N. Idaho waterfront land up

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LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) _ Spectacular views and easy access to nature are reasons why more people are flocking to buy waterfront property in north-central Idaho, inflating prices and bringing more high-end homes.

Kathi and Chuck Ballard's home on the banks of the Snake River sits within binocular's view of bighorn sheep that roam the hillsides across the river in Washington state.

The influx of newcomers eager for their own share of the beauty has forced property prices higher and raises concerns that working couples like the Ballards could be priced out of the market.

Neighbors thought the Ballards were crazy when they bought their five-acre lot without a well or a septic system for $42,000 in 1991. Lots such as theirs have sold for $100,000 to $160,000, and their property taxes shot up $600 last year.

"I can sit here and feel like there's no one around for miles, but if I need something there's someone there," Kathi Ballard told the Lewiston Tribune.

The most spectacular example of how quickly prices are climbing is just north of the Ballard's home on the Idaho side of the river. Eleven lots are for sale in the Bighorn on the River subdivision, with listing prices ranging from $350,000 for 33 acres to $549,000 for five acres.

Three potential buyers are seriously looking at the subdivision, said Judy Higgins, an associate broker with Remax Executives in Lewiston, who is marketing the property. "We are sitting on acres of diamonds," Higgins said.

Bighorn on the River isn't the only place where developers are charging premium prices for bare ground.

One acre lot sold for $90,000 along the Clearwater River last year, Nez Perce County Assessor Dan Anderson said. Another two-acre property went for $125,000.

Lots with views of the Snake River and Swallows Rock in Canyon River Estates, another subdivision in the Country Club area of Lewiston, are priced from $90,000 to $125,000 for one-fourth to one-third of an acre, said Shelly Miles, a Realtor with Century 21 Beutler and Associates.

Upper-end homes will likely be built on the lots, Anderson said. "People wouldn't spend half a million on a lot to put up a $100,000 home," she said.

Throw in a river, lake or stream of any kind and it turns an expensive home into something even more superlative, Miles said.

"They quit making waterfront property a long time ago," she said. "You can replicate any home, but a lot has its own individual characteristics."

Kathi Ballard said she is surprised more people haven't flocked to the region.

"I think not having enough employment keeps people away," she said.

That is becoming less of a barrier all the time, Higgins said.

Waterfront property is so limited that lots in Nez Perce County might appeal to someone in Europe or other parts of the world who find them on Internet searches.

But some worry the opportunities that the new subdivisions create for some may incrementally change part of what makes this region special and make distinctions between the "haves" and "have-nots" more pronounced.

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