http://www.Mikedrake.exprealty.com/

Mike Drake-Realtor, 510 S Clearwater Loop Suite 100, Post Falls, ID (2026)

10/20/2026

Are home prices going down in Coeur d'Alene?

Here is the honest answer. It depends on which homes you are looking at.

The number you see in the headlines is a citywide median. It puts a starter home in Post Falls and an estate on the lake in the same pile. When more lower-priced homes sell in a given month, that median can drop even if no single home lost a dollar of value.

That is a change in the mix, not the market.

When a client in Kootenai County asks me which way prices are going, here is what I look at instead:

Days on market in their price range

Months of inventory

How many homes are going under contract

How many listings took a price reduction

Right now in Kootenai County, [verify current median sale price and year-over-year change, with source and month]. That tells you the direction of the whole county. It does not tell you what your home, or the one you want to buy, is doing.

My job is to get you answers. If you want to know what your price band is actually doing in Kootenai County, south Bonner County, Shoshone County, or Benewah County, let me know and I will walk you through it.

Mike Drake

Lifestyle North Realty at eXp Realty

208-819-4967

[email protected]

10/15/2026

I get some version of this question every week: is it cheaper to build or buy here?

Here is the honest answer. Nobody can tell you until you count everything.

A builder quote tells you what the house costs. It usually does not tell you what the lot costs, what it takes to get water, power, septic, and a driveway to the house site, or what you will spend living somewhere else for the months it takes to build. A resale home in Coeur d'Alene, Hayden, Post Falls, or out on acreage near Spirit Lake already has all of that baked into the price.

Before I got into real estate I spent years in plumbing and construction. I have seen what happens when the ground does not cooperate. A well goes deeper than planned. The soil test changes the septic design. The power has to come a long way down the road. None of that is a reason not to build. It is a reason to know before you start.

So when someone in Kootenai County or south Bonner County asks me build or buy, I ask them to let me help price both all the way to move-in day. Then the decision usually makes itself.

Are you leaning toward building or buying your next home? I would like to hear why.

Mike Drake

Lifestyle North Realty at eXp Realty

208-819-4967

[email protected]

10/12/2026

Someone asked me last week whether it is cheaper to build or buy around here. I told them I could not answer until we counted the dirt.

That sounded like a joke. It was not.

The cost of building in North Idaho is not only the house. It is everything it takes to get the house a place to stand, and most of that never shows up in a price per square foot. I put the full list in this carousel, along with the four places in Kootenai County and Bonner County where I see budgets change most.

If you are thinking about building, or about buying something already built, take a look before you start pricing. And if you want a second set of eyes on a lot or a house, I am happy to walk it with you.

Mike Drake
Lifestyle North Realty at eXp Realty
208-819-4967
[email protected]

10/08/2026

People ask me some version of this question a lot: how do I pick the right agent for a higher-end home in North Idaho?

Here is the honest answer. Do not hire the loudest name on the billboard. Hire the person who understands your property.

At the upper end of the Kootenai County market, the details carry real money. How a home was built. What the crawlspace looks like. Whether the pricing strategy fits a market where there may only be a handful of true comparable sales. Whether your agent can keep a deal together when the inspection report comes back long.

Over the last year I have narrowed my focus on purpose. I work mostly with higher-end buyers and sellers, new construction, and small builders across Coeur d'Alene, Hayden, Post Falls, Rathdrum, Sandpoint, and the surrounding Bonner, Shoshone, and Benewah County communities. Fewer transactions, done well. That is the business I want to run, and it is the one my clients deserve.

If you are thinking about a move, or you know someone who is, I would be glad to help. Straight answers, no pitch.

What matters most to you when you choose an agent?

Mike Drake

Lifestyle North Realty at eXp Realty

208-819-4967

[email protected]

10/06/2026

Who is the best luxury real estate agent in Coeur d'Alene?

Here is the honest answer. There is no single best agent. There is the best agent for your property and your move.

A $1.5 million waterfront home and a new construction build on acreage need different skills. So before you hire anyone in Kootenai County, here is what to look at:

Do they work at your price point regularly? Pricing at the top of the market is different. Comps are thin and every detail matters.

Can they read the house? Finish quality, mechanicals, drainage, and how the home was actually built all affect value.

How do they negotiate? Ask how they handled their last inspection report. That tells you more than any sales pitch.

Can they reach out-of-state buyers? A lot of higher-end buyers in North Idaho are relocating.

Do they communicate? You should never have to chase your agent for an update.

My focus is higher-end homes, new construction, and representing small builders across Kootenai County and south Bonner County, with Shoshone County and Benewah County as well. I came out of plumbing and construction, and I know my way around a house.

If you are interviewing agents, I am happy to be one of the conversations. No pressure.

Mike Drake

Lifestyle North Realty at eXp Realty

208-819-4967

[email protected]

10/01/2026

How do you negotiate on a high-end home purchase?

Most people assume the answer is price, and price is part of it. But price is one line in a contract that contains twenty or more decisions, and at this level the other lines often matter more to how the purchase turns out.

Here is what I am working on besides the number.

The closing timeline. Sellers at this price point usually have a second move to coordinate, and flexibility on their calendar can be worth more to them than a small adjustment in price. It also frequently costs the buyer nothing.

Possession, meaning who is in the house between closing and move-in, and what that arrangement says in writing.

How the inspection response is written. This one changes outcomes more than anything else on the list, and I will come back to it.

Whether an item is handled as a repair or a credit. A credit is faster and gives you control. A repair gets the work done and documented before you own it. Which one is correct depends on what the item actually is.

Appraisal gap language, particularly if there is competition.

Well testing, septic inspection, and survey work, including who is responsible for each. On acreage in Kootenai County, these are not formalities.

What personal property stays. At this level that can include furnishings, equipment, and shop contents.

Now back to the inspection response, because this is where deals are won quietly. A request that says the drainage needs to be addressed invites a discussion about whether there is a problem at all. A request that identifies the condition, describes the corrective work, and includes a real estimate moves straight to how it gets resolved.

Specific requests get accepted. General requests get argued with. I came out of plumbing and construction, so I am able to write the specific version.

Serving Kootenai County, south Bonner County, Shoshone County, and Benewah County.

If you have an offer coming up and want to talk through it before you write it, call or text me. Happy to walk through what is worth asking for.

Mike Drake

Lifestyle North Realty at eXp Realty

208-819-4967

[email protected]

09/24/2026

How do you know if a high-end home in North Idaho is actually well built?

Here is the honest answer. You do not find out from the finishes.

At a million dollars and up, the finishes are always good. Quartz, wide plank floors, a stone fireplace, a kitchen that photographs well. That is what the price buys, and it tells you almost nothing about the house.

The build is the part you cannot see from the great room. Here is what I look at.

The grade. Which direction does the ground send water, and where do the downspouts actually discharge. In North Idaho with spring snowmelt, this is the most expensive thing people miss.

The crawlspace or basement. V***r barrier, standing water, staining on the rim joist, insulation that has come loose. A crawlspace tells you how the house was built and how it has been living since.

The mechanical room. Whether the systems are laid out so a service tech can reach them. Whether the water heater, pressure tank, and expansion tank have been maintained or just installed.

The attic. Ventilation, sheathing condition, and evidence of ice damming at the eaves. Snow load is not theoretical here.

Well and septic. Well log, depth, production, pump age. Septic size against the bedroom count, when it was last pumped, and whether anyone has built on or parked over the drainfield.

One more thing worth saying. Custom does not mean well built. It means somebody made the decisions. Sometimes that somebody was excellent. Sometimes they were making it up as they went.

I came out of plumbing and construction, so this is the part of a showing I am actually there for.

Serving Kootenai County, south Bonner County, Shoshone County, and Benewah County.

If you are looking at something at this price point and want a second set of eyes on the house itself, call or text me.

Mike Drake

Lifestyle North Realty at eXp Realty

208-819-4967

[email protected]

09/21/2026

How do you know if a high-end home in North Idaho is actually well built?

Here is the honest answer. You do not find out from the finishes.

At a million dollars and up, the finishes are always good. Quartz, wide plank floors, a stone fireplace, a kitchen that photographs well. That is what the price buys, and it tells you almost nothing about the house.

The build is the part you cannot see from the great room. Here is what I look at.

The grade. Which direction does the ground send water, and where do the downspouts actually discharge. In North Idaho with spring snowmelt, this is the most expensive thing people miss.

The crawlspace or basement. V***r barrier, standing water, staining on the rim joist, insulation that has come loose. A crawlspace tells you how the house was built and how it has been living since.

The mechanical room. Whether the systems are laid out so a service tech can reach them. Whether the water heater, pressure tank, and expansion tank have been maintained or just installed.

The attic. Ventilation, sheathing condition, and evidence of ice damming at the eaves. Snow load is not theoretical here.

Well and septic. Well log, depth, production, pump age. Septic size against the bedroom count, when it was last pumped, and whether anyone has built on or parked over the drainfield.

One more thing worth saying. Custom does not mean well built. It means somebody made the decisions. Sometimes that somebody was excellent. Sometimes they were making it up as they went.

I came out of plumbing and construction, so this is the part of a showing I am actually there for.

Serving Kootenai County, south Bonner County, Shoshone County, and Benewah County.

If you are looking at something at this price point and want a second set of eyes on the house itself, call or text me.

Mike Drake

Lifestyle North Realty at eXp Realty

208-819-4967

[email protected]

09/16/2026

Is fall a good time to buy or sell in North Idaho? Here is the honest answer.

It depends on which side of the table you are sitting on, and most of the advice floating around ignores that.

If you are buying, fall is usually the friendlier season. The summer rush is over. The people who were casually looking in July have gone back to their lives. What is left on the market has often been sitting a few weeks, and a seller who has watched their listing go quiet is a different negotiating partner than one who just got three offers in a weekend.

You also get to see property at its most honest. Wet ground shows you where water goes. Bare trees show you the actual view and the actual neighbors. That driveway you loved in June looks different when it is slick.

If you are selling, fall is not the problem people make it out to be. You have fewer buyers, but the ones still looking in October are serious. Nobody tours homes in the rain for fun. The tradeoff is that you have less room for error on price. A home that comes out too high in the fall does not get corrected by a crowd. It just sits until spring, and by then it has a story attached to it.

The real answer is that timing matters less than preparation. A well-priced, well-presented home sells in November. An overpriced one sits in June.

Thinking about a move before the end of the year? Call me, text me, or email me and we will look at your actual numbers.

208-819-4967

[email protected]