ASK THE BROKER JANUARY 2023

Sitting down with Pat Krug, co-owner and designated broker at Windermere Coeur d’Alene. Pat has been in the real estate business for more than 38 years. She was actually one of the very first real estate agents in the area to have their own website!
 
It’s the beginning of 2023, the market is in a different place than we have seen the last few years, what is the advice that you would give to anyone who is on the fence about the decision about buying or selling their home?
 
“The first question I would have for someone who is considering buying would be, how would owning a home affect your quality of life?.. What would it mean for you to own your own home? You could now have a dog, your own yard, your own choice of paint color, that real sense of ownership But, to look more at the big picture, buying a home is truly an investment.
 
Thinking about the quality of life you could build with the equity your home can accumulate in 10 years.
 
Also asking them to think about the fact that you could be paying their own mortgage, instead of paying their landlord’s mortgage. I always encourage anyone who is on the fence about buying to contact their local lender and find out what their payment would be compared to the rent that they are paying right now. They may be able to buy a bigger house than they are currently living in, for less of a payment. The median rental price for a 3-bedroom house in Coeur d’Alene right now is $2531 per month, according to zumper.com.
 
The word on the street is that the market has crashed, but it hasn’t. The market has actually balanced out to what we are used to pre-pandemic. I would encourage sellers to take a look past the slower sales and focus on the fact that prices surged during the pandemic and though that rise has slowed and, in some case, leveled off, the values gained in the past 2 years are still intact. And buyers, now have so many more choices. There are more homes on the market, less competition from out of area buyers and mortgage rates have leveled out and dropped a bit.
 
What I would like everyone, potential buyers and potential sellers to take from this is that a balanced market is great for buyers, but sellers also still have that increased value in their homes, making it a great time to either buy or sell a home. And the good news is that when you work with a Windermere agent, you have a trusted professional on your side guiding you to success in a complicated market.”
 
Below is the current local market snapshot. Reach out to your trusted Windermere agent to discuss your options further.
 
Coeur d’Alene Area
 
Active Listings 2022 1781 2021 1749 +1.8%
 
Median Sales Price 2022 $580,000 2021 $525,000 + 10.48%
 
Average Sales Price 2022 $748,802 2021 $696,208 +7.55
 
Residential Units Sold 2022 1129 2021 1469 -23%
 
Post Falls Area
 
Active Listings 2022 1432 2021 1573 -9%
 
Median Sales Price 2022 $520,000 2021 $450,000 + 15.56%
 
Average Sales Price 2022 $554,774 2021 $493,557 +12.4%
 
Residential Units Sold 2022 990 2021 1363 -27.4%
 
Hayden Area
 
Active Listings 2022 748 2021 812 -7.9%
 
Median Sales Price 2022 $600,000 2021 $546,531 +9.78%
 
Average Sales Price 2022 $737,796 2021 $659,103 +11.94%
 
Residential Units Sold 2022 497 2021 670 -25.8%
 
Rathdrum Area
 
Active Listings 2022 747 2021 769 -2.9%
 
Median Sales Price 2022 $525,000 2021 $450,000 +16.67%
 
Average Sales Price 2022 $618,860 2021 $513,884 +20.43%
 
Residential Units Sold 2022 421 2021 644 -35.6%