Driving down and then up Holly again, the road turns to Eldridge, and the neighborhood turns to the older Victorian homes on one's left hand side, and a library of neighborhoods of similar homes  on the right, sometimes smaller in stature, but just as large in historical charm.  The Columbia neighborhood is home to some of the original homes of the Bellingham timber and coal barons (then Fairhaven or Whatcom, as Bellingham wasn't established until 1903 when the two converged).  In the path of development was left cross patch of homes, ranging in prices from $209,000 up to the $1,100,000 home on Eldridge built in 1900, overlooking the marina, the ocean, and where a lot of the action in the Port will be for the next ten years. 

Through these homes, expect to walk into places with one and three quarter bathrooms, low ceilings, old basements, and the necessity for a little elbow grease, though with the popularity of the neighborhood, a number of remodels have brought new interiors to the grace of the traditional exteriors.

And be prepared to act quickly.  These homes are hot commodities, with a high percentage of the homes selling this year only staying on the market for a few weeks.  Slow market?  Try putting a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom home built in 1939 with 808 square feet on the market, and have it sell in less than 40 days.  For only $4,000 less than the owners were asking. This was July.  Another sold in October in 3 days on the market, for listing price. Getting a  property in this area is going to take a lot of forewarning, financial preparation, and your buyer's agent previewing every new property as soon as it comes on the market.

From what's sold through our Multiple Listing Service since January,

	2 bed	3 bed	4 bed	5 + bed	All
# Of units	20	15	6	0	41
Dollar Value	$5,066,810	$4,520,100	$2,208,605	0	$11,795,515
Average Listing Price	$261,683	$308,760	$377,617	0	$295,872
Average Sold Price	$253,341	$301,340	$368,101	$0	$287,695
Average Days on Market	42	98	99	0	99
%  of List Price	96.81	97.60	97.48	0	97.24

 

But what's it like to walk through Columbia once you do live here?  Drop me an e-mail.....

Labels: Colubmia Neighborhood Homes, Columbia Market Report, Columbia Neighborhood

The historical Columbia district is the second oldest neighborhood in Bellingham. The community is mostly made up of turn of the century single-family homes, tree-lined streets, and parks. The selection of older, well-kept character homes gives the neighborhood an established Northwest feeling, and the number of parks in the neighborhood, the largest being Elizabeth Park, makes the community very child friendly. Columbia also has a "neighborhood" elementary school in the middle of the neighborhood, Columbia Elementary, reputable for the students' high WASL scores.

Labels: Columbia Neighborhood

Average sold price

	2-Bedroom	3-Bedroom	4-Bedroom	5+Bedroom
	$288,270	$314,465	$449,771	$735,000

Download the full Columbia neighborhood market statistics report

Labels: Columbia Market Report, Columbia Neighborhood

Because of its desirability and proximity to Downtown Bellingham, housing prices in Columbia tend to be slightly higher than the Average neighborhood, and homes that are priced competitively tend to disappear quickly. Though 90% of the homes in Columbia are 20 years or older, newer homes can be found in the northeastern section of the neighborhood. The streets tend to be wider in these neighborhoods and the homes sit on larger lots. The Eldridge Historical District is also located in this neighborhood, and homes that sit on the bluff enjoy views of Bellingham Bay. Because the neighborhood is generally flat, only those that are on the bluff get the views.

Labels: Colubmia Neighborhood Homes, Columbia Neighborhood