Market Reports

Whatcom County Real Estate Market Report for January, 2010

The following is an analysis of the Whatcom County real estate market.

• There are currently 1385 homes for sale
• Homes are priced from $15,000 – $4,500,000
• Average Asking Price $403,201 Days on Market: 139 days
• Median Asking Price $323,000 Days on Market: 93 days
• Homes sold in January: 97
• Average Listing Price $287,275
• Average Sold Price $277,881 Days on Market 99
  
• Median Listing Price $249,956
• Median Sold Price $245,000 Days on Market: 64
• Homes Pending this week: 71 Total Homes Pending: 340

• Average Sales Price January, 2009: $275,239
• Median Sales Price January, 2009: $249,898
• Sold in January. 2009: 91

The Average Sales price is up 1.0% compared to January, 09 and down 3.2% compared to the previous month December, 09.

The Median Sales prices is down 2.0% compared to January, 09 and down 1.1% compared to the previous month December, 09.

The number of sales is up by 6 compared to January, 09 and down by 71 compared to the previous month December, 09.

Condo Analysis for Whatcom County

• Currently Active Listings: 398
• Price range of active listings - $22,000 – $1,565,000
• Average List Price $237,510 Days on Market: 158
• Median List Price $184,900 Days on Market: 141
• Sold in January: 13
  
• Average Listing Price $242,392
• Average Sold Price $230,346 Days on Market: 118
• Median Listing Price $225,000
• Median Sold Price $194,000 Days on Market: 89
• Condos Pending (went under contract) last week: 12 Total Condos Pending: 58

• Average Sales Price January, 2009: $199,243
• Median Sales Price  January, 2009: $201.975
• Sold in January, 2009: 14

The Average Sales price is up 15.6% compared to January, 09, and up 24.8% compared to the previous month December, 09.

The Median Sales prices is down by 3.9% compared to January, 09 and down by 28.7% compared to the previous month December, 09.

The number of sales is down by 1 compared to January, 09 and down by 15 compared to the previous month December, 09.

The good news this month is the number of pending sales is up.

The  First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit of $8,000 available to anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the past 3 years has been extended until April 2010.  The new program has also expanded the tax credit to include existing home owners who have owned a home for at least five of the last 8 years. You will be able to apply for tax credits of up to $6,500 when you purchase your next home. You might want to talk to your banker to see what you can afford. Meanwhile interest rates are still extremely low and there are some great values in the Bellingham market right now. 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

Market Reports

Whatcom County Real Estate Market Report for November, 2009

The following is a quick analysis of the Whatcom County real estate market.

• There are currently 1325 homes for sale
• Homes are priced from $15,000 – $4,500,000
• Average Asking Price $409,206 Days on Market: 144 days
• Median Asking Price $325,000 Days on Market: 107 days
• Homes sold in November: 189
• Average Listing Price $317,989
• Average Sold Price $318,141 Days on Market 106
• Median Listing Price $259,000
• Median Sold Price $252,490 Days on Market: 78
• Homes Pending this week: 45 Total Homes Pending: 431

• Average Sales Price November 2008: $289,803
• Median Sales Price November 2008: $267,000
• Sold in November 2008: 100

The Average Sales price is up 9.8% compared to November 08 and up 9.8% compared to last month.

The Median Sales prices is down 5.4% compared to November 08 and down 2.1% compared to last month.

The number of sales is up by 89 compared to November 08 and down by 16 compared to last month.

Condo Analysis for Whatcom County

• Currently Active Listings: 380
• Price range of active listings – $22,000 – $1,565,000
• Average List Price $231,534 Days on Market: 170
• Median List Price $189,900 Days on Market: 125
• Sold in November: 25
• Average Listing Price $194,618
• Average Sold Price $184,092 Days on Market: 143
• Median Listing Price $189,500
• Median Sold Price $175,000 Days on Market: 65
• Condos Pending (went under contract) last week: 5 Total Condos Pending: 79

• Average Sales Price November 2008: $214,434
• Median Sales Price November 2008: $199,000
• Sold in November 2008: 11

The Average Sales price is down 14.1% compared to November 08, and down by 10.0% compared to last month.

The Median Sales prices is down by 13.7% compared to November 08 and down by 7.9% compared to last month.

The number of sales is up by 14 compared to November 08 and down by 22 compared to last month.

Market Reports

Honey, you’re not in Kansas anymore

You know working with an Internet driven brokerage Buyer Tours Realty, we encounter many clients from all over the nation and internationally as well.  Just to give you an idea, right now I am working with clients from Baltimore, MD. to Bodega Bay, CA. ; from Alaska to Panama and even from Hong Kong and of course, Canada. Literally, from all over and I hear many a comment about real estate prices here in Bellingham, usually the comments are about how “ high” real estate is here.  Hmm, that old saying  ” You get what you pay for” comes to mind!

Depending where you currently reside, your real estate market is driven by consumer demand and inventory.  What drives this consumer demand is: area, economy (employment), waterfront, view, climate, etc.  The list goes on.  If you live in a small community with few resources and negative economy, bad climate ( harsh winters and hot summers) and zero aesthetic attractions, chances are housing is going to be cheap, but then you probably have to go outside of your area to get resources or pay to bring them in.  Yes, you can still by real estate under $100K if you want to live in…….Kalamazoo,MI  and that’s with a +2.4 % increase in sales price.!!

But if it is beauty, milder climate, culture, better economy and thus a better chance at finding employment and happiness, then you are probably searching on- line at places like: San Francisco, CA ( median  home sale price is $600,000),  or Bellingham, WA.  Bellingham’s median home sale price is $260,000, a 2.0% increase in sales prices.   Consider this, situated right between two major metropolis’ with everything you can imagine, no traffic congestion, WWU university, two of the top 1500 high schools (Bellingham and Blaine) in the nation, a multitude of outdoor driven activities( kayaking, hiking, bike-riding, sailing, photographer’s dream, skiing, snow-boarding, just to name a few), eco-friendly and environmentally conscientious, family-oriented, and most important, pet-friendly/animal conscientious.  ALso, within a 30 minute drive to Mt. Baker Ski Resort,  or a ferry trip to the San Juan Islands.  Oh,  did I mention Bellingham Bay and Birch Bay ?

Bellingham also offers these major employers: St. Joseph Hospital, WW University, BP Refinery, U.S. Border Patrol and Customs in Sumas, 2 Community Colleges (Bellingham Tech and Whatcom Community), as well as Boeing and Microsoft in King County.

With a 2.0% increase in sales bringing Bellingham home sales to a median $260,000, I’d say this is a fair price to pay for all that Bellingham has to offer, not to mention, public water, public sewer, power, local grocery chains, locally farmed foods and dairies, with abundant greenery and water surrounding you.

So keep in mind that different locales do have different markets depending on what each has to offer and Bellingham has much to offer.

If you are considering relocating to Bellingham to experience paradise or looking to sell or buy locally, feel free to contact me : Roberta Soares at 360-303-3898 or Roberta@buyertours.com .

Market Reports

Alabama Hill Market Report

It’s a beautiful day here in the Alabama Hill neighborhood. It’s pretty quiet, there’s not much going on here as there is in Fairhaven because Alabama Hill is just a residential neighborhood. There is a neighborhood meeting next Tuesday night May 5th. The views from the Hill are really nice.

As far as the real estate market in the neighborhood goes, there are 10 homes for sale, and 5 under contract. 11 homes sold in the past six months.

If you’re looking for a home in the neighborhood an entry-level home is priced at $249,500 for a 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1406 square foot home. For those wanting a fabulously view from the Hill with a little more room there is a 4 bedroom, 4 bath, 3085 square foot home on the market for $595,950.

One of the smallest  and least expensive homes that sold within the past 6 months was $124,500 and the highest priced home to sell in the neighborhood in the past six months was $435,000. Average price of sold homes was $285,045 and median price was $261,000.

If you would like any more information please give me a call at 360-739-6981 or send me an email.

Market Reports

Whatcom County Real Estate Market Report for March, 2009

• There are currently 1393 homes for sale.
• Homes are priced from $12,000 – $6,995,000
• Average Asking Price $433,613 Days on Market: 135 days
• Median Asking Price $337,000 Days on Market: 83 days
• Homes sold in March: 128
• Average Listing Price $316,340
• Average Sold Price $304,016 Days on Market 112
• Median Listing Price $279,450
• Median Sold Price $266,800 Days on Market: 84
• Homes Pending this week: 62 Total Homes Pending: 317

Market Reports

Bellingham Real Estate Market Report for March, 2009

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

• Currently Active Listings: 492
• Price range of active listings – $145,000 – $3,575,000
• Average List Price $531,108 Days on the Market: 121
• Median List Price: $396,250 Days on the Market: 68
• Sold in March: 55
• Average List Price: $370,450
• Average Sales Price: $357,671
• Ratio of List to Price: 97% Days on the Market: 151
• Median List Price: $325,000
• Median Sales Price: $319,900 Days on the Market: 74
• Ratio of List to Price: 98%
• Pending Sales Last Week: 29 Total pending sales: 140

Average Sales Price March 2008: $343,691

Median Sales Price March 2008: $290,000

Number Sold in March, 2008: 79The Average Sales price is up 4.0% compared to March 08 and up 6.8% compared to February 09.

The Median Sales prices is up 10.0% compared to March 08 and up 14.5% compared to February 09.

The number of sales is up by 11 or 37% compared to March 08 and down by 24 or 43% compared to last month.

Condo Analysis for Bellingham

• Currently Active Listings: 269
• Price range of active listings – $109,900 – $1,565,000
• Average List Price $273,603 Days on the Market: 207
• Median List Price $200,000 Days on the Market: 115
• Sold in March: 16
• Average List Price: $204,194
• Average Sales Price: $195,619
• Ratio of List to Price: 96% Days on the Market: 110
• Median List Price: $172,400
• Median Sales Price: $169,500
• Ratio of List to Price: 98% Days on the Market: 52
• Pending Sales Last Week: 6 Total pending sales: 28

Average Sales Price March, 2008: $245,203

Median Sales Price March, 2008: $189,995

Sold in March, 2008: 35Average Condo sale price is down 20.2% from March 2008 and down 12% from last month – February 2009.

Median Sales Price is down 10,5% from March 2008 and up 19.1% from last month - February 2009.

The number of condo sales is down by 21 or 60 % compared to March 2008 and up by 3 or 18.8% compared to last month – January 2008.

There are some great values in the Bellingham market right now, and interest rates are still 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.

There is also a newly passed First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit of $8,000 available to anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the past 3 years. You might want to talk to your banker to see what you can afford.

Market Reports

Sudden Valley Real Estate Market Report for March, 2009

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

There are currently 93 homes for sale. Homes are priced from $110,000 – $1,000,000

• Average Asking Price is $342,690 Average Days on Market are 130 days
• Median Asking Price is $299,000 Median Days on Market are 86 days
• 7 Homes sold in March
• Average Listing Price $291,529
• Average Sold Price $281,771 Average Days on Market 91
• Median Listing Price $319,000
• Median Sold Price $299,000 Median Days on Market 109
• Pending Sales Last Week: 7 Total pending sales: 30

Condo Analysis for Sudden Valley

There are currently 10 condos for sale. Condos are priced from $60,000 – $299,900

• Average List Price $205,190 Average Days on the Market: 138
• Median List Price $197,400 Median Days on the Market: 139
• Sold in March: 0
• Pending Sales Last Week: 0 Total pending sales: 2

There are some great values in the Sudden Valley market right now, and interest rates are still extremely low.  There is definitely an increase in activity as there were 7 homes put under contract last week.

Don’t forget  newly passed First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit of $8,000 available to anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the past 3 years. You might want to talk to your banker to see what you can afford. 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 Sudden Valley homes or condos feel free to email me or give me a call at 360-739-6981.