THE REAL ESTATE ROLLERCOASTER IS STILL RISING but the climb is not as steep

from Sandpoint Magazine | Summer 2023

Milestones

Spring is finally here after a long winter and I see a resilient market with adjustments for the current conditions,” said Lisa Travers, president of the Selkirk Association of Realtors. “We live in one of the most desirable areas in the country,” she added. “[and] some equilibrium seems to be returning to our market as buyers absorb the costs associated with home ownership in North Idaho and sellers realize that they need to adjust prices to a normalized state in order to sell in the current climate.”

So what does that mean as far as our market is concerned? Prices are still going up, but not as sharply as they have done in the past. Looking at the seven-month period between last September and April, and comparing it to that same period the year prior, the average sales price for all properties sold in Bonner and Boundary counties rose only 3 percent; in the city of Sandpoint, the increase was 8 percent.

“Sandpoint is the hub of our area and most people that are looking to live in ‘town’ seem to prefer Sandpoint over the outlying areas,” said Travers. “[This is] due to reasons such as work opportunities, schools, medical care, shopping, and entertainment. Home prices have held and appreciated in this market due to demand, and there are a substantial number of new building starts that should be absorbed fairly easily.”

Living in Sandpoint has benefits, but for area workers, prices are tough. “Affordable housing continues to be a pervasive issue, with a lot of local and middle income buyers being pushed out of the housing market,” Travers said. “Increasing interest rates have done even more harm to this demographic by reducing their capacity to buy.” All indicators, however, show interest rates may only rise slightly this spring, and then stabilize or even fall slightly by end of summer, which will help.

“Vacant land is still selling if priced right as builders, well drillers, and other contractors are starting to have room in their schedules again. However, the cost of building remains inflated so, again, development cost factors definitely weigh on a buyer’s mind as they purchase vacant land,” Travers said. Those factors aside, a drive down many roads where previously there were few homes will show new construction on the rise.

Bottom line? North Idaho is where a lot of people want to be, so expect home prices to remain high for the foreseeable future, and to see more efforts at providing affordable housing for the area’s workers.

– Trish Gannon