This recent article from the Bellingham Herald shares how the local market, particularly Bellingham, is edging toward a neutral market. You can click the image below to read the entire article.

While Bellingham has been moving toward a neutral market, Gragg Miller points out in this article that some Whatcom County communities are doing the opposite. Some areas, including Lynden, the Mount Baker area, Ferndale and others are moving more toward a buyer’s market, thanks to a surge in housing inventory.

From this April 19 article:

“Some of these areas are having more difficulty absorbing this new inventory,” Miller said. “Places like Ferndale and Blaine are seeing greater increases in housing units sold, but it’s not enough to keep up with the number of homes coming on the market.”

Overall the demand ratio in Whatcom County was 6.9 to 1 for March. A ratio of 7 to 1 is considered a buyer’s market, while a ratio of 5 to 1 is considered a neutral market. Lynden and the Mount Baker areas had a demand ratio of 10 to 1 or higher, followed by Ferndale (9.1 to 1), Blaine/Birch Bay (8.1 to 1), Nooksack (7.5 to 1), Sudden Valley (6.2 to 1) and Bellingham (5.3 to 1).

Read more here.

CNN Money recently ran an article highlighting the latest trends for many of the larger metro areas around the country. The article, which you can read here, includes predictions on where the biggest price gains and the biggest price drops will occur in 2010.

Interestingly, Washington State had three cities in the list of top 10 largest price gains for 2010, with Bellingham coming in at number 13.

You can find more information on these predictions, here.

From “Best Place to Retire” to “Top 10 Adventure Towns,” you can read about many of the honors Bellingham has received over the years from the likes of National Geographic, CNN, Outside Magazine, Forbes and others by clicking on the image below:

The following article on the local condo market here in Bellingham and Whatcom County ran in the Bellingham Herald on Nov. 30, 2009.  To view the complete article, please click here.

Western Washington real estate brokers are crediting the federal tax credit and its impending expiration deadline for a surge in home sales last month. Members of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported a 63% jump in pending sales during October, compared to the same month a year ago. The other reason for such a surge of sales was that October, 2008, was the first month after the financial meltdown and sales dropped like a rock.

As of this writing, the homebuyer tax credit has been extended to April 30, 2010. You can read more about this here, in a previous article on our blog.

Pending Sales Up

In Whatcom County, pending sales increased nearly 75% in October compared to the same month a year ago. In Bellingham, pending sales increased 63% for October. Lynden was up 63%, Ferndale increased 105%, and Blaine/Birch Bay increased 67%, while Sudden Valley was up 39%.

The new figures show continued signs of some stability in the market and improving consumer confidence. Inventory levels are down about 10% and Whatcom County added about 313 residential new listings in October: about the same as one year ago.

Median Prices Down

The median price for October was $260,000. And, if you add condominium sales, the median price is $251,000. Overall value decreased 7.1% and 5% respectively.

Majority of Activity Under $350K

For the month of October, 80% of residential sales were under $350,000, versus only 71% a year ago. The upper-end market accounted for about 9% of the sales over $500,000 in October, as opposed to 7.7%  in October, 2008.

Interest Rates Remain Low

The weekly average interest rate borrowers were quoted for 30 – year fixed mortgages at 4.87 percent. Rates for a 15-year fixed mortgage were 4.31 percent.

Delinquencies on single-family homes continued to rise at the two big government-sponsored  mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, indicating that problems have yet to level off.

There have been several interesting trends happening in the local housing market as of late. Here’s a look at some of those trends, both for the month of September and year-to-date (compared to 2008 numbers).

Pending Sales Up

In September, Whatcom County’s pending home sales climbed 16.5% over the same results from a year ago (from 254 Pending Sales in Sept. 2009 to  218 in Sept. 2008). September’s performance brings a 9% increase in Pending Sales for the year so far (over 2008).

There are several factors leading to this increase in the number of Pending Sales we’re seeing locally: (1) low interest rates, (2) the first-time home buyer tax credit, and (3) lower home prices.

Closed Sales Down
Fewer Pending Sales are becoming Closed Sales locally, as Whatcom County Closed Sales are down 11.5% this year. The greatest obstacle to closing Pending Sales comes from the bank-owned and short sale properties. Lenders on short sales are taking anywhere from two to four months to make a decision on approving or denying the sale.

Despite the challenges with bank-owned and short sale properties, momentum is picking up in the market. Over the past few months, Closed Sales more closely match 2008 results.

Median Prices Down
The median sales price for a Whatcom County home is $260,000 this year: down 7% from the same time in 2008. In September, the median price slipped 9% (compared to September 2008). The following chart shows year-to-date median home prices in Whatcom County, by city.

The pace of local home sales is slowly but steadily absorbing the excess inventory of homes on the market. We are now at eight months of supply of homes for sale, which is still a buyer’s market, but the lowest since this time last year. The return to a better balanced market will bring back longer-term sustainability in Whatcom County.

Importance of Price
Of all the positive forces in the market, however, none is bigger than price. Where a home is well-priced, we are seeing it move in record time.  When the home is not well-priced, it languishes on the market months longer.  Even then, it sells only after reducing to the appropriate price.

Home sellers can save themselves a lot of headaches by pricing their home right, the first time.

Whatcom County Numbers By Community (year-to-date)

Here’s a year-to-date breakdown of the median price, average price, number of units sold and days on market for each area in Whatcom County:

Bellingham:  Median Price, $260,000 (down 7%); Average Price, $295,000 (down 3%); Units Sold, 662 (down 10%); DOM, 96 (down 3%)

Lynden:  Median Price, $266,000 (down 9.5%); Average Price, $281,000 (down 13.5%); Units Sold, 109 (down 26%); DOM, 115 (down 9.5%)

Blaine/Birch Bay:  Median Price, $221,000 (down 10.5%); Average Price, $266,000 (down, 3.5%); Units Sold, 187 (down 13.3%); DOM, 126 (up 15.5%)

Ferndale:  Median Price, $265,500 (down 8.5%); Average Price, $287,500 (down 7.5%); Units Sold, 188 (down 11%); DOM, 103 (down 3.5%)

Sudden Valley:  Median Price, $240,000 (down 10.8%); Average Price, $249,000 (down 9.8%); Units Sold, 106 (up 2%); DOM,  118 (up 9%)

Mount Baker:  Median Price, $130,000 (down 21%); Average Price, $152,000 (down, 17.8%); Units Sold, 80, (down, 20%); DOM, 93 (down 6%)

Nooksack Valley:  Median Price, $215,000 (down, 11.5%); Average Price, $231,000 (down, 16%); Units Sold, 67 (down, 16%); DOM, 82 (down 15.5%)