COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A development planned in Coeur d’Alene Place is projected to offer new condominiums for less than $400,000, as reported by our news partners, the Coeur d'Alene Press.
“So that is like mind-blowing,” said Sharla Jones, Greenstone sales manager. “Crazy that that still exists. But there will be those there, which is pretty exciting.”
Jones outlined Greenstone’s development that calls for three, 12-unit buildings with two- and three-bedroom condos. Ground floor units will have an attached two-car garage, while second-floor units will have a detached one-car garage.
They are expected to come up for sale next month.
“We've been kicking around pricing, and I will just say that it will be under 400,” Jones said.
She was one of several representatives of home builders that presented plans and information about upcoming projects at a program organized by the Women’s Council of Realtors.
About 75 people attended the luncheon at the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn.
On hand were representatives of Greenstone, Architerra, Aspen Homes, Atlas Building Group, Monarch Custom Homes, Selkirk Construction, Viking Homes and Tuff Shed.
Housing plans for Kootenai County and Liberty Lake were outlined. Many builders face the challenges of rising cost of materials and land, and a labor shortage.
New construction is trying to keep up with demand, but that’s a huge task these days.
According to the Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors, there were only 192 active Kootenai County listings as of March 10. Through February, 355 Kootenai County homes had sold, down 10% from the same time last year.
The median home price in Kootenai County was $520,000, up 25% from a year ago, according to the CAR.
Nick Forsberg is the owner of Atlas Building Group that’s been around about seven years. He said they have land at the Atlas waterfront development along the Spokane River near Riverstone for higher-end homes, and have land near Rathdrum for more-affordable homes. It also expects to start building an 18-unit project near Coeur d’Alene High School this summer
“We've been trying to diversify,” Forsberg said.
The Rathdrum development is expected to have 1,600- to 2,700-square-foot homes in the $600,000 to $800,000 range.
Large garages are part of the plan.
“North Idaho, obviously we have many boys out here. We like to put stuff in places,” Forsberg said.
Mandi Fowler, sales representative with Monarch Custom Homes, said the place and type of land affects the price.
“If you pick a lot that's on the side of the hill, and it has clay or those types of things, that can really affect that per-square-foot price,” she said.
“So while living on the side of the hill with a beautiful view looks appealing, it's amazing, it can shoot that per-square-foot-price significantly,” she said.
Brittany Haug of Selkirk Construction said they build custom homes and are "shifting gears a little more and branching” into semi-custom homes.
“We've also been strategically recognizing that pricing is insane. So we've been working physically with our design team, our architects, to design some homes that are a little bit more semi-custom, that can help us break costs down a little bit,” Haug said.
She said Selkirk is traditionally a fixed-cost builder.
“However, as you all know, pricing has changed drastically. And it constantly is something that we're battling against,” Haug said.
Selkirk, like other builders, has implemented escalation clauses into contracts.
“It all comes down to clear communication. We understand that going into a project with an escalation clause can be concerning,” she said.
Becky Randles is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty and a listing agent with Viking Homes. She said they are building in Post Falls, Rathdrum and Hayden.
She said they are building spec homes — new, move-in-ready homes. She said they don’t get into multiple offers or bidding wars for homes.
“Viking knows the true real cost to build the house and can look at that and, of course, look at the market,” she said.
Spec homes run about $250 per square foot.
“That's what we decided to do and we're sticking to that," Randles said. "The negative part is you don't get to choose. But the positive part is you also aren't in a bidding war. So it’s been pretty well received.”
Randles said it’s a tight market, but encouraged those hoping to buy a home to keep looking and put their name on waiting lists.
“You might be surprised and you're the one who actually gets the next call,” she said.
Jones said Greenstone is also going to be building Trutina, a gated, 55-plus community at North Place in Post Falls. It will have about 200 homes.
It has a Trutina development at the River District in Liberty Lake. Base pricing on presale homes ranges from $389,000 to $517,000. Move-in-ready spec homes range from $565,000 to $637,000.
Sheds are in demand, too.
Zach Forbes assistant manager with Tuff Shed in Spokane, said the nationwide company is targeting $8 million in sales this year.
He said the area is adding, “one beautiful house at a time and one beautiful shed at a time, too.”
Forbes said people waiting for housing prices to drop, shouldn’t. He said the beauty of the area, the values, the culture, make it “kind of the last frontier.”
”It's gonna continue to go up,” he said.
The Coeur d'Alene Press is a KREM 2 news partner. For more from our partners, click here.