As we close out the month of January, the real estate transactions show signs of recovery for prices. There were 14 closings in the month of January this year, with 2 of them being commercial/industrial, 1 vacant land, 2 condos, 8 residential and 1 being residential with acreage. The total volume of these sales came to $3,025,901 with a median price of $335,001. Last month the median price of property sold was at $289,900, so this month has seen an increase of almost 15% in median price.

When buying real estate in McCall one of the most important considerations is the interest rate you will be paying. Mortgage rates didn’t fluctuate too much this week, dropping only slightly in some cases while the conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate held unchanged at 4.94 percent for the week, Bankrate.com reports.

Bankrate.com reports the following average rates:
• 15-year fixed mortgages fell to 4.29 percent.
• Large jumbo 30-year fixed rates dropped slightly to 5.57 percent.
• 5-year adjustable rate mortgages fell to 3.88 percent.

“The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has been particularly docile, with the average rate fluctuating less than one-tenth of a percentage point over the past month,” according to Bankrate.com. “A heavy dose of economic data and ongoing debt issuance by the U.S. Treasury have the potential to introduce some volatility to mortgage rates over the next week.”

Mortgage rates have remained at historic lows for several years. The last time mortgage rates were above 6 percent was November 2008.

This Make now a great time to be a vacation home buyer in McCall.

Source: “Bankrate: Mortgage Rates Mostly Lower,” Bankrate.com (Jan. 13, 2011)

Is McCall ready for the comeback? With the return of operations at Tamarack ski resort, will the overall Market in the valley pick up. If national trends show anything then we could well be on our way.

Vacation communities across the United States are showing big signs of a rebounding real estate market, reporting soaring sales at levels that have not been been seen since the days of the housing boom, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The increase has been driven by deep discounts and cash purchases, analysts say.

The following is a sampling of vacation-home communities that saw an increase last year (percentage is the increase in home sales from 2009 to 2010):

Barnstable County, Cape Cod, Mass.: 9 percent
Hilton Head, S.C.: 13.6 percent
Mercer Island, Wash. (waterfront): 181.8 percent
Palm Beach, Fla.: 39.3 percent

National Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun attributes the increase to gains in the stock market and an overall improving economy. He says prices in these areas have come down so much that there’s been high demand for these properties among buyers, particularly in areas with stable labor markets.

source: Market for Vacation Homes Is On the Rise The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 10, 2011)

It sure seems like the bargains are being snapped up in hurry.

Housing starts will probably reach a three-year high of 739,000 in 2011, creating about 500,000 jobs and helping trim the unemployment rate to 9.1 percent, said David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, in an interview with Bloomberg.

“This is an ugly economic cycle,” he said. “We need job creation to get people comfortable with buying a home. If they do that, we’ll create jobs that will reinforce that home buying and fuel additional job growth.”

Job growth in other sectors, as well as population growth, will also likely have an effect. The number of U.S. households will rise 0.7 percent to 118.7 million in 2011, the largest annual gain since the beginning of the housing crisis in 2007. Charles Lieberman,

The CEO of luxury home builder Toll Brothers is optimistic. “The recovery is here to stay,” said Douglas Yearley. “I think 2011 will be an improving year, but I think 2012 will be a big year for us.”

via NAR Source: Bloomberg, Joshua Zumbrun and Kathleen M. Howley (12/28/2010)

McCall housing numbers for the month of December were down from last month. There have been 12 homes closed for McCall during the month of December so far with a minimum sold price of $64,900, maximum sold price of $750,000 giving us an average sold price of $256,940.

In November we saw 29 homes close in McCall with a minimum sold price of $36,000, maximum sold price of $2,750,000 giving us an average sold price of $306,885.

These numbers are not surprising considering many of the November sales went into contract during the fall, which is McCall’s hottest real estate season. By December, we usually don’t see activity pick up again until after Christmas.

What is interesting when we look back at 2010 and compare what type of property is selling this year verses 2009, we see a large increase in the number of condos or townhomes sold this year over last. 47 Condos or Townhomes closed in 2010 over double of what sold last year. Quite a significant drop of Commercial sales in 2010, only 3 sales compared to last year’s 33 closings. The single family residential sales were about the same from one year to the next with 163 closings so far in 2010 and 156 for 2009. Overall numbers year over year: in 2009 a total of 239 properties sold in McCall area for $68,743,128 and year to date for 2010 a total of 292 properties have sold in McCall area for $62,543,214. Even in down economies or buyers markets, real estate is a big industry.

The McCall Idaho 2010 fiscal year ended September 30, 2010. The McCall City Building Official issued 186 building permits this fiscal year. The total value for the McCall building permits totaled $17,807,000. The average value was approximately $101,000. Twenty nine (29) EDU permits were issued which means this permits required water and sewer hook-ups. This is new construction that did not already have a water or sewer connections. This is an increase from the number of EDUs and value in 2009. Some of the commercial construction activity included construction at the McCall Memorial Hospital, Woody’s restaurant, and the new Lutheran Church. There were many permits for residential remodels, additions and decks. There were numerous permits for the construction of single family homes in Spring Mountain Meadows, and permits in various locations throughout the City and Impact Area. The Boise non-p rofit The Housing Company pulled building permits for the affordable apartment buildings currently under construction near Jacob Street. This project is going for LEED certification.

McCall Building Permit Activity (2005-2010)

EDU= Equivalent Dwelling Unit

Source: Community development news letter.

McCall Idaho housing numbers for the month of September. We saw 30 residential properties sold for a total volume $9,718,750. The average price sales price was $323,958 and the median housing price was $572,000. The average days on market was 156. In McCall this month there seems to be two stand out sales that skewed the numbers.

This is house sold for $2,275,000

This house sold for $1,825,000

McCall housing numbers for the month of august. We saw 16 residential properties sold for a total volume $4,758,080. The average price was $297,380 and the median price was $246,950. The average days on market was 145.

This is house sold for $180,000

for more information on todays McCall housing market please call Jim 208-630-3319

Have more question? Call Jim 208-630-3319 or Cory 208-630-3282 Email

check out list of McCall short sales

and our list of McCall REOs

Have more question? Call Jim 208-630-3319 or Cory 208-630-3282 Email