Bellingham Condominium Market Update for Jan 27th – Feb 2nd
New Condos Listed in Bellingham
This week in the Bellingham condo market 11 new condos were listed. However, 8 or the 11 new condos listed were phase 3 of the Centre Pointe Condominiums. The Centre Point Condominiums are in their 3rd and final phase. The average price of the Centre Point Condos Phase 3 is $256,388 ($248/sq.ft.). The average price for condos listed in Bellingham this week was $243,990 ($227/sq.ft) with a median price of Median Price $247,900 ($234/sq.ft.).
Bellingham Condos Pending this Week
Only 4 condos pended this week in Bellingham. The average price of condos that pended was $233,157 ($174/sq.ft.) with a median price of $211,363 ($155/sq.ft.). The average days on market for these condos was 129.
10 Bellingham Condos Sold this Week!
The bigger news of the week is the number of condos that closed. 10 condos officially sold this week, which is great. These closed sales reflect the boom that we experienced in January. The average sold price of these condos was $184,390 (165/sq.ft.). The average listing price was $187,366 ($168/sq.ft.), so these condos closed at 98% of their listing price. The average days on market for these closed condos was 217. The average days on market would have been much smaller, but a few of the condos were new construction and had been on the market for quite some time.
Ryan Martin, e-Pro®, Realtor® - 360-319-0040
Your Bellingham Real Estate Professional | Bellingham Washington Real Estate
Search all Bellingham Condos for Sale
This Week in Real Estate | Bellingham 1/27/08 - 2/02/08
The real estate market held strong again this week in Bellingham. 20 new homes were listed with an average price of $416,308 and median price of $354,950. 16 homes pended this week with an average price of $317,209 and median price of $269,450. The average days on market for homes that pended was 103.
Good Signs in January for Bellingham’s Real Estate Market
Overall, it was a pretty good month in Bellingham. The total number of sales was down from the Jan 2007 total of 77 to 59 in Jan 2008. The drop in closed sales was due to the slow market in Dec 2007. However, I imagine that we will see total sales really pick up in February due to the activity that we have experienced this January.
What is New on the Bellingham Real Estate Market this Week?
This week, 18 of the 20 new homes on the market were existing construction. Most of the builders have decided to sit on their lots for awhile, so this is a trend that we will likely see through most of the spring. Of the 2 new construction homes that were listed only one was is located within a new plat, while the other home that is being constructed is on an infill lot.
Homes that Pended or Received Accepted Offers in Bellingham this Week
Staying on the subject of new construction, 6 of the 16 homes that pended this week were new construction. 4 of those homes were located in DR Horton’s Reserve at Cordata, which was discussed in detail last week.
Other notable pending sales include a beautiful private home near Sea Pines on Briza Ct. This private 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom and 2,839sq.ft. home was listed for $618,000. This home was great deal and only on the market for 1 day.
Ryan Martin, e-Pro®, Realtor® - 360-319-0040
Your Bellingham Real Estate Professional | Bellingham Washington Real Estate
Search all Bellingham Homes for Sale
Bellingham / Whatcom County | 2006 - 2007 Residential Market Comparison
2006 |
|
| 2007 |
|
|
| Area | Homes | Avg. Price | Area | Homes | Avg. Price |
| Whatcom County | 2,812 | $329,795 | Whatcom County | 2,689 | $335,468 |
| Bellingham | 1,197 | $368,312 | Bellingham | 1,223 | $376,597 |
| Blaine | 433 | $321,171 | Blaine | 348 | $328,412 |
| Lynden | 223 | $330,319 | Lynden | 216 | $318,310 |
| Ferndale | 342 | $331,347 | Ferndale | 357 | $331,578 |
We see some interesting real estate statistics here between 2006 and 2007 for Bellingham & Whatcom County. Overall, prices when up in Whatcom County during 2007 while the total volume of homes sold was slightly down. In Bellingham both sales and prices went up during 2007. The only market that really suffered in stagnate sales during 2007 was Blaine. The biggest reason for this sharp decline was due to the slowdown of DB Johnson's Bay Crest Neighborhood. With nearly 500 total homes flooding the market over several phases, Bay Crest slowed things down in Blaine.
Considering all of the real estate problems nationally, Whatcom County was able to hold strong. If you have been considering moving to Bellingham or Whatcom County, you should feel comfortable knowing that the local real estate market faired well during recent real estate storms.
Ryan Martin, e-Pro®, Realtor® - 360-319-0040
Your Bellingham Real Estate Professional | Bellingham Washington Real Estate
Search all Bellingham Homes for Sale
Market Update for Bellingham Condos
The Bellingham condo market was fairly slow week. Only 3 condos pended over the course of the week. The average price of condos that pended was $275,282 ($218/sq.ft.). 2 of the pending condos were located in north Bellingham and 1 condo was located in Fairhaven.
DR Horton’s The Reserve at Cordata
DR Horton’s The Reserve at Cordata had a big week. They had 6 condos closed sales this week. The Reserve at Cordata - Maples, which pended in June of 2007 was recently completed and finally closed this week. The average price of those townhouse style condos was $200,138 ($156/sq.ft.)
Cottage Creek Condos in Bellingham
11 new condos were listed with an average price of $277,277 ($190/sq.ft.) However, 5 of these 11 new condos were Cottage Creek conversions. The average price of the newly listed Cottage Creek condos was $118,000 (184/sq.ft.) Cottage Creek is an interesting condominium complex. Originally built in the late 1970’s as apartment buildings, Cottage Creek is now being converted into condominiums.
Condo Conversions
Converting apartment buildings to condominiums has become a popular practice over the last few years. Most of the work necessary in completing a condo conversion occurs in writing the Condominium Declaration and Bylaws, as well as the Public Offering Statement. It is important to hire an attorney experienced in condo conversions when undertaking a project of this scope.
Ryan Martin, e-Pro®, Realtor® - 360-319-0040
Your Bellingham Real Estate Professional | Bellingham Washington Real Estate
Search all Bellingham Condos for Sale
This Week in Real Estate... Bellingham, WA
This week in real estate we experienced something that we haven’t seen in while and that was interest rates back around 5%. I was really interested to see how that affected our real estate market in Bellingham this week because it seemed like business was very busy. It turns out that homes sales didn’t necessarily increase, but the number of people that refinanced their homes went through the roof. Although, I think that the low interest rates probably a lot of people realizing how good of a time it is to buy a home.
What is New on the Bellingham Real Estate Market this Week?
This week 18 homes were listed in Bellingham. The average price of new homes listed was $363,328 and the median price was $329,950. One thing that really stood out me was that 7 homes were listed under $225,000 in Bellingham. This is great news for first time home buyers. It is difficult to find homes in this price range in Bellingham, so an increase in inventory under $225,000 is a very good thing.
Are Foreclosures a Problem in Bellingham?
Foreclosures seem to be a big buzz word in real estate right now, so I would like to address it. This week there was one bank foreclosure listed in Bellingham. However, I don’t think it would be fair to say that Bellingham has a problem with foreclosures. One bank foreclosure over the last 2 weeks is not going to hurt our real estate market. In fact, USA Today recently published a brief article about homes that were purchased last year that have lost value. Bellingham, WA ranked #2 in the nation for the lowest percentage of these homes. You can read more about that on my other real estate blog.
Homes that Pended or Received Accepted Offers in Bellingham this Week
12 homes came under contract this week in Bellingham. This is not quite as high as the 18 from last week, but this is still a healthy number considering that only 18 homes were listed this week. What I found interesting about the homes that were receiving offers this week is that were at the higher end of the price spectrum. The average listing price of homes that pended this week was $463,625 and the median listing price was $437,450. These are solid numbers because there were not any million plus dollar homes that pended. In fact, the highest priced home out of the 12 was $885,000.
Ryan Martin, e-Pro®, Realtor® - 360-319-0040
Your Bellingham Real Estate Professional | Bellingham Washington Real Estate
Search all Bellingham Homes for Sale
 |
|
|
Ryan Martin, with a B.A. in Economics from WWU has focused his career within the residential division of Windermere. Ryan is among the top real estate agents in both Whatcom County & Skagit County.
Ryan moved to Bellingham, WA over 10 years ago to study Economics at Western Washington University. While obtaining his degree, he learned a great deal about the Internet by living with Computer Science majors who also attended WWU. After graduating in 2002, Ryan began his career in real estate. Ryan has an extensive background in HTML, the Internet and photography and has developed many real estate websites during his career.
Ryan and his business partner KC Coonc really do enjoy helping buyers and sellers achieve their goals. Their office is located in Fairhaven on the corner of 12th and Old Fairhaven Parkway in Bellingham. The market area they work is within 60 minutes driving time of our office, which covers all of Whatcom County and most of Skagit County. Seldom do they make exception to service clients south of the Skagit County Line. They do have a structured referral program that is based on a sliding scale depending upon the buyer and property type being referred. Ryan and KC are full time, full service agents, with a very high percentage of successfully closed sales each year. They will do their part and more in every transaction.
Your Solutions Team offers both commercial & residential real estate expertise within Whatcom and Skagit County.
Ryan Martin heads our residential real estate division. Ryan has extensive knowledge of real estate contracts and has assisted dozens of buyers purchase homes, condos and raw land. He is also an excellent photographer and expert of real estate marketing. To learn more about residential real estate in Whatcom & Skagit Counties see our residential real estate websites.
Bellingham condos | Anacortes Real Estate | Skagit County Real Estate | Windermere Whatcom County Real Estate
KC Coonc is our Commercial real estate expert. KC has over 10 years of commercial real estate experience. Working within the commercial division of Windermere, KC is among the top commercial real estate agents in both Whatcom & Skagit counties. With a complete understanding of commercial leasing and sales you can save yourself a lot of time and hassle by contacting KC first. To learn more about commercial real estate in Whatcom & Skagit Counties see commercial real estate website.
Windermere Commercial Real Estate
When Representing our Buyers
In 1997 the State of Washington changed the long standing laws on the books to make it possible for Buyers of real property to have full representation in purchasing real estate. Believe it or not, until 1997 the Listing Agent and the Buyer's Agent represented the Seller regardless as to whether a Buyer had designated an agent to assist them in their purchase. Why Washington State waited so long to address the need of Buyers to have full representation will likely never be clear.
Entering into a Buyer's Agency Agreement establishes from the beginning that as your Buyer's Agents we will provide you with as much detailed information as possible on the properties you are interested in seeing. This includes listed and unlisted properties. The information we provide will be based upon fact and upon our extensive knowledge of the area and property type. As your Buyer's Agents, we have no obligation to any one Seller to promote the sale of their property.
A typical purchase and sale is 12 pages long and it is not unusual for it to be up to 16 pages long. This is before the contingency addendums, notices, responses to notices and disclosures are added as the purchase progresses toward closing. Through years of experience, we understand the ever changing contracts and are alert to what may be presented to you by a Seller or Listing Agent that is in your best interest and more importantly what isn't.
Our fees are almost without exception paid in full by the Seller at closing. Statistically most properties are offered for sale through a Listing Agent where the Seller has agreed to pay a Buyer's Agent commission.
Most For Sale By Owners are not experienced in selling real estate and have no expertise in putting together a successful sale that is in full compliance with Washington State Law. Non-disclosure, followed by fraud, are the biggest problems. Ignorance of the Law of Washington State is no excuse and could easily land the Buyer and Seller in court months or years after the date of closing. Many FSBO's offer Buyer's Agent commission and to date we have been very successful in getting our fee paid by the seller at closing.
Upon retaining our Exclusive Buyer's Agency Services, it becomes our duty to the following:
- Be loyal and take no action that is adverse or detrimental to you.
- Disclose conflicts of interests, if any.
- Advise you to seek expert advice on matters beyond our expertise.
- Not disclose confidential information about you.
- Make a good faith and continuous effort to find you a property.
Remember, Listing Agents are obligated to represent the Seller, not you as a Buyer. We will commit to exclusively representing you in your purchase if you will commit to us as your Buyer's Agents.
When Representing our Sellers
Staying in touch
First and foremost, staying in touch with our clients is one of the keys to keeping successful relationship in real estate. Because we are highly educated within our areas of expertise, we constantly update our clients on current market trends. Not only do we keep our sellers updated with the showings of their property, we also keep them informed on what else is on the market and what is pending or sold. We do not force our sellers into long term listing agreements because we keep good relationships. If for some reason one of our clients is unhappy, we work out the problem or we agree to terminate our relationship. We like to be happy, we want you to be happy and will prove to you that you will be happy.
Professional Photos
A picture is worth a thousand words, or thousands of dollars in your case. We will take professional quality still and 'virtual tour' panorama shots of the interior and exterior of your home and of your setting/view. We create a color brochure of your property that goes inside your home and a full compliment of color photos accompanies every listing in the MLS with an upgraded photo gallery integrated into Windermere.com.
Online Marketing
People have become savvy home buyers and are aware that they can view the entire inventory of available property if they find a site that connects them to the MLS. This has made the importance of high quality photos essential to marketing property on the internet. Buyer will dismiss listings without complete information, including high quality photos & 360 tours. We strive to put your home above the competition when it comes to showcasing your property on the Internet.
Skagit County
Skagit County is located north of Snohomish County and South of Whatcom County. Mount Vernon, Burlington and Anacortes are the largest cities located within the borders of Skagit County. Skagit County stretches from the base of the Cascade Mountain range down the Skagit River to the tips of the San Juan Islands. Skagit County is lush with agricultural fields and the legendary tulip festival. The upper Skagit River, near Concrete and east, is an extremely popular place for salmon fishing. Elk are also prominent creatures of the upper Skagit River. The elk herds migrate back and forth from the surround hills to the rivers edge. Hurn Field in Concrete is a popular resting place for the Elk.
Whatcom County
Whatcom County is located north of Skagit County and south of the Canadian border. The largest cities in Whatcom County are Bellingham, Lynden and Ferndale. Bellingham is a well known for its historical area Fairhaven. Whatcom County stretches from the base of the Cascade Mountains featuring the famous Mt Baker ski area to the coastline between Blaine & Bellingham. Whatcom County's showcase is Chuckanut Drive, which is world renown for its westerly views of the Ocean and islands beyond.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2009 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
