Quick check at hoperealtyidaho.com found a 5-acre property on Lake Pend Oreille near Hope going for $249,000. Very cheap by California standards, which is why so many out-of-staters are buying up and developing so much of north Idaho. Yes, any decent piece of dirt purchased here a decade or more ago has likely doubled or tripled in value. The house we bought 10 years ago is now worth twice what we paid. A lot of new subdivisions are being built right up against the UP (SI) in Post Falls and north of Coeur d'Alene, and some big-money homes are popping up all around Lake Pend Oreille and the Funnel with fine RR views.