If your idea of starting the New Year off is with a cold swim, come on out to this year's Lake Padden Resolution Run & Polar Bear Dip. The run will begin at 11 a.m. on New Years Day, with a run or walk around Bellingham's Lake Padden. The official dip into the chilly lake is set for noon. Lifeguards will be on duty,as well as hot beverages, snacks and warm showers for those brave souls who make the plunge.

Birch Bay will host their 26th annual Polar Bear Plunge this New Year's day. The front of CJ's Beach House Restaurant will be the meeting spot and the plunge is at noon.

Image courtesy of flickr.com by dbking

Bellingham has been a winter wonderland for the past week and a half.  The white stuff has been with us nonstop and it's been growing by a number of inches every few days until today when the temperature got up to the mid-30s and the snow turned to rain.  It might be a white Christmas here yet as predictions vary.  Some are predicting more snow, others are predicting a combination of rain mixed with snow.  I'm looking at cloudy sky with some patches of blue and some snowflakes fluttering through the air.  You know the weatherman is usually right 50 percent of the time at least.  So it will be a white Christmas here in Bellingham, maybe with a little dirt on the snow from the melt we had today, or fresh blanket of the snow which is more likely at the present moment.  Anyway the reason I'm writing all this is really just to show you some of the pictures I took in the snow today.  Some people having fun and getting creative, what are you doing?  Happy holidays to you and your family what ever it is your doing for the holidays.

With the holiday shopping season in full swing many stores they are having big sales.

It looks like money itself has gone on sale!

There has been yet another rate cut by the Federal Reserve and it is promising that home mortgages will be less expensive now and hopefully into the future. The prime interest rate has come down to a historical low of 3.25% and it has trickled down to the to the mortgage industry. I just got a notice from our local lenders that rates were down to 4.5% for a 30 year fixed-rate loan. I think that lenders will be very busy this holiday season refinancing homes.

The Fed rate cut is part of an effort to stimulate the economy, by stimulating the housing market, and helping homeowners lower their mortgage payments, putting money in their pockets so they have more to spend. This could be the signal that many been waiting for the real estate market will be turning around. If the Fed keeps these low rates, 2009 could be the year that buyers comeback to the real estate market. I'm seeing it already in my business. Those with good credit and employment will surely be able to qualify for good loans. Let's hope this good news spreads as fast as some of the doing gloom we've been seeing from the national press.

If you'd like any info about Bellingham Home's or Condo's you can give me a call at 360-739-6981 or drop me a line by email.
Image courtesy of flickr.com by jenn jenn

Labels: interest rates, money

The following is a quick analysis of the Residential Bellingham real estate market.

• Currently Active Listings: 489
• Price range of active listings - $106,900 - $3,450,000
• Average List Price $525,102 Days on the Market: 127
• Median List Price: $399,000 Days on the Market: 109
• Sold in November: 36
• Average List Price: $336,534
• Average Sales Price: $320,973
• Ratio of List to Price: 95.4% Days on the Market: 104
• Median List Price: $299,950
• Median Sales Price: $288,100 Days on the Market: 75
• Ratio of List to Price: 96.0%
• Pending Sales Last Week: 13 Total pending sales: 81

Condo Analysis for Bellingham

• Currently Active Listings: 239
• Price range of active listings - $99,000 - $1,565,000
• Average List Price $302,114 Days on the Market: 207
• Median List Price $212,500 Days on the Market: 144
• Sold in November: 4
• Average List Price: $191,600
• Average Sales Price: $181,125
• Ratio of List to Price: 94.5% Days on the Market: 152
• Median List Price: $185,750
• Median Sales Price: $179,750
• Ratio of List to Price: 96.7% Days on the Market: 177
• Pending Sales Last Week: 2 Total pending sales: 20

There are some great values in the Blaine market right now, and interest rates are extremely low. You might want to take a look at what it would cost you to purchase one of these homes at today's rates. You might be surprised at what your monthly payments would be, maybe less than your paying for rent right now if you are renting a comparable sized house.

If you have any questions or want to see any Bellingham Property feel free to email me at or give me a call at 360-739-6981.

Labels: Bellingham Market Report, November Market

How would you like to save 7 1/2 years of mortgage payments from your thirty-year fixed mortgage. That means you can pay off your home in 22 1/2 years instead of 30.

It is easier than you think. All you have to do is make one extra payment per year.

One very easy way to do this is to make bi-weekly payments. Some banks and credit unions will set up bi-weekly payment systems for you.

When I had my loan with the Whatcom Educational Credit Union, they were very obliging and set me up so that payments would automatically be made every other week.

Here is an example with round numbers.

If you you are making monthly payments of $1000 per month, that means you make 12 payments per year or pay $12,000 per year. If you pay bi-weekly you make 26 payments of $500 each. At the end of the year you've paid $13,000 instead of $12,000.

At this rate you can literally cut 7 1/2 years off your mortgage and save many thousands of dollars.

This is a great system for somebody with a steady paycheck, that way is easy to allocate the correct amount of money every two weeks. If your income isn't as steady just try to make that one extra payment a year toward principal and you'll save a ton of money. Most people aren't disciplined enough to do this on their own, so she can get set up with your lender to do it automatically it's like a forced saving plan.

If you don't have the disciplined to do this yourself and your lender won't do it for you, there are companies that call themselves mortgage acceleration companies that will do this for you. They will charge an up front fee of anywhere from $150 to $500 and $3 to $6 charge with every payment.

If you have any questions or want to see any Bellingham Property feel free to email me at or give me a call at 360-739-6981.

Labels: Mortgage