You really touched a topic close to mine and my husband’s heart recently asking about home prices. I’m a teacher and he’s a railroad maintenance worker and we really don’t know when or if we’ll ever be able to own a couple of acres of North Idaho property like we’ve always dreamed of. We bought a starter house five years ago with the plan of building equity, which we did more than anticipated, but we would be house broke if we moved anywhere that fits our vision. And it’s not like we have hundred-acre ranch with a mansion wants. Just a couple of acres and a decent house. We’re tight in our 1200 sq ft home in Post Falls right now with the addition of our daughter and our two dogs. We’re incredibly grateful we live in an awesome community and we do currently have a nice house and backyard, but it’s so deflating. I can’t even grasp how much homes are going for right now. We even went as far north as Spirit Lake and couldn’t find anything that we could afford that fit what we were hoping for.

–Kandace, Post Falls ID

My husband and I entered the market as first-time homebuyers last year only to realize the majority of houses were above our price range. More buyers were coming into the market with cash offers above the asking price and the offers we submitted couldn’t compete. We realized we needed to look outside the area if we wanted to be able to purchase a home. We are currently renting from a local woman who has kept her rents at what is affordable versus the current market price, a very rare find these days. We were born and raised in the Coeur d Alene area and wanted to raise our kids here but with the current market, it’s no longer an option for us. I understand the appeal of Coeur d Alene so I can’t blame others for moving here but I wish there were more options for first-time buyers. 

–Sarah, Coeur d’Alene ID

My husband and I are renters and business owners in Coeur d Alene. We have lived in CDA since 2014 but have been a part of the community before moving here. This year, our landlords decided to sell the home where we lived as it was their investment property. We were surprised at how all of the prices have increased and how few options there were of places to move. Places that were significantly smaller ended up being over $750 more per month than what we had been paying. We were concerned that we were priced out of the area. 

Thankfully, we have a neighbor who had moved out of the area that offered for us to rent from them for 2 years (starting last month) so we are still here for now. It is sad to me that people who are dedicated to serving the community could be priced out of the area and then the community loses that kind of dedicated service. My hope is that those who are living here and able to own in this market would step up to take my place when that time comes.

I have been so grateful to live in CDA and to serve our community while I am still able to live here. I am grateful that I (we) have the opportunity to continue to be here, at least for another 2 years.  After that, I don’t know.

–Sherilyn, Coeur d’Alene ID