The following is a quick analysis of the Residential Bellingham real estate market.
Currently Active Listings: 468
Price range of active listings - $124,900 - $4,500,000
Average List Price $506,950 Days on the Market: 118
Median List Price: $379,450 Days on the Market: 85
Sold in October: 76
Average List Price: $339,339
Average Sales Price: $329,072 Days on the Market: 98
Ratio of List to Price: 97.0%
Median List Price: $273,450
Median Sales Price: $273,750 Days on the Market: 50
Ratio of List to Price: 100%
Pending Sales Last Week: 19 Total pending sales: 169
Average Sales Price October 2008: $305,045
Median Sales Price October 2008: $292,000
Number Sold in October 2008: 66
The Average Sales price is up 7.9% compared to October 08 and up 8.2% compared to the previous month September 09.
The Median Sales prices is down by 6.3% compared October 08 and up 5.3% compared to the previous September 09.
The number of sales is up by 10 compared to October 2008 and down by 6 compared to the previous month September 09.
Condo Analysis for Bellingham
Currently Active Listings: 262
Price range of active listings - $103,738 - $1,565,000
Average List Price $228,986 Days on the Market: 143
Median List Price $184,900 Days on the Market: 102
Sold in October: 35
Average List Price: $207,320
Average Sales Price:$201,597 Days on the Market: 148
Ratio of List to Price: 97.2%
Median List Price: $185,000
Median Sales Price: $179,300 Days on the Market: 93
Ratio of List to Price: 96.9%
Pending Sales Last Week: 3Total pending sales: 27
Average Sales Price October, 2008: $237,257
Median Sales Price October, 2008: $179,000
Sold in October, 2008: 17
Average Condo sale price is down 15.0% from October 2008 and down 5.9% from the previous month - September 2009
Median Sales Price is $300 or .2 %up from October 2008 and down 6.8% from the previous month - September 2009.
The number of sales is up by 18 compared to October 2008 and up by 9 compared to the previous month September 09.
If you look at the graph you can see that prices the residential market has taken a bit of a rise. Where will the graph go next month is anybody's guess. Will the roller coaster ride of prices continue?........Tune in next month
Great news the First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit of $8,000 available to anyone who hasn't owned a home in the past 3 years has been extended until April 2010. The new program will also expand the tax credit to include existing home owners who have owned a home for at least five of the last 8 years will be able to apply for tax credits of up to $6,500 when they purchase their next home.You might want to talk to your banker to see what you can afford.Meanwhile interest rates are still extremely low and there are some great values in the Bellingham market right now. You might want to take a look at what it would cost you to purchase one of these homes at today's rates. You might be surprised at what your monthly payments would be, maybe less than your paying for rent right now if you are renting a comparable sized house.
If you have any questions or want to see any Bellingham Property feel free to email me at or give me a call at 360-739-6981
The home buyer tax credit ,which is part of a larger bill that also extends unemployment benefits. has been approved by both houses of Congress and signed by President Obama.
First-time home buyers are still eligible for tax credits of up to $8,000. Buyers will now have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30.
The new program will also expand the tax credit to include existing home owners who have owned a home for at least five of the last 8 years will be able to apply for tax credits of up to $6,500 when they purchase their next home.
The maximum price on a home will be $800,000 and vacation homes are not eligible.
The National Association of Realtors says that so far, about 1.4 million first-time homebuyers have qualified for the program and they estimated that 350,000 of these buyers would not have otherwise purchased.
The tax credit will also be extended for another year for military personnel serving outside of the United States until June 30, 2011.
Senator Johnny Isakson, who heavily pushed for the extension, along with his own version that would have increased the credit to $15,000 stated, "this bill will help us boost what is the real problem in the U.S housing market today and that is what is called the move-up market."
Today we got something to help the move up buyers that should help jump start that segemet of the market as well as the first time buyer market.
Another common question from buyers as well as sellers is, "what are my closing costs?" Some typical closing costs in real estate transaction are
Title search fees - is the assurance of clear title to the property and title insurance to defend against any future claims made on the title by circumstances that were not picked up at the time of the title search. This fee is based on the price of the transaction. It will vary from one company to another but they usually pretty close to each other. Traditionally the seller will buy the title insurance policy to protect the buyer, and the buyer will buy a title insurance policy to protect the lender that is providing the loan for the transaction. The appraisal fee - this fee is paid by the buyer to have a professional appraiser give their value of the property. The appraisal is based on recent comparable sales.
Prorated property taxes, utilities, and association fees - these fees are based on the percentage of the year, or month in terms of utilities such as water and sewer, that you own a home.
Insurance fee - you can usually expect to prepay the first year of your insurance premium
Recording fees - these are fees charged to record the change in ownership usually by the county.
Document fees - these can be fees for drawing up different documents involved in the transaction. Escrow fees - this fee is usually shared by both buyer and seller and pays for the escrow company that is handling the transaction. Credit report fee - this fee is for the lender to render buyers credit report.
Other miscellaneous fees - these can include courier fees, electronic transfer fees, flood determination fees, digital storage fees, retrieval fees, underwriting fees, wire transfer fees, tax service fees, e-mail document fees. You won't necessarily be paying all of these, but you will pay some of them.is Loan origination fees and discount points - the loan origination fee can vary from 0.5 % to about 2% of the loan amount pays for the cost of providing loans. Discount points are percentage of the loan amount paid to buying down the loan rate, resulting in a lower monthly payment.
Sellers additional fees - the seller will also pay a percentage of the sales price in excise tax to the county, and commissions to real estate agents.
You real estate agent can usually give you a pretty close estimate of what most of these fees will be.
Average Asking Price; $369,443 Days on Market are 134 days
Median Asking Price: $346,500 Days on Market are 99 days
Homes sold in September: 15
Average Listing Price $275,757
Average Sold Price $268,563 Days on the Market 99
Median Listing Price $259900
Median Sold Price $258,000 Days on Market 81
Homes Pending last week: 13 Total Homes Pending: 34
Average Sales Price September 2008: $337,268
Median Sales Price September 2008: $302,900
Sold in September 2008: 16
The Average Sales price is down 20.4% compared to September 08 and up 16.0% compared to August 09.
The Median Sales prices is down 14.9% compared to September 08 and down 16.1% compared to August 09.
The number of sales is down by 1 compared to September 08 and is up by 5 compared to last month August 09.
Condo Analysis for Lynden
There are currently 34 condos for sale.
Condos are priced from $139,900 - $399,500
Average List Price $235,582 Days on the Market: 210
Median List Price $229,725 Days on the Market: 157
Condos Sold in September: 4
Average List Price: $179,088
Average Sales Price: $174,300 Days on the Market: 86
Median List Price: $168,250
Median Sales Price: $166,600 Days on the Market: 42
Pending Sales Last Week: 1 Total Condos Pending 5
Average Sales Price September 2008: $227,003
Median Sales Price September 2008: $231,560
Sold in September 2008: 5
The Average Sales price is up 8.5% compared to September 08 and down 21.7% compared to August 09.
The Median Sales prices is up 0.1% compared to September 08 and up 25.1% compared to August 09.
The number of sales is down by 1 compared to September 08 and is up by 2 compared to last month August 09.
Interest rates are still extremely low and there are some great values in the Lynden market right now. You might want to take a look at what it would cost you to purchase one of these homes at today's rates. You might be surprised at what your monthly payments would be, maybe less than your paying for rent right now if you are renting a comparable sized house.
There is only a short window of opportunity left for the First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit of $8,000 available to anyone who hasn't owned a home in the past 3 years. You might want to talk to your banker to see what you can afford.
If you have any questions or want to see any Lynden Property feel free to email me at or give me a call at 360-739-6981
The following is a quick analysis of the Blaine real estate market.
There are currently 255 homes for sale.
Homes are priced from $89,900- $2,950,000
Average Asking Price $459,644 Days on Market: 149 days
Median Asking Price $349,000 Days on Market: 117 days
Homes sold in September: 34
Average Listing Price $254,942
Average Sold Price $245,642 Days on Market 149
Median Listing Price $228,490
Median Sold Price $225,00 Days on Market: 66
Homes Pending this week: 8 Total Homes Pending: 60
Average Sales Price September 2008: $272,587
Median Sales Price September 2008: $223,000
Sold in September 2008: 22
The Average Sales price is down 9.8% compared to September 08 and up 11.0% compared to last month August 09.
The Median Sales prices is down 0.8% compared to September 08 and up 2.3% compared to last month August 09.
The number of sales is up by 12 to September 08 and is up by 9 compared to last month August 09.
Condo Analysis for Blaine/Birch Bay
Currently Active Listings: 94
Price range of active listings - $24,900 - $1,249,000
Average List Price $340,511 Days on Market: 213
Median List Price $232,250 Days on Market: 166
Sold in September: 3
Average Listing Price $278,267
Average Sold Price $259,667 Days on Market: 115
Median Listing Price $199,950
Median Sold Price $189,000 Days on Market: 119
Condos Pending this week: 2 Total Condos Pending: 18
Average Sales Price September 2008: $249,900
Median Sales Price September 2008: $249,900
Sold in September 2008: 1
Interest rates are still extremely low and there are some great values in the Bellingham market right now. You might want to take a look at what it would cost you to purchase one of these homes at today's rates. You might be surprised at what your monthly payments would be, maybe less than your paying for rent right now if you are renting a comparable sized house.
There is only a short window of opportunity left for the First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit of $8,000 available to anyone who hasn't owned a home in the past 3 years. You might want to talk to your banker to see what you can afford.
If you have any questions or want to see any Bellingham Property feel free to email me at or give me a call at 360-739-6981
This is a question this often on the minds of buyers. Buyer's want to be sure they are to not going to lose their earnest money.
What is earnest money anyway? It's like a deposit to show the seller that you really interested (earnestly) in buying their property. It's usually in the form of check made out to the escrow company and held in trust accounts until the transaction closes. It can be in the form of promissory note or anything else the seller is willing to accept. The full amount of the earnest money is credited toward the purchase price of the property at closing. There is no standard amount of earnest money, it's commonly about 1 percent of the purchase price. If the buyer really wants to impress the seller they will make it a lot higher to show them that they are really earnest about purchasing their property. Or make it nonrefundable after certain conditions are met.
As far as getting the earnest money back goes, as long as the buyer is careful about meeting contract deadlines the earnest money is usually safe or refundable. As a buyer you must be aware that you need to apply for financing (if there's a financing contingency) within five days of mutual acceptance (that's the date all timelines run from.) You to have your home inspection and response to the seller within ten days. Usually the the first ten days is the easiest time to get your earnest money back because of that inspection contingency. The contingency is subjective and you don't like something in the inspection report or even the color of the front door, you can check the box on the inspection response that says "Buyer' s inspection of Property is disapproved and the Agreement is terminated. The Earnest Money shall be refunded to the buyer." As you can see you don't even have to give a reason. After this ten days of buyers earnest money is usually in jeopardy of being forfeited to the seller. There are other circumstances where a buyer can get their earnest money back. If there is a financing contingency and within 30 days the lender turns the buyer down for a loan they can get their earnest money back. If the appraisal doesn't meet the purchase price and the seller is not willing to reduce the price or the buyer and seller can't come to some new agreement based on appraisal the buyer can get the earnest money back. If the contract runs until closing and the buyer decides to walk away at the last-minute and go to Costa Rica instead of purchasing the property, the seller is surely going to keep the earnest money.
If you have any other questions about earnest money or anything else to do with Bellingham real estate feel free to give me call at 360-739-6981
Don't let the outside fool you. This home has been completely remodeled inside. Everything inside is new and beautiful. There is also a large garage/shop behind the home. The roof is new.
Great deal for a first time home buyer - if you hurry you can still get an $8,000 tax credit if you buy this home.
The following is a quick analysis of the Residential Bellingham real estate market.
Currently Active Listings: 505
Price range of active listings - $124,900 - $4,500,000
Average List Price $507,076 Days on the Market: 118
Median List Price: $374,950 Days on the Market: 82
Sold in September: 82
Average List Price: $314,932
Average Sales Price: $304,221 Days on the Market: 75
Ratio of List to Price: 96.9%
Median List Price: $275,000
Median Sales Price: $260,000 Days on the Market: 48
Ratio of List to Price: 95.6%
Pending Sales Last Week: 35 Total pending sales: 177
Average Sales Price August 2008: $391,516
Median Sales Price August 2008: $326,650
Number Sold in August 2008: 73
The Average Sales price is down 22.3% compared to September 08 and down 22.6% compared to the previous month August 09.
The Median Sales prices is down by 20.4% compared September 08 and down 25.0% compared to the previous August 09.
The number of sales is up by 11 compared to September 08 and down by 3 compared to the previous month August 09.
Condo Analysis for Bellingham
Currently Active Listings: 270
Price range of active listings - $109,300 - $1,565,000
Average List Price $226,326 Days on the Market: 127
Median List Price $183,900 Days on the Market: 78
Sold in September: 24
Average List Price: $221,400
Average Sales Price: $$214,253 Days on the Market: 129
Ratio of List to Price: 97.3%
Median List Price: $197,450
Median Sales Price: $192,375 Days on the Market: 67
Ratio of List to Price: 98.9%
Pending Sales Last Week: 7 Total pending sales: 50
Average Sales Price September, 2008: $229,858
Median Sales Price September, 2008: $180,000
Sold in September, 2008: 35
Average Condo sale price is down 6.8% from September 2008 and down 4.2% from the previous month - August 2009
Median Sales Price is down 6.9% from September 2008 and down 8.6% from the previous month - August 2009.
The number of sales is down by 9 compared to September 08 and up by 8 compared to the previous month August 09.
If you look at the graph you can see that prices took a bit of a dive in the residential market with a slighter decrease in the condo market. Where will the graph go next month is anybody's guess. Will the roller coaster ride of prices continue?........Tune in next month
Meanwhile interest rates are still extremely low and there are some great values in the Bellingham market right now. You might want to take a look at what it would cost you to purchase one of these homes at today's rates. You might be surprised at what your monthly payments would be, maybe less than your paying for rent right now if you are renting a comparable sized house.
There is only a short window of opportunity left for the First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit of $8,000 available to anyone who hasn't owned a home in the past 3 years. You might want to talk to your banker to see what you can afford.
If you have any questions or want to see any Bellingham Property feel free to email me at or give me a call at 360-739-6981
Whatcom County Real Estate Market Report for September, 2009
The following is a quick analysis of the Whatcom County real estate market.
There are currently 1511 homes for sale
Homes are priced from $17,000 - $4,500,000
Average Asking Price $417,914 Days on Market: 131 days
Median Asking Price $329,000 Days on Market: 91 days
Homes sold in September: 199
Average Listing Price $276,474
Average Sold Price $265,368 Days on Market 97
Median Listing Price $249,900
Median Sold Price $243,000 Days on Market: 64
Homes Pending this week: 91 Total Homes Pending: 431
Average Sales Price September 2008: $306,907
Median Sales Price September 2008: $269,900
Sold in September 2008: 175
The Average Sales price is down 13.5% compared to September 08 and down 16.7% compared to last month.
The Median Sales prices is down 10.0% compared to September 08 and down 13.2% compared to last month.
The number of sales is up by 24 compared to September 08 and up by 26 compared to last month.
Condo Analysis for Whatcom County
Currently Active Listings: 446
Price range of active listings - $24,900 - $1,565,000
Average List Price $248,196 Days on Market: 157
Median List Price $198,000 Days on Market: 101
Sold in September: 33
Average Listing Price $214,218
Average Sold Price $206,401Days on Market: 116
Median Listing Price $179,900
Median Sold Price $174,900 Days on Market: 65
Condos Pending (went under contract) last week: 12 Total Condos Pending: 79
Average Sales Price September 2008: $219,476
Median Sales Price September 2008: $200,000
Sold in September 2008: 41
The Average Sales price is down 5.6% compared to September 08, and up by 1.8% compared to last month.
The Median Sales prices is down by 12.6% compared to September 08 and down by 14.7% compared to last month.
The number of sales is down by 8 compared to September 08 and up by 5 compared to last month.
Meanwhile interest rates are still extremely low and there are some great values in the Whatcom County Real Estate market right now. You might want to take a look at what it would cost you to purchase one of these homes at today's rates. You might be surprised at what your monthly payments would be, maybe less than your paying for rent right now if you are renting a comparable sized house.
There is only a short window of opportunity left for the First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit of $8,000 available to anyone who hasn't owned a home in the past 3 years. You might want to talk to your banker to see what you can afford.
If you have any questions or want to see any Bellingham Property feel free to email me at or give me a call at 360-739-6981
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
As far as getting the earnest money back goes, as long as the buyer is careful about meeting contract deadlines the earnest money is usually safe or refundable. As a buyer you must be aware that you need to apply for financing (if there's a financing contingency) within five days of mutual acceptance (that's the date all timelines run from.) You to have your home inspection and response to the seller within ten days. Usually the the first ten days is the easiest time to get your earnest money back because of that inspection contingency. The contingency is subjective and you don't like something in the inspection report or even the color of the front door, you can check the box on the inspection response that says "Buyer' s inspection of Property is disapproved and the Agreement is terminated. The Earnest Money shall be refunded to the buyer." As you can see you don't even have to give a reason.
If you look at the graph you can see that prices took a bit of a dive in the residential market with a slighter decrease in the condo market. Where will the graph go next month is anybody's guess. Will the roller coaster ride of prices continue?........Tune in next month
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