Real estate sales in Whatcom County for the 3rd quarter of the year bucked the trend of the first 2 quarters and saw the number of home sales hold or rise slightly from 2008. September was unusually strong, beating the sales numbers for August. Unfortunately, median prices did not follow suit, dropping slightly in Bellingham but more than 10% in the County as a whole. A few details of September sales relative to last year:

•Total Whatcom County sales were up by 13%, with Blaine/Birch Bay leading the pack with a 54.5% increase in the number of homes sold and Ferndale close behind with a 41% increase.

•Lynden is still struggling, with a 6.3% drop in sales and a 20% drop in the average sales price.

•Nooksack Valley prices managed to maintain last year’s levels, but every other area of the County dropped – down 9.9% to 20.4%.

Inventory levels continue to fall, which is normal for this time of year, and pending numbers increased again this month, which is not normal for this time of year. It looks as though a few more of these pending sales are translating into solds, based upon the higher September sales numbers, and if we look at the price distribution of those sales, we can see why the average and median prices have fallen. As the table below shows, the under $300,000 portion of the market in Bellingham increased by 7.5% from September of last year, but the pricing in that segment of the market dropped by 9%. This provided a double hit to the median and average prices.

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To view the complete month end statistics, where we see the real estate market heading and information on Short Sales and Foreclosures visit The Johnson Team Real Estate Market Update Page.

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!