Alright, so nobody wants to talk about my wicked golf video from Tuesday.  Fine, then!

But surely the real estate below will pique your interest!

Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.

If you’ve never heard of it, look it up.

If you happen to hear about it one night at a dinner party, while watching a movie, or reading a book – remember that you heard it here first!

I first went to Coeur D’Alene in about 1995 or 1996 on a family vacation, and I fell in love with it.  Of course, I was a spoiled, snotty kid, so I fell in love with the 2-storey hotel room and lake view, but after maturing over the years, I began to remember the town itself – oh, and the lake!

Coeur D’Alene and Jackson (Wyoming) have to be my two favorite towns on the planet.  While Jackson is a throwback to the wild-west, Coeur D’Alene is a touristy beach-town where there is always something happening.

Of course, they have a “no shirt” by-law, brought into effect a few years ago, that I found out about the hard way.

I lost my shirt on the beach some place, and Jenna and I went into the mall looking for a bathroom – me without a shirt!  I felt as if people were staring at me, but Jenna kept saying, “It’s in your head, don’t worry.  It’s a beach town!”  I was the only person in the mall without a shirt, and I felt ridiculous.  As I waited for Jenna outside the bathroom, a woman shielded her two small children from me, and quickly ushered them up the stairs.  I knew something was amiss, but my fears weren’t confirmed until I got kicked out of a frozen yogurt parlour as the guy yelled, “Hey no-shirt-dude – take that outside!!”  Man, I was embarrassed…

Okay, with that weird tangent out of the way, let me talk about the real estate in Coeur D’Alene.

The lake is the be-all and end-all of Coeur D’Alene real estate.

There are some fantastic estates in and around the city, but unless you’re on the water, you haven’t reached the big-time.

The lake stretches about 27 miles, but the premium real estate can be found within the first couple miles of the Coeur D’Alene Resort, which basically marks the centre of downtown.  You could probably save a few million dollars by finding a lakefront property ten miles away, but it’s just not the same thing.

So after taking part in a quaint sunset cruise, and snapping about a hundred photos of surrounding real estate, I took to the flyers, newspapers, magazines, and even walked into a real estate brokerage just to get a feel for the real estate market in Coeur D’Alene.

Well, folks, I think I found my dream home!

Listed at a paltry $10,500,000 USD, this home on “Lighting Tree Lane” has more than just a cool name.

Situated on 2.18 acres of waterfront property, this house is only a five-minute boat ride to the beach and the resort.

6-bedrooms
7-bathrooms

And totalling 11,500 square feet.

The house itself is about fifty feet from the waterfront, and is built on a hill, and has a walk-out from each of the three levels.

Built in 2005, I can’t even imagine what the construction itself cost back then.  Look at the photos below – they did NOT skimp on the finishes!

Well, I need to work just a little bit harder in 2013 if I’m going to come up with the $10,500,000 for my dream home!

Who knows….maybe they’ll take $10,400,000!  It’s a weak market, right?

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