Before the Snow Flies: Fall 2026 Residential Real Estate Market Update

Navigating the Local Real Estate Market in North Idaho

The kids are back in school and the valley has a new color to it. The cottonwoods along the Kootenai are turning yellow, the fields are being harvested, and before long the first dusting of snow will show up on the Selkirks. Our corner of the world is slowing down, but only a little.

There is something about fall here that asks you to take your time. Cool mornings call for a jacket, and by afternoon you are shedding it again. A drive along the back roads shows color in every direction, gold and red scattered through the deep green timber. It is the kind of day that reminds you why you live here, or why you want to.

For a lot of families, fall means hunting season, putting up the garden, stacking firewood, and getting the place ready for winter. There is a quiet satisfaction in that work, the kind that comes from knowing you are ready for whatever the season brings.

Fall is a good season in real estate, too. Buyers have more homes to choose from and more time to decide than they have had in years, and the ones still looking are serious about getting settled before winter. If you are thinking about a move, or simply curious what your home might be worth, we are here to answer any questions and to help however we can.

Thank you for staying connected with us. It is an honor to serve this community we call home.

The tamaracks are beginning to turn; there is a crisp bite to the morning air, and the smoke has finally settled. The summer crowd is thinning out. The market has not.

On September 10, the National Association of REALTORS released the August numbers, and its chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said this: "The ample supply of homes for sale on the market is giving homebuyers better opportunities to negotiate." Four days later, Realtor.com named September 27 through October 3 the best week of the year to buy a home, pointing to more listings, less competition, and prices about 3.5% off their seasonal peak. Their senior economist, Hannah Jones, said buyers heading into fall will find "more choices and less urgency." Both of those are true, and neither one expires on October 3. What they look like locally is a little more complicated.

The median asking price of a home for sale in Boundary County today is $593,000. The median price of the homes that actually sold in the past year is $480,000. That gap is real. For several years, the market was flush with eager buyers, allowing for ambitious pricing. The buyers are still here, but the rates have changed the budgets.

The median household income in Boundary County is about $67,000. At 6.95%, with 20% down and a payment a lender would call comfortable, that household is shopping right around $300,000. There are only 8 homes for sale in this county under $300,000; most need significant work and will not qualify for standard financing. 157 homes sold in the county over the past twelve months. 47 of them never changed their price. Those sold in a median of 41 days, for 100% of what they first asked. The other 110 reduced along the way. Those took 99 days, and they finished at about 93.5% of where they started. Same county, same season, same buyers. The homes priced right on day one sold in six weeks at full asking. The ones that started high spent two and a half more months getting there and gave up $35,000, plus two more months of keeping the house spotless and leaving at the drop of a hat for showings. Two more months of plans on hold. The price cut is the smallest part of the bill. A reduction rarely rescues the price. It usually just arrives after the frustrating wait.

This is not an argument for pricing low but rather for pricing right. Homes that sell here are finishing closer to their original asking price than in any year since 2021. It is an argument for spending real time on the number before the sign goes up. The first three weeks are the ones that count. If you are buying, this is your season. October is one of the busiest closing months of the year.