Bellingham seems to be leading the way in Whatcom County’s real estate recovery. It is the first month since October of 2007 in which the number of houses sold was equal to the number sold in the same month of the prior year. No other areas in Whatcom County matched their prior year sales, but some did better than others.
Bellingham sold 82 houses in May of both 2008 & 2009
Ferndale was down just 5%
Other areas dropped from 23% to 75%
Whatcom County as a whole was off 16.7%
The good Bellingham numbers were not totally unexpected, as pending sales have been rising relative to last year for the past 3 months, while inventory levels continue to fall.
Average price changes varied widely, as usual, from an increase of 8% in one area to a decline of 17.6% in another from May of last year. Some of our communities are small, so one or two home sales can have a major impact as a percentage change. The larger samples of Bellingham and Whatcom County as a whole are better indicators of trends:
Bellingham: Average down 9.3%, Median down 9.4% May 2008 to May 2009
Total Whatcom County: Average down 6.6%, Median down 1.1%
As shown by the chart above, we are seeing the normal increase in sales as we go into spring, with the curve a bit steeper than it was last year, but without the large jump that occurred in 2007. Average and median prices, after rising in the first 3 months of this year, have dropped rather steeply in April and May.
This drop is alarming until we look into the distribution of sales within the price ranges. While average prices still seem to be lower, the softness in the price ranges above $500,000 has been largely responsible for the size of the drop.
Weekly we keep track of the number of homes on the market that have offers on them and those that do not, this is what we call Pending Ratios.
As of last Saturday May 23th the pending ratio in Bellingham was 25%. Bellingham’s pending ratio remained stable from the previous week’s percentage of 25%. Pending is the time frame between when an offer has been mutual accepted between the buyer’s and the seller’s of the home and when the title actually transfers hands. This give the buyer’s time to get the financing, do inspection, review the title reports and more.
To view a complete history of Whatcom County Pending Ratios or for other real estate statistics don’t hesitate to contact The Johnson Team at (360) 303-2734 or by email at Info@JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Have you ever wondered just how many of the homes you see for sale have offer on them? Weekly we keep track of the number of homes on the market that have offers on them and those that do not, this is what we call Pending Ratios.
As of last Saturday May 9th the pending ratio in Bellingham was 25%. There were 696 homes for sale in Bellingham. 524 of the homes were active listings with no offers on them and 172 on the homes had offers and were in real estate terms, pending. Pending is the time frame between when an offer has been mutual accepted between the buyer’s and the seller’s of the home and when the title actually transfers hands. This give the buyer’s time to get the financing, do inspection, review the title reports and more.
Birch Bay had a pending ratio of 14%. In the Birch Bay and Blaine areas there were a total of 319 homes listed for sale. Out of the 319 homes for sale 46 of them had offers on them and 273 did not.
Ferndale has a pending ratio of 17%.In Ferndale there were a total of 271 homes for sale. Out of the 271 homes for sale in Ferndale 46 of them had offers on them and 225 did not.
To view a complete history of Whatcom County Pending Ratios or for other real estate statistics don’t hesitate to contact The Johnson Team at (360) 303-2734 or by email at Info@JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
It’s Monday and that means that we have a new set of weekly real estate statistics for your reading pleasure. Every week we keep track of what we call “Pending Ratios,” the number of houses on the market for sale, relative to the number of houses that have offers on them. We track the statistics based on area and price range.
This week the pending ratio in Bellingham is 22% with a total of 661 homes listed on the NWMLS as of Saturday , May 2nd when we ran the numbers. Out of the 661 Bellingham homes that are listed, 144 are Pending. Pending is a term used when an offer has been accepted on the home and it is in the process of closing.
The Birch Bay& Blaine area has a pending ratio of 13% is with a total of 299 homes listed on the market and 39 of those homes pending.
Lynden had a weekly pending ratio of 14% with a total of 156 homes listed and 22 of those homes pending.
Ferndale has a weekly pending ratio of 17%. In Ferndale there were a total of 258 residential homes listed on the market, out of those 258 homes 44 homes were pending.
The area of Sudden Valley has a weekly pending ratio of 20% with a total of 128 homes listed for sale and 26 of them pending.
If you have any question on the weekly pending ratios and what they mean to you call The Johnson Team at 1-888-713-3056 or (360) 393-2620 or feel free to check our “Market News”section of our website for up to date anlysis of the Bellingham and Whatcom County Real Estate Markets.
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
For the 8th week in a row, the number of Bellingham homes under contract is up over last year, while the number of homes on the market continues to be lower than a year ago.
Bellingham Residential Activity Last Week
2009
2008
2007
Under Contract
139
128
191
Homes for Sale
524
554
583
The differences are small, and only time will tell if they indicate a change in the market. Check back the first week in May, when we will have Bellingham residential sales figures to provide another indicator.
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
The number of residential pending sales in Bellingham compared to last year is continuing to rise. For each of the past three weeks, the number of homes under contract in Bellingham has been higher than for the comparable week in 2008. At the same time, the inventory of homes for sale in Bellingham is continuing to drop relative to 2008.
An increase in sales activity this time of year is normal as we start into the upward curve of the selling season, but the news in these numbers is the increase over the same period of last year. After approximately 18 months of steady decline in this comparison, this is welcome news.
Check back on Monday afternoon for the full report and all the numbers for 5 different Whatcom County areas at market statistics.
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Don’t get too excited, but the number of homes in Bellingham currently under contract for sale is up for the 2nd week in a row, and inventory is still down from last year. While I am far from proclaiming a change in the market, I am watching carefully to see if this becomes a trend. At this point it is a very fragile indicator – very short time period, very small shift, very vulnerable to the consumer confidence ratings we have been hearing about.
To keep your finger on the pulse of the Whatcom County real estate market, check out our market trends section of the Johnson Team website… and tune in here next Saturday afternoon for the latest update!
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
It’s time to answer the most common question we receive every week, “How is the Market?” The way we answer that question is the more houses sell relative to the total number of houses available, the more active the real estate market is. In other words, if there are 10 houses for sale and 1 of them is “Pending” (meaning there is a signed offer on it) that would not be an active market. Weekly, we record the number of houses on the market in a certain area and price range relative to the number than have signed offers on them and are pending. The higher the percentage the more active that portion of the real estate market is. We find Pending Ratios to be a better way to track the market in real time as property sales can take between an average of about 45 days to be recorded in our system.
Below is the pending ratio per Whatcom County Community. Click on the hyper link for each city to view the numbers in detail:
Bellingham: This week the Bellingham Pending Ratio is 16%, which is stable from last week’s rate.
Birch Bay & Blaine: This week the Birch Bay and Blaine Pending Ratio is 12%, which is stable from last week’s rate.
Ferndale: This week in Ferndale the Pending Ratio is 11%, which is stable from last week’s rate.
Lynden: This week in Lynden the Pending Ratio is 14%, which is up 1% from last week’s rate.
Sudden Valley: This week in Sudden Valley the Pending Ratio is 20% which is up 2% from the previous week’s rates.
In conclusion, it looks like Sudden Valley has the most active real estate market, with Ferndale, Birch Bay and Blaine having the least active real estate markets.
If you have questions on the Bellingham or Whatcom County real estate don’t hesitate to contact us, we track the market in a variety of ways and we would love to tell you all about them!
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Currently this week in Bellingham, WA the Pending Ratio is 16%, which is stable with last week’s pending ratio. 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
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Currently this week in Bellingham, WA the Pending Ratio is 16%, which is up one point from last week’s pending ratio. 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
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Weekly we keep track of the number of homes on the market that have offers on them and those that do not, this is what we call Pending Ratios.
Have you ever wondered just how many of the homes you see for sale have offer on them? Weekly we keep track of the number of homes on the market that have offers on them and those that do not, this is what we call Pending Ratios.
Subscribe by Email
Follow on Twitter
