October saw an
interesting shift in the trend toward sales of more expensive
homes, with just 10 homes over $500,000 selling as compared
to sales of 17 in October of 2007. As a result, the average
price of a home that sold in Bellingham during the month
dropped 13%. An overall decline in county prices of 7.1%
also reflected this shift, but not necessarily an actual
decline in home prices.
As a whole, October did not perform particularly well
for real estate sales relative to last year. The only
meaningful increase was in the number of homes sold in
Ferndale – up 52.4% over last year (from 21 to
32), although Bellingham sales were off by just 1 unit.
The actual numbers indicate one of the weaknesses of
a monthly analysis: the numbers tend to be relatively
small, which means that minimal changes can cause large
percentage swings. Other than Ferndale, sales numbers
were down in all areas, resulting in a decline for the
county as a whole of 10.3%.
As a reality check, however, note that 31.7% of the
homes that closed in Bellingham in October found their
buyer in 30 days or less and received almost 99% of their
asking price. More than half sold in less than 60 days,
even though the average days on market were 83. The houses
that are the best still sell quickly and at top dollar.
If you would like information about any specific areas, feel free to call us at (360) 527-8766 or email Lylene and we will get right back to you.
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