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August 4, 2009

North Idaho Real Estate Analysis - July

I hope all is well with you this summer! It has been getting hot, a great time to grab friends and family and get on the LAKE! Go take advantage and enjoy what a great place North Idaho is in the summer. This monthly update I want to share information about: 1. Current Inventory, Sold’s, Month Supply 2. Total Market Overviews 3. Vacant Land 4. Foreclosures/Short Sales 5. Keller Williams LUAU Coming Up

1. Looking over July results, it appears fairly optimistic in line with the national housing results that were announced just recently. We sold 308 units in July 09’ (compared with 323, 08’). This is up over the 299 sold in June. The sales also follow the North Idaho trend of summer month sales more than double winter sales (Jan 09’ 120 units sold). If you look at the enclosed trend line stats, you will see what I am talking about. From here on out we can expect inventory to drop a little bit every month then start gaining momentum again in February. Currently, we are at 8,676 listings. If you are a seller, get your property listed to within the top 3 properties in your class (price,quality) if you want it to sell before winter. If you’re a buyer, this market is producing some incredible opportunity for primary residences in all price ranges. The $8,500 tax credit is still in effect until end of Nov. Also, on a side note, legislation just got passed, by Aug 15th loan servicers will begin to modify ANY FHA loans if the mortgagee applies and fits the profile (31% Front End Ratio, 55% Back End Debt) according to the Affordable Modification Program Letter 2009-23. Let me know if you would like more info.

2. Enclosed are the Total Market Overviews (TMO’s) for all of Kootenai County for CONDOS, MULTIFAMILY, and SINGLE FAM. Very interesting to look at, not much activity going on in the duplex/triplex fourplex realm, which may produce some opportunity in the coming year as inventory swells. As banks tighten lending even more, this may force more people to rent. I like the idea of big units 4+ bedrooms ect… Midrange condominiums 300-400K appears to be seeing some action. See the attached TMO’s. Kootenai County Total Market Overview

3. Vacant land inventory on our MLS is up over 3700 parcels available!!!! We sold 407 parcels in the last year. Here are 100 parcels over 80 acres. http://www.flexmls.com/link.html?ou3e0pn4ljn,7,1 You can view all of our land and search specifically for your needs at my http://www.LandCDA.com website.

4. Sellers are starting to price their properties similar to REO pricing. They have to in order to compete. Here is the current foreclosure list; 89 units available now. http://www.flexmls.com/link.html?ou3e0×99732,7,1 If you have interest, 208 REO’s sold in the last year for an average of $93/FOOT. Within 95% of list price. Average Days on Market is only 85 days for an REO, this includes escrow time AVG 45 days….See below for REO sold stats for first 200:

5. Keller Williams Luau – This is coming up Friday August 21, 2009 5-8pm and YOU are invited. 1044 NW BLVD. Food, music and a jumping tent for the adventurous. I hope to see you there!

Have a great remainder of August! As always, if you or anyone you know is looking to buy, sell, invest, lease, property in North Idaho please have them get in touch with me. I would love to work with them. I am always available. CELL 208-660-5785.

July 10, 2009

North Idaho Real Estate Analysis - June

The North Idaho Real Estate Market has seen an increase in sales the last couple of months – which is not surprising – North Idaho is a wonderful place to be in the summer. 282 units sold in June. The average days on market increased to 137 days and we are sitting on 29 months of inventory (8340 listings). If we compare ourselves with June 08’ we will see a 13% decrease in total unit sales and a 4% decrease in price (221K vs 212K). Not bad considering the nature of current economic conditions. Please see the enclosed PDF files which include a 2 year trend line of real estate inventory, sales and activity, average sold prices for the last two years, asking vs sold prices, ect. Also, included is the Keller Williams Total Market Overview. This gives all listing, pending and sales activity in every price range. Notice the pick up in activity in the $200-250K price range. I also have Market Overviews for each area and segment in our market (Condos, Post Falls, Sandpoint, Waterfront, Multi-Family, 1 Mil Plus), just let me know what you want and I will send it to you immediately.

REO LIST (84 Active, 8 Pending – 23 sold last month)

Foreclosures and Real Estate Owned by banks continue to keep downward pricing pressure on our active listings. The availability of foreclosures continues to increase every month, with more than a 20% pending ratio! See the list below:

http://www.flexmls.com/link.html?ot50u7tjy8e,7,1

Short Sale List (188 Active, 21 Pending – 19 sold last month)
I ran all the short sales sold in the last year. 70 total. Sellers ON AVERAGE reduced their prices 10% since initially offering their property. Then they averaged a 3.55% price reduction from the bank while in negotiations. This tells me that agents are getting the prices on the short sales below appraised value and close to what the banks will accept. View the list of short sales here:
http://www.flexmls.com/link.html?ot50ucmw7aj,7,1

Waterfront Listings (84 North Idaho Waterfront Listings)
Summer is a great time to be in North Idaho. Here is the latest in waterfront listings.

http://www.flexmls.com/link.html?ot512zgi5s8,7,1

The commercial market is engaging a record $480 BILLION in debt coming due. This is a large number (up to 10X) compared to the residential market!
“…thousands of office complexes, hotels, shopping centers and other commercial buildings are headed into defaults, foreclosures and bankruptcies. The reason: according to research firm Foresight Analytics LCC, $530 billion of commercial mortgages will be coming due for refinancing in the next three years — with about $160 billion maturing in the next year. Credit, meanwhile, is practically nonexistent and cash flows from commercial property are siphoning off.”

Why, you ask, does this affect the market? Well, if you own a commercial property, and you have a balloon payment coming up, traditionally you would refinance, and start the process again. The availability of funds to refinance has dried up and terms have gotten tougher. Understand the issue? It is going to put a strain on banks ability to fund not only commercial but residential, credit lines, ect… This may present some distressed sales/foreclosures in the commercial arena. STAY TUNED. To view the available commercial inventory now, visit my site updated nightly with newest listings:

http://www.NorthIdahoCommercial.com

Total Market Overview CDA

July 2, 2009

Post Falls Real Estate - 5 Acres w Home $239,950!

1739 16th Street (marked as 1925). Great buy in Post Falls. This property may be the best “acreage” deal in the Post Falls area. Priced aggressively at $239,950, this home boasts almost 1600 SQ/FT and nestled on 5 fenced and cross fenced acres. Includes a horse stall (shed) and a shop. If your looking for space, and don’t mind a little “fixing” up, check out this property. Complete property profile here:
http://www.flexmls.com/link.html?ot38fihcxbn,7,1

Post Falls Real Estate 16th Street Flyer

June 6, 2009

Idaho in top 5 in Nation for Lower Unemployment

This is a great snippet about Idaho being a state that may show employment numbers that actually improve. This is good for housing. In North Idaho, we are better off than the average national unemployment rate. See the article below.

5 States Moving on to LOWER Unemployment

In a report from Moody’s, projections are that 5 states expect an increase in private employment by the fourth quarter 2009. Due to the density of high tech jobs in the northwest, the region is well positioned to spark the rise in employment.

Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Texas and Washington are all expected to show improved employment. Texas jobs will improve due to the oil industry but the other states will benefit from their technology industries. Another factor adding to better conditions in these states is the fact that residents have better than average household credit ratings. Analysts expect the housing market to improve in these states first.

March 23, 2009

Existing Home Sales UP!

Across the nation real estate existing home sales are up. There are more properties selling now that prices are dropping to levels that buyers feel comfortable. We are seeing that in the North Idaho real estate environment as well. Prices have been dropping and we are seeing a huge level of buyer activity, particularly in the sub 175K range.

I was in some new construction model homes this weekend with real estate clients (Hawks Nest, Viking Construction and Hallmark Homes (I wrote 3 offers on Saturday). I was observing that there was a constant stream of buyers coming in. I think North Idaho real estate will be picking up starting now. Looking at the total market overview, we are at a 20% pending ratio for sub 175K homes (number of listed to number of pending), which is very strong compared to the last couple of months. If you would like a copy of this weeks Kootenai County Total Market Overview (TMO), just let me know and I will send you a copy.

January 23, 2009

The markets are turbulent these days.

Filed under: Real Estate Market — Tags: , , , , — T.J. Barnhart @ 8:00 pm

Many people were saying Idaho realestate markets were going to get better after the election, well, I am stillwaiting.  North Idaho Real Estate in particular had a rough October.October 07 we sold 397 units, October 08 we sold 242.  An interesting fact,between the price ranges of 400K-450K in NORTH IDAHO, there is 1 pendingsale.  However, the good news; property is still moving.  It may be a greattime take advantage of some of these opportunities.  Below, I am goingthrough two aspects/opportunities of the market, SHORT SALES, andMULTI-FAMILY.  Also, attached is the most complete North Idaho Real EstateMarket SNAPSHOT for your own analysis (I’ve left out land and commercial inthis report – contact me with specific questions).

Short Sales

Short sales continue to infiltrate our market.  A strategy that is surfacingin short sales includes approaching the seller with an offer of 50-60% ofmarket value. The listing agent then present’s the seller’s information tothe bank, starting the short sale process (could take 6+ weeks).  If thebank accepts then the investor gets to buy a property for a great price, ifthe bank counters, the listing agent now knows at what price to market theproperty and the investor does not have to commit OR the investor may beable to SELL THE OPTION to purchase.  A win-win.  If you have interest intrying this approach, let me know.  To see a list of short sale properties,see the below link:

http://www.flexmls.com/link.html?m6o82texya5,7,1

North Idaho MULTIFAMILY Analyis

Filed under: Real Estate Market — Tags: , , , , — T.J. Barnhart @ 3:43 pm

I just got done doing a nice spreadsheet on all Multi-Family values and
analysis in the North Idaho Region.  If you’re a numbers person and would
like to see the data:
(http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p7YWI7QubFKYgPpDoBre2PA)

There are currently 88 active Multi-Family listings in Kootenai County:

49 Coeur d’ Alene

29 Post Falls

5 Hayden

11 MF LAND LISTINGS ACTIVE – 59K (1 Unit) – 600K (21 units)

These range from duplexes to a 14 plex.  The Key Statistics are as follows:

The average price per unit is $109,000.

For sale at $92.95/SQ/FT.

The average multifamily property is for sale at $321,000, has 3 units.

Average Day on Market - 159

Sold Data

45 Total MF units sold in the last year in Kootenai County from 11-05-07 –
Current

Average Sold Price/Unit $96744 (Duplex)

Average Sold $77.00/SQ/FT

The average multifamily property sold for $208,135 for Duplex built in 1979
in CDA

Average Day on Market 125

11 MF LAND LISTINGS SOLD – 44K – 363K

What this tells me is MF properties priced below 90K/unit is a nice buy…See
the list for some of the opportunities in our area

Copyright 2009 - T.J. Barnhart, Keller Williams Coeur d'Alene. Equal Housing Opportunity Provider.
  All information on this website is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.