Tennant Lake and Hovander Farm Park in Whatcom County, WA
Fall in Whatcom County can be a beautiful time to hike – just pick your day and get out to enjoy the crisp air and the vibrant colors. Rich, Mia and I took this one several weeks ago, but the colors will be even better now.
Start from the parking area on the Northeast side of the Slater Rd bridge over the Nooksack River. You will need a parking sticker, available wherever hunting and fishing licenses are sold (Yeager’s is one option.) The cost is $14 and it is good from April 1 to March 31.
The trail heads off to the North, along the top of the Nooksack River dike. Views are across the fields to Mt Baker and the Sisters to the East, with an occasional glimpse of the Nooksack through the trees to the West. As the trail leaves the dike and cuts across to Tennant Lake, you will catch glimpses of Hovander Farm’s big red barn and start to recognize the wetlands that surround Tennant Lake.
The Tennant Lake Interpretive Center is impressive, with a viewing tower looking out over the lake toward the mountains and a fragrance garden where visitors are encouraged to touch and smell as well as look. The boardwalk allows visitors to explore the wetlands up close and stay clean, but note that it is closed during hunting season.
From the Tennant Lake Interpretive Center, it is an easy, level walk over to Hovander Farm Park, a beautiful site featuring one of Whatcom County’s early homesteads. The house and barn are surrounded by expansive lawns available for picnicing and family gatherings. The Highland Games and Civil War Re-enactment are just two of the events that are often held here, but a major attraction is the animals and the petting zoo with animal babies in the spring.
The Hovander grounds border the Nooksack, so it is easy to pick up the trail along the top of the dike that will take you back to your car. When the river is low, there are several spots where it is possible to scramble down the bank to broad sand bars.
Two to three hours will give you time to make the loop, enjoy the scenery along the way and explore the Tennant Lake Interpretive Center and Hovander Farm Park. Part of the route allows dogs off leash, but make sure you take supplies to clean up after your pets. It’s a wonderful introduction to Whatcom County’s outdoors and history.
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.
Whatcom County is home to eight senior centers. The largest of the Whatcom County senior centers is operated by The Whatcom County Council on Aging.
Each senior center has a full calendar of events ranging to games to volunteer activities, and meals. Each senior center also takes part in a senior wellness program which includes screening for glaucoma, hearing and cholesterol. A wonderful nutrition program provides meals to visiting seniors and several centers also deliver meals to seniors unable to make it to the center themselves. Not all centers serve meals so it is wise to call and check with your center before visiting.
Enjoy Your Senior Center!
Below is a list of the Whatcom County Parks and Recreation Senior Centers in Whatcom County:
Whatcom County sales are coming back, although the resurgence is spotty.
Bellingham sold 100 houses in June of both 2008 & 2009
Sudden Valley was up from 8 sales in 2008 to 22 in 2009
Ferndale & Birch Bay/Blaine also had more sales in June 2009 than in June 2008
Lynden had the largest drop in sales, from 21 last year to 15 this year
Whatcom County as a whole was up almost 12% in the number of residences sold
The higher numbers were not totally unexpected, as pending sales have been rising for most areas relative to last year, while inventory levels continue to fall.
Prices dropped across the board from June of 2008, but the average sale price for Whatcom County as a whole is up by 3% and the median by 2.2% from May, which is more indicative of what our market is doing right now. An interesting side note is that the percentage of sale price to list price has stayed quite consistent over the past year.
Bellingham: June 2008/June 2009 Average down 18%, Median down 10.8%
Bellingham: May 2009/June 2009 Average up 6.3%, Median up 9.6%
Total Whatcom County: June 2008/June 2009 Average down 17.7%, Median down 9.6%
Total Whatcom County: May 2009/June 2009 Average up 3%, Median up 2.2%
As the chart below clearly shows, we went to a new, lower “normal” price range after August of last year, but unit sales are showing a sharper seasonal increase than they did a year ago.
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 today July 6th the pending ratio in Bellingham was 23%. 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
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