Jennifer Smock with Windermere/Coeur d'Alene Realty said Thursday that North Idaho's rising population, particularly among Baby Boomers, is having an impact on the housing market.

By 2030, Smock said all Baby Boomers will be 65, and older adults will represent about 20% of the U.S. population. She believes that could be "problematic in certain areas like ours." 

She said that in North Idaho, boomers make up about 28% of the population. Having so many Baby Boomers creates what Smock terms a housing inventory block. 

"Those Baby Boomers, for the most part, are sitting and aging in place. They're not really excited to go move because they've already moved from the Cal states up here, and they're happy where they're at," Smock said during a Hayden Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Best Western Plus Coeur d'Alene Inn. "They bought their single-family or their single-level home, three bedroom, two bath, small backyard. They're not going anywhere. That inventory is locked down." 

She said that if those houses do not come back on the market over an extended period, prices could continue to rise.

"A three-bedroom, two-bath 1,400-square-foot resale home in the Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls and Hayden area is $493,000," she said. "The sale price for a median new construction in Kootenai County is at $592,00 right now."

Smock said an influx of people from other states moving to North Idaho is also affecting the housing market.

She said Kootenai County's population, now at 192,000, has grown by about 12% since 2025. Bonner County's population, now at 54,000, has increased by 15% in the same period. 

Shoshone County, she said, saw a huge uptick during COVID, as did some other outlying areas. But that has since slowed down.  

"They're at 7% growth with a total of 14,000," Smock said. "Residents in Benewah County now is at an 11% growth in the last five years with a whopping 10,500."  

The growth in the county's population, Smock says, is attributed to out-of-state migration. 

"In the last five years, there's been over 100,000 drivers' licenses surrendered into the entire state of Idaho," Smock said. "If you break it down, 30,000 came from California into Kootenai County and 32,000 from Oregon." 

She said the largest percentage of people moving into the area, are Californians who are 61 years plus.

"They were coming in with cash during COVID and were able to pay cash, bid a little bit higher. I'm not saying that it's Californian fault that our prices went up, but sometimes that's just the way it went," Smock said.

She said there has also been an influx of 72,000 people from Washington state. 

"It's hard to know exactly how many of those came from the Spokane area versus Western Washington, but about 15%, give or take, moved to Kootenai County," Smock said. "The demographics are somewhat like California, being the largest 55 plus." 

    Hayden Chamber of Commerce members, local business merchants and realtors are listening to a presentation on North Idaho housing issues.