Last Thursday morning I opened my Herald to the large black headline “Fountain Galleria to close.” My audible response was: “How can that be, I was just there yesterday?” The Fountain District has been one of the anchor points of my life since March of 1951, 57 years, when my husband and I moved into our new home on East Maplewood Ave.

Those anchors have been the Fountain Drugstore, George’s Meat Market, Hall’s Bakery, Fountain Motors, Fountain Hardware, and Griffith Furniture. Each having dependable services, hard to find anywhere else.

The Fountain Drugstore in 1951 was a small sort of variety store, with a drug department. For years all of our drug needs were met there. It even carried clothing. One of my favorite pictures of my son was taken in 1956, plodding up our driveway in an adoreable red jumpsuit, a gift from his Godmother, from the Fountain. Everyone asked where it came from, it was a new thing. At this time the store was located next to George’s Meat Market in the building next door to the present parking lot. Whatever you needed, everyone used to say “you’ll find it at the Fountain,” be it some sewing notion, small hardware items, candles, gifts, baking dishes; you name it, it was there. Then they expanded, building the present building. Again, the saying was true.

After expanding, during the Christmas Season there was a sleigh in the basement complete with a real, live, well-dressed Santa Claus. Another special memory: My son had arrived at the age in the 1961 Christmas Season when Santa was very questionable to him. One Saturday we were shopping at George’s Meat Market, and as we came out the door a car was parking across the street. The door opened and Santa got out of the car, beautifully groomed, and headed for the Fountain Drugstore. When he saw my son, he waved and yelled, “Hi Chuck.” Chuck WAS impressed, Santa remained a reality that year. Santa knew him because his kids went to Parkview School too.

The Fountain has grown constantly over the years in their offerings. Want to learn to decorate a cake? The Fountain. The best in baking equipment? The Fountain. Cards for special occasions? The Fountain. Lovely gifts of all kinds, handbags, jewelry, chimes, Christmas decorations, toys, etc., etc., etc. It has been my tradition to give my great nieces and nephew a Christmas ornament each year. Where do they generally come from? The Fountain. Where else would you find a crystal motorcycle the year the nephew added a motorcycle to his life, or a mandolin, guitar, drum, etc., when he was in a band? The Fountain.

That is why last Wednesday I stopped there for a candle, a certain color and texture. Had been to several other places and found that no one carried candles anymore. I also picked up a Valentine. As I stood at the checkout stand, a young friend with small children came up beside me. I commented, “This is the store that has everything you can’t find anyplace else.” She commented: “Their toys are wonderful.”

How else could I respond the next morning when I read, “Fountain Galleria is closing”?

When I saw my young friend in church, Sunday, I commented on this fact. She hadn’t read the paper. Her response, “Oh, they have such wonderful toys!”

Only the name has changed, “Fountain Galleria,” they have always given excellent service and products. For me it is not the end of a chapter, along with the demise of several of the other anchors in the Fountain District, it is the end of an era.

Geneil Chevalier

Mike competed last weekend in the 5th Annual 2008 Salmon Classic Invitational at Roche Harbor. Mike caught a 16lbs. 12 oz salmon to earn him second place in the event. The first place fish weighed 19 lbs, 14 oz.

Great Job to Mike and all those who participated!

Currently this week in Sudden Valley, WA the Pending Ratio is 14%, which is up one percentage point from last week’s ratio of 13%. The pending ratios are the percentage of homes listed that have pending offers on them.

Below is a graph to view the Sudden Valley Real Estate pending sales trend.

To view the pending ratios in numerical form click here

Currently this week in Lynden, WA the Pending Ratio is 19%, which is up two percentage points with last week’s ratio of 17%. The pending ratios are the percentage of homes listed that have pending offers on them.

Below is a graph to view the Lynden Real Estate pending sales trend.

To view the pending ratios in numerical form click here

Currently this week in Ferndale, WA the Pending Ratio is 22%, which is stable from last week. The pending ratios are the percentage of homes listed that have pending offers on them.

Below is a graph to view the Ferndale Real Estate pending sales trend.

To view the pending ratios in numerical form click here

Currently this week in Blaine/Birch Bay, WA the Pending Ratio is 11%, which is up one percentage point with last week’s ratio of 10%. The pending ratios are the percentage of homes listed that have pending offers on them.

Below is a graph to view the Blaine/Birch Bay Real Estate pending sales trend.

To view the pending ratios in numerical form click here

Currently this week in Bellingham, WA the Pending Ratio is 18%, which is stable from the previous week. The pending ratios are the percentage of homes listed that have pending offers on them.

Below is a graph to view the Bellingham Real Estate pending sales trend.

To view the pending ratios in numerical form click here

January and February brought a resounding increase in the number of calls, the number of property showings and the number of people looking at listings online. That is normal after the relative quiet of the holiday season.

When the dust settled in 2007, we found that the number of homes sold in Bellingham was up slightly (for the first time since 2004), average prices were up slightly for the year, inventory was down a bit from the end of 2006 and houses were taking longer to sell than they had in 2006.

In Bellingham, January 2008 saw home unit sales of 14.5 percent less than January 2007 and average prices slightly less during the same time period. This seems to continue a trend that began in the latter part of 2007.

Hopefully, our market is going to end this year in a stronger position than it currently is because of the adjustments it is experiencing. The number of homes sold will probably decline, because only people who are financially strong enough to buy a house will be able to do so. Lending money to people who have a history of poor credit and no money of their own to put into a property is not good for the buyer, the lender or the market because in many cases it sets the buyer up for failure. Lending money to people who are buying multiple properties expecting that values will increase dramatically in the short term creates an unstable market. Allowing people to pull equity out of their homes based on unrealistic appraisals leaves them nothing when they want to sell.

As a country, we are now working through the effects of bad financial decisions on a number of levels.The underpinnings of our local real estate market are still sound. Interest rates are good, financing is available for qualified buyers and there is enough inventory available to provide choice in the marketplace. Out of curiosity, I did an analysis of Bellingham homes sold in 2005 and 2006 that have been resold since then. What I found was that in most cases, individual homes sold for more in 2006 and 2007 than they sold for in 2005. If the owners of these homes bought with zero down, pulled money out in a refinance, or otherwise altered their equity position, they may still have to bring money to the table if they want to sell just now. That’s called a normal market.