Jacob Baklund

Whatcom County Housing News, July 2009

Home prices listed at $300,000 or less getting full price offers

A seller's market has been reported for homes listed under $300,000, however home prices have been consistently sliding since June 2006.

June 2006 buyer's paid 96% of original listed price.

June 2007 buyer's paid 95% of original listed price.

June 2008 buyer's paid 94% of original listed price.

June 2009 buyer's paid 92% of original listed price.

Discounts have been deeper in homes above $750,000 while homes under $300,000 are closer to original price.

Lowest inventory of homes priced under $300,000

Breaking down the 7.5 months of inventory for real estate in Whatcom County (the lowest since August 2007)

Houses priced under $300,000 had a 5.4 month of supply at the end of June, down from 7.2 months in April and 9.7 months in January.

Houses priced between $300,000 and $500,000 had an 8 month supply at the end of June, down from 30.2 months in January.

Houses priced more than $500,000 had a 24.4 months of supply at the end of June, down from 63.5 months in January.

*This information has been provided by Stewart Title of Bellingham*

Whatcom County Housing News, June 2009

Last month the local unemployment rate was 8.4%, while the state and national rate rose to 9.4%. Hart Hodges, director at the Center for Economics and Business Research at Western Washington University, doesn't think job growth will actually begin until 2010 and isn't sure if this area will return to the sub 5% unemployment seen in the early part of 2008.

What may be happening is a more structural change in the job market both nationally and locally, said Joe Giannamore, a regional labor economist for the Washington State Employment Security Department. He noted that year over year job growth in Whatcom County had not been negative since at least 1990, indicating that the current job losses make this a different kind of local recession. Since this area has a relatively diverse job market, growth will be tied to what happens nationally rather than what happens to one industry. He believes the overall financial and real estate markets need to get back on track before we see improvement.

Last month, construction and manufacturing dominated the local occupations that have the most people looking for work. At the top of the list was carpenters, with 255 people in that occupation receiving unemployment checks, up from 146 in May 2008. Rounding out the top five are construction laborers, production workers, truck drivers and electricians.

*From the Bellingham Herald Business Section and Stewart Title of Bellingham*

Whatcom County Housing News, July 2009

One key to successful investing is a balanced portfolio. Most financial advisors recommend that investors have some liquid savings, some fixed return instruments and investments with equity growth potential. Real estate, as one element of an investment portfolio, offers the potential for equity growth as well as monthly cash flow. Refelected below is a comparison of the before tax equity accumulation potential of three investments:

Savings

Investing $40,000 in a CD at 5%, compounded daily, grows to $84,675 in 15 years.

Mutual Fund

Investing $40,000 in a mutual fund appreciating at 10% grows to $176,090 in 15 years.

Real Estate

Investing $40,000 (20% down) in a $200,000 rental property, appreciating at 5% annually, and assuming a 15 year fully amortized loan used to purchase the property, net proceeds in 15 years would be $386,680.

The numbers speak for themselves. More money has been made in real estate than any other investment tool. Are you ready to wealth build?

If you want to buy or sell real estate, please call Jacob Baklund at 360-961-0796.

*This above information was supplied by Asset Preservations Inc and Stewart Title of Bellingham*

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The following information has been brought to you by real estate expert, Jacob Baklund. For more information please visit http://www.jaybaklund.com/