Kootenai County home prices soaring

Kootenai County home prices moved into record territory in February, with the average sales price eclipsing $183,000.

Realtors predict that the run-up in prices will last through the summer months.

“I don’t see any end in sight to increases,” Richard Kohles, president of the Coeur d’Alene Multiple Listing Service said Monday. “This is the newest, and the strangest market, that many experienced Realtors have ever seen.”

In January, the average sales price was $175,519. A year ago, it was not quite $146,000.

Low inventory is contributing to the sharp increase in prices. With less than 1,100 homes on the market, buyers are competing for good properties.

Kohles hesitates to use the term “bidding war.” But some buyers are starting to write “escalation clauses” into their offers. If they really want the house, they’ll agree to pay $500 or $1,000 more than the highest offer received by the seller, he said.

Builders are also affected by rising home prices. Some appraisals for new construction are coming back $30,000 or even $40,000 higher than the original sales price, Kohles said.

That’s most typical for homes with an eight- or 10 month construction cycle, said Ryan Olson, the marketing director for Viking Construction in Hayden.

At Viking, there’s usually a five- to six month wait after the contract is signed, and when the buyer can move in, he said.

“For every house we do, basically someone could turn around and sell it for $10,000 more,” Olson said.

An increase in inventory could have a moderating effect on the growth in sales prices, said Pat Hartman, a Realtor with Century 21 Beutler and Associates in Post Falls.

“I’m not seeing prices come down,” she said. “We expect them to continue to rise, though not at that 20 percent rate.”

In Kootenai County, the number of homes for sale tends to rise during the late spring and summer. People like to put their homes on the market when they look the best – when the grass is green and the flowers are blooming, Realtors said.