Packed In: ‘Nothing like we’ve seen’: Coeur d’Alene is the hottest housing market in the country, and it’s changing the area

RATHDRUM, Idaho — Realtor.com just ranked Coeur d’Alene as the hottest housing market in the U.S. More people want to call the picturesque town home, and people are willing to pay top dollar to do so. Home prices have risen 47% in the last year, making the median price for a home $476,000. Nearby towns are starting to feel those effects, too.

The Peterson family bought this three-bedroom, 2.5 bath home on 5 acres in Rathdrum four years ago. They thought it would be their forever home, but this hot housing market created an opportunity they couldn’t pass up. They’re listing the home for $975,000 and are hopeful they’ll get even more than that.

“I’m very excited to have this opportunity to be able to sell our house at the price that we’re going to sell it at,” said Seneca Peterson. “I’m confident that we’ll get over $975,000. I’m sure there’s going to be a bit of a bidding war.”

When their home sells, they’re going to be able to retire early and spend more time with their children before they leave for college.

Homes like this are flying off the market, and local realtor Janna McRoy has seen buyers put in offers $75,000 higher than the asking price in cities like Post Falls. There just isn’t enough supply of homes for how many people want to call North Idaho home. The Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors says there’s been a 71% decrease of homes in the past year, leaving less than a month’s supply.

“Less than one month’s supply means that we have over 11 buyers for every home that hits the market, and that’s growing daily,” McRoy said.

She’s been in a realtor for over 2o years and has never seen anything like this before.

“It’s nothing like we’ve seen now especially in this area,” McRoy said. “Sellers are feeling overwhelmed, and buyers are just feeling really grateful when they do finally get an offer approved after months of putting offers in and getting rejected.”

To avoid that, people are skipping home inspections and buying homes without ever stepping foot inside. They’ll see the property online and make an offer. A concern, however, is who’s purchasing the homes. According to Realtor.com, about 70% of the page views on homes in the area are from out-of-state buyers, which is leaving out locals.

“Kids that are just graduating college wanting to buy their first home and they can’t because they just can’t afford it,” McRoy said. “Wages haven’t caught up with the home prices, so that is a definite challenge for our locals.”

McRoy says if you’re in the market to buy, you need to find a good agent who can help you strategize a plan for maneuvering this market. Also, make sure not to get too attached to one home because you may get let down. Other nearby cities seeing increased growth are Post Falls and Hayden.

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