When we posted the Q1 sales numbers for "luxury waterfront property" in Coeur d'Alene, we didn't mention any numbers about the "non-waterfront luxury properties" in Coeur d'Alene. An equally important sector, we define these properties as Residential Homes priced from $500,000 plus and Vacant Land priced $95,000 plus. Many of these types of properties can be found at some of the luxury golf communities around the area such as The Club at Black Rock or Gozzer Ranch as this sector includes waterview properties, golf community property and homes priced in the fine home category.

It is important to keep in mind that we do not represent any of this data as accurate as we simply pull the numbers from the Coeur d'Alene MLS and do not fact check them for accuracy, duplicates or errors. Also, some organizations, such as Black Rock Properties do not report sales to the MLS so there is a high probability that the actual number of closed sales is infact higher than what is reported. As with any reporting system, there will be errors.

Here is a quick look at the numbers as of March 31, 2010:

Residential Homes ($500,000+)

• Current Active Listings - 707
• Number of Pending Sales - 29
• Year-to-date Closed - 21
• Year-to-date 2009 Closed - 12
• Year-to-date % Change - +75%

Vacant Land ($95,000+)

• Current Active Listings - 1,842
• Number of Pending Sales - 31
• Year-to-date Closed - 30
• Year-to-date 2009 Closed - 22
• Year-to-date % Change - +36%

Once again, while we see significant increases in both categories of real estate in Coeur d'Alene, vacant land still has a long way to go as the market begins to correct. It is very positive that we see sales in each category increasing significantly, but the amount of inventory is a bit frightening if you are looking to sell your home in the Coeur d'Alene market. For buyers, however, they have a virtually unlimited number of choices.

When we glanced over the list of closed transactions, we saw that the overwhelming majority of homes that closed in these price points were in fact good deals. They were quality homes that represented fair replacement values and in some cases absolute steals. What this means is that many homes listed in these price points probably don't belong and if you price your home correctly for the market and represent good value, your chances of selling will significantly increase.