August residential
real estate sales managed to stay up a bit from August
2006 in Bellingham, so are still showing an increase
of 7.2% over the first 8 months. It was Ferndale & Sudden
Valley’s turn to post higher numbers this month,
while Birch Bay/Blaine and Lynden were unable to maintain
their July momentum and dropped 45% and 13% respectively
from their August 2006 sales numbers. As a result, Whatcom
County as a whole saw another decline of 2.4% in the
total number of units sold since the beginning of 2007.
Average sold prices are still increasing for the most
part, up an average of 2.6% for the county as a whole
since last year. Remember, the average home in Whatcom
County has not increased in price over the past year.
It is simply that more expensive homes are selling, and
that raises the average price of a sale. Inventory levels
in Bellingham stopped rising this month, holding close
to last year’s numbers, but the number of pending
sales has dropped by 21% from this time last year. We
have seen a definite impact on pending sales as the financial
markets have become more turbulent.
Average days on market for homes sold Jan 1 through
August 31 are still up substantially over those sold
last year, but the average has stayed pretty stable,
at around 95 days) over the past 6 months.
By now we have all heard about the demise of the sub-prime
lending market, but now we are hearing about issues at
the other end – the “jumbo” loans.
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, the government-backed giants
that buy loans from banks, will not buy a loan for more
than $417,000 (a “jumbo” loan). Consequently,
those loans must either be held by the bank making the
loan or sold to a private investor. With private investors
less enamored of mortgage backed securities, that market
has also become tighter.
In looking at the standard statistics in the market,
it is easy to focus on the negatives and lose track of
the big picture. So…let’s look at another
number for a bit of perspective. In Bellingham, 30% of
all homes listed for sale find a buyer in the first 30
days, and those homes typically sell for nearly 99% of
original list price. If you are selling, don’t
give it away, but price it right so you can get on with
your life.
If you would like information about any specific areas, feel free to call us at (360) 527-8766 or email Lylene and we will get right back to you.
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