Whatcom County Real Estate Research Report

Volume 29, 2007

The Whatcom County Real Estate Research Report is published by the Whatcom County Real Estate Research Committee, a nonprofit community group that generates, compiles and distributes factual information about the Whatcom County real estate market. Individuals, co-partnerships, associations, governmental bodies, and corporations of good standing and reputation are invited to become members.

The Whatcom County Real Estate Research Report is the result of the voluntary efforts of the committee members. Members of the committee receive no compensation for their work. Subscription revenues are used to defray the cost of collecting data, printing and distributing the Report. Single issues of the Report in PDF format can be purchased for $20. Printed and mailed reports are $42.50. Please contact Mr. Ferris Wilcox at Chicago Title (360-734-7000).

Executive Summary

Data in the Report indicate that 2006 was a year of slowing real estate activity in Whatcom county. The number of single-family homes sold fell 23 percent below the 2005 level, and the dollar volume of single-family sales fell 13 percent below the 2005 level. The number of condominiums sold rose 1 percent in 2006, however, setting a record high for the fifth year in a row.

For single-family homes, the rate of price appreciation slowed in 2006, the median price increasing by 8.9 percent in 2006, as compared with 22.4 percent in 2005. For the year 2006, the median price of all homes sold in Whatcom county was $283,000, while the median price of homes sold in the Bellingham area was $295,000. This compares with a statewide median home price of $293,800. For an analysis of Whatcom County affordability, please see the Special Section of the Report prepared by Glenn Crellin at the Washington Center for Real Estate Research.

Permit activity was generally lower in 2006, with the exception of multi-family units in Bellingham. While single-family permits in Bellingham fell from 19 to 157, the number of multi-family unit permits rose sharply, from 722 to 1,485. Outside of Bellingham, permit activity fell 31 percent in Lynden and declined by 24 percent in unincorporated Whatcom county.

Plat activity in Bellingham as mixed, short-plat activity falling by 12 percent, and long-plat activity rising more than threefold in 2006. In unincorporated Whatcom county, plat activity was also mixed; short-plat activity rose more than twofold, but long-plat activity fell far below the record high level of 2005.

The editor wishes to thank all those who volunteered their time to make this report possible, in particular the individuals and organizations listed on page 2 and the Committee officers and subcommittee chairpersons. A special thanks to Chris Riebe for creating our new web page, www.wcrer.org.

 

Whatcom County Real Estate Research Committee

The Whatcom County Real Estate Research Committee is a non-profit organization. Its sole purpose is to publish the Whatcom County Real Estate Research Report, through the volunteer efforts of the following committee members:

Sub-Committee Chairs

 

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