single family residences, with a new plan that seems to make sense for the market.

For all of the details on any of the above, visit my website at www.SandpointResortRealty.com and go to Property Search. Or call me at 208-304-5665 or email Rick@SandpointResortRealty.com to schedule a tour.

I have to admit I am just now jumping on the bandwagon to support our Sandpoint High School football team. I really hadn't been to any high school games that I can remember....well, probably since I was in high school myself.

But high school football in Sandpoint is really a fun and exciting event. We live just a couple blocks from Memorial Field, and I remember earlier in the season hearing an incredible amount of noise coming from the stadium. I had walked down with my dog and my son to check it out, and saw a completely packed house of raving fans cheering on the local high school team.

This support seems to be there for every home game. I have tried to stop in to check it out when I'm around. And its always a good time, with seemingly everyone in town showing up to suppor the team. To me this is quintessential small town living at its best, and I love it!

I'm encouraging my fifteen month old son to pay close attention, as this year's team is pretty awesome. They just won their semi-final game of the 4A division Idaho State High School Playoffs, 20-8, over Hillcrest. This puts them in the State Finals for 4A, which takes place on Nov 20 in Moscow, against Blackfoot HS. I believe this is the first finals appearance for the school in about 15 or 20 years!

We learned some interesting stats at our weekly meeting for Tomlinson Sandpoint Sothebys Intl Realty. Total real estate sales in our MLS year to date is actually slightly more this year than it was in 2002. So why do so many realtors feel so poor right now...because there are So Many Realtors.

In 2002 there were 73 producing Agents (those who had at least one closed transaction), sharing a total of $245 million in revenues (year to date through October). In 2003 there were 79 producing agents in the Selkirk MLS, producing YTD revenues of $325 million. The average Agent that year made $83,000. In 04 as the market was beginning to heat up, there were 107 agents earning an average income of $103 million. The market continued to heat up into early 2007, and has slowed off since then.

THis year there has been $309 million in closed transactions, close to the 2003 mark which at the time was considered an excellent year. This dispels the notion that sales transactions are significantly low and that there is no activity. The big difference however, is that this 309 mil has been shared among 218 Agents, making an average income of just $28,000.

Another factor for us Realtors is that we are spending a great deal more money to market ourselves and our listings than we did 5 or 10 years ago.

What we are seeing right now in this market is many Realtors leaving the business. As difficult as this process is, it seems to be a natural part of the economic cycle and is a painful necessity. The market is likely to remain below where it had been in the boom years from 04 thru 06, which means those of us planning to stay in the business have to buckle down and survive.

As I was getting ready for a quick mountain bike ride the other day, our dog Bentley (a Shih Tzu) gave me the full guilt trip for leaving him at home. I wasn't looking to work too hard anyway, so I figured I'd bring him along and at least let him run around for a bit before or after my ride.

We drove to the trailhead off of Pine Street Loop just past Syringa, and I figured I'd go ahead and ride half a mile in on the flatter part and let Bentley chase after me. I almost turned back in the first couple minutes as he was already falling behind. But every time I started to go back for him he would be coming around the corner. Long story short, we ended up at the top of this fairly substantial climb that ends just off of Janish Drive several miles away. I almost called my wife to meet me at the road to take my little dog back home. But he just seemed to have his A game going, so I headed down and he followed. I was absolutely shocked- this is a pretty fast and long downhill, and Bentley just scampered over everything and basically stayed with me all the way to the car.

What a stud! I'd like to see another Shih Tzu that can hang like that!

Incidentally, this is a great local Sandpoint ride that not many people know about. There are a bunch of ways to go, but essentially this is single track that connects all the way from Pine Street Loop to Janish Drive (way up Baldy Road). There are some relatively technical sections and also tons of fast and fun riding.

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