Straight answer, then the honest catch: nearly every “average price” you'll find published is actually a median — and in a lakefront market, the difference is not a technicality.
What's My Home Worth →Two figures matter, and they answer different questions:
City figure: Source: Coeur d'Alene MLS, trailing 12 months ending July 2026. Deemed reliable but not guaranteed. County figure: Source: Coeur d'Alene Regional Realtors June 2026 report (via the Coeur d'Alene Press, July 18, 2026). These are county-wide figures.
Almost every price you'll see published — including the ones above — is a median: the middle sale, half above and half below. A true average (add every sale, divide by the count) would come out higher in Coeur d'Alene, because lakefront and view sales pull the arithmetic up without moving the middle much. One $4 million waterfront closing changes an average; it barely nudges a median.
Statisticians prefer the median for exactly that reason — it resists distortion. But it cuts both ways: if you own a well-located or updated home, the median understates what buyers pay for homes like yours. And if you own a home that needs work, it overstates it.
That's the real answer to “what's the average home price”: the published number describes the market's midpoint, not your house. Your house has its own number, and it comes from recent comparable sales on your street — not from any citywide statistic.
Same source, same 12-month window, so these are genuinely comparable:
| City | Median price (12 mo) | YoY | Days on market | $/sq ft | Supply | Closed sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coeur d'Alene | $615,119 | +5.9% | 65 | $333 | 3.7 mo | 1,134 |
| Post Falls | $529,568 | +4.8% | 59 | $290 | 2.1 mo | 917 |
| Hayden | $565,000 | +4.9% | 68 | $313 | 3.0 mo | 557 |
| Rathdrum | $576,637 | +10.7% | 96 | $332 | 3.3 mo | 587 |
Source: Coeur d'Alene MLS, trailing 12 months ending July 2026. Deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Over the 12 months ending July 2026, the median Coeur d'Alene sale was $615,119 per the Coeur d'Alene MLS. A true arithmetic average would run higher because high-end lakefront sales pull it up. For budgeting, the median is the more honest planning number.
Three reasons: some report the city and some the whole county ($565,000 in June 2026); some report a single month and some a trailing year; and some are estimates rather than recorded sales. Always check the geography and the time window before comparing.
Yes, by the recorded numbers: the city median is up 5.9% year over year, and the county median set a record in June. Appreciation is concentrated in well-located, well-maintained homes rather than lifting everything equally.
No — and that's not a sales line, it's arithmetic. A citywide figure blends lakefront estates with fixer-uppers. Pricing off it is how homes end up sitting or leaving money behind. Comparable sales near you, adjusted for condition, set the real number.
Jeff Kanally — Broker, Epique Realty. Licensed in Idaho & Washington, serving Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum & the greater Spokane area. County figures per the Coeur d'Alene Regional Realtors; city figures per the Coeur d'Alene MLS, trailing 12 months ending July 2026. General information, not an appraisal, and not tax or legal advice — confirm tax questions with a CPA and current figures with the relevant county.