Before we look at the stats, we need to understand what we are comparing against.  November of 2008 had fewer homes sold in Whatcom County than any month over the past almost 4 years except for January and February of 2009.  That set the stage for Whatcom county residential sales to be up by 87% this year.  Year to date sales were down by just 2.4% from 2008, which was good considering our slow start.  Average sale prices were also up county wide in November over 2008 (by 10.2%), although the median dropped by 4%.  A few details of November sales relative to last year: 

• Bellingham sales numbers increased 141% (from 36 homes last year to 87 this year).  The average price was up by 17.7%, but the median was down by nearly 2%.  The average reflected the return of some sales over $500,000 (in 2008 there was just one) but the continued dominance of sales under $300,000 kept the median down.
• Most areas in Whatcom County followed this pattern, with the number of sales up everywhere and median prices dropping.  The one exception was in Lynden, where both average and median prices increased.  This could reflect a change in the type of housing available this year relative to last.

Inventory levels continue to fall relative to both last month and last year in Bellingham, Birch Bay/Blaine, and Ferndale, although they seem to be getting stickier in Lynden & Sudden Valley, with levels close to last year. Pending sales were up 91% in Bellingham as of mid November, and were also up strongly in Ferndale and Birch Bay/Blaine.  Lynden & Sudden Valley are close to last year’s levels.   

To view the complete statistics and predictions for the Bellingham and Whatcom County Real Estate Market visit the November Real Estate Report Page  or the Market Update section of The Johnson Team Real Estate website.

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!