Bellingham Real Estate Market Report for November, 2009

The following is a quick analysis of the Residential Bellingham real estate market.

• Currently Active Listings: 432
• Price range of active listings – $107,600 – $3,450,000
• Average List Price $492,090 Days on the Market: 123
• Median List Price: $375,000 Days on the Market: 85
• Sold in November: 87
• Average List Price: $362,903
• Average Sales Price: $374,068 Days on the Market: 91
• Ratio of List to Price: 103%
• Median List Price: $288,000
• Median Sales Price: $280,000 Days on the Market: 62
• Ratio of List to Price: 97.2%
• Pending Sales Last Week: 10 Total pending sales: 126

• Average Sales Price November 2008: $320,973
• Median Sales Price November 2008: $288,950
• Number Sold in November 2008: 36

The Average Sales price is up 16.5% compared to November 08 and up 13.6% compared to the previous month October 09.

The Median Sales prices is down by 3.1% compared November 08 and up 2.3% compared to the previous  October 09.

The number of sales is up by 21 compared to November 2008 and down by 9 compared to the previous month October 09.

Condo Analysis for Bellingham

• Currently Active Listings: 241
• Price range of active listings – $113,900 – $1,565,000
• Average List Price $236,909 Days on the Market: 157
• Median List Price $184,900 Days on the Market: 118
• Sold in November: 15
  
• Average List Price: $207,106
• Average Sales Price: $199,771 Days on the Market: 123
• Ratio of List to Price: 96.5%
• Median List Price: $185,000
• Median Sales Price: $175,000 Days on the Market: 44
• Ratio of List to Price: 94.6%
• Pending Sales Last Week: 3Total pending sales: 25

• Average Sales Price November, 2008: $181,125
• Median Sales Price November, 2008: $179,750
• Sold in November, 2008: 4

Average Condo sale price is up 10.3% from November 2008 and down 0.9% from the previous month – October 2009

Median Sales Price is down 2.6% from November 2008 and down 2.3% from the previous month – October 2009.

The number of sales is up by 11 compared to November 2008 and down by 20 compared to the previous month October 09.

If you look at the graph you can see that prices the  residential market has taken a bit of a rise again.  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

Absorption Rates for Bellingham – 12-2-09

Absorption rate is average number of homes sold per month over a particular period of time. The months to sell is a reflection of the absorption rate, how long it will take to sell the current inventory at the said absorption rate.

The Pending Ratio is  the number of homes currently under contract compared to the number of homes available for sale .

This is a very interesting way to look at the market, as of today:

Average List Price $503,222   Days on the market 123

Median List Price $375,000      Days on the market 85

Price Range	Active Listings	Monthly Absorption Rate	Pending Past week/Total	Months to sell Current Inventory	Pending Ratio
Up to $199,999	29	8.6	4/33	3.3	113%
200,000-299,999	128	31.8	3/57	4.0	44%
300,000-399,999	95	17.2	0/17	5.5	18%
400,000-499,999	55	7.1	2/12	7.7	22%
500,000-599,999	35	4.3	0/3	8.8	9%
600,000-699,999	30	1.9	0/2	15.8	7%
700,000-799,999	23	.9	0/3	25.6	13%
800,000-899,999	10	.8	0/1	12.5	10%
900,000-999,999	5	.4	0/0	12.5	0%
1,000,000-1,999,999	25	.9	1/2	27.7	8%
2,000,000+	5	.2	0/0	15	0%
Totals	431	73.9	9/130	5.8	30%

It looks like a buyers market under $400.000 as conventional wisdom goes anything less than 6 months inventory is a buyers market.

Should Bellingham Landlords be Licensed?

In an attempt to control “nuisance” houses, usually those where students live and have loud parties and bother neighbors, the Bellingham City Council is considering a licensing law for landlords.

If you own a rental in Bellingham you might want to attend the meeting on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 7 PM in the Bellingham City Council chambers. You can also submit written comments prior to the meeting.

This law is not just limited to landlords with a certain number of rental units but to anyone with a rental property in Bellingham. So if this law were to take effect, and you own one home and rent it out you’ll need to be licensed. There will be inspection requirements not only to check for health and safety issues to ensure compliance with the rule that states that not more than three unrelated persons may live in the same house.

There are many people who believe this law is unnecessary and stricter enforcement of present laws is all that is required.

Other cities that have implemented similar licensing laws have an initial licensing fee which may be as much as $1500 with an annual inspection of rental units of $150 per unit. Penalties for failure to get a license could be as much as $1000-$5000 and up to 90 days in jail. And as far as nuisance calls go if the city receives three of them the landlords license may be revoked and the property may not be used as a rental.
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Do you think these fees will come out of the landlords pockets, I don’t think so, I think they will be  passed along to tenants increasing rents in the area.

So maybe you should attend the meeting even if your tenant.

Whatcom County Real Estate Market Report for October, 2009

The following is a quick analysis of the Whatcom County real estate market.

• There are currently 1387 homes for sale
• Homes are priced from $12,000 – $4,500,000
• Average Asking Price $409,010 Days on Market: 139 days
• Median Asking Price $320,000 Days on Market: 102 days
• Homes sold in October: 183
• Average Listing Price $299,098
• Average Sold Price $289,807 Days on Market 94
• Median Listing Price $262,900
• Median Sold Price $258,000 Days on Market: 52
• Homes Pending this week: 91 Total Homes Pending: 431

• Average Sales Price October 2008: $301,847
• Median Sales Price October 2008: $275,395
• Sold in October 2008: 146

The Average Sales price is down 4.0% compared to October 08 and up 9.2% compared to last month.

The Median Sales prices is down 6.2% compared to October 08 and up 6.2% compared to last month.

The number of sales is up by 37 compared to October 08 and down by 16 compared to last month.

Condo Analysis for Whatcom County

• Currently Active Listings: 429
• Price range of active listings – $22,000 – $1,565,000
• Average List Price $248,926 Days on Market: 170
• Median List Price $194,566 Days on Market: 119
• Sold in October: 47
• Average Listing Price $210,852
• Average Sold Price $204,557 Days on Market: 147
• Median Listing Price $193,000
• Median Sold Price $190,000 Days on Market: 97
• Condos Pending (went under contract) last week: 12 Total Condos Pending: 79

• Average Sales Price October 2008: $247,208
• Median Sales Price October 2008: $177,000
• Sold in October 2008: 22

The Average Sales price is down 17.3% compared to October 08, and down by 1.0% compared to last month.

The Median Sales prices is up by 7.3% compared to October 08 and up by 8.5% compared to last month.

The number of sales is up by 25 compared to October 08 and up by 14 compared to last 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

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

Absorption Rates for Bellingham – 11-9-09

Absorption rate is average number of homes sold per month over a particular period of time. The months to sell is a reflection of the absorption rate, how long it will take to sell the current inventory at the said absorption rate.

The Pending Ratio is  the number of homes currently under contract compared to the number of homes available for sale .

This is a very interesting way to look at the market, as of today:

Average List Price $503,403    Days on the market 120

Median List Price $379,450       Days on the market 87

Price Range	Active Listings	Monthly Absorption Rate	Pending Past week/Total	Months to sell Current Inventory	Pending Ratio
Up to $199,999	31	8.0	3/34	3.9	110%
200,000-299,999	137	30.3	10/74	4.5	54%
300,000-399,999	88	16.3	3/27	5.4	31%
400,000-499,999	65	6.7	2/11	9.7	17%
500,000-599,999	42	4.1	0/6	10.2	13%
600,000-699,999	33	1.7	0/5	19.4	17%
700,000-799,999	22	.8	0/3	27.5	13%
800,000-899,999	12	.6	0/2	20	13%
900,000-999,999	5	.4	0/0	12.5	0%
1,000,000-1,999,999	27	.8	1/3	33.8	11%
2,000,000+	6	.1	0/0	60	0%
Totals	468	69.7	19/160	6.7	34%

It still looks like a buyers market under $300.000 as conventional wisdom goes anything less than 6 months inventory is a buyers market.

Bellingham Real Estate Market Report for October, 2009

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 New Improved Home Buyer Tax Credit is Here

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.

What are my closing costs?

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 fee — 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 fee — 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 fee — these can be fees for drawing up different documents involved in the transaction.

Escrow feea — 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 fee — 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.

Here is video using simple drawings is that talks about closing costs,I didn’t make it but it has some good points, even if it is a bit cheesy.

Absorption Rates for Bellingham – 10-19-09

Absorption rate is average number of homes sold per month over a particular period of time. The months to sell is a reflection of the absorption rate, how long it will take to sell the current inventory at the said absorption rate.

The Pending Ratio is  the number of homes currently under contract compared to the number of homes available for sale .

This is a very interesting way to look at the market, as of today:

Average List Price $504,915    Days on the market 115

Median List Price $372,000       Days on the market 79

Price Range	Active Listings	Monthly Absorption Rate	Pending Past week/Total	Months to sell Current Inventory	Pending Ratio
Up to $199,999	34	7.9	4/41	4.3	121%
200,000-299,999	157	28.7	9/74	5.5	47%
300,000-399,999	105	16.8	5/26	6.3	25%
400,000-499,999	70	6.9	4/9	10.1	13%
500,000-599,999	46	4.2	2/6	11.0	13%
600,000-699,999	30	1.4	0/5	21.4	17%
700,000-799,999	23	.8	0/3	28.8	13%
800,000-899,999	15	.6	0/2	25	13%
900,000-999,999	6	.3	0/0	20	0%
1,000,000-1,999,999	29	.8	1/6	36.3	20%
2,000,000+	7	.1	0/0	70	0%
Totals	522	68.3	22/167	7.7	32%

It still looks like a buyers market under $300.000 as conventional wisdom goes anything less than 6 months inventory is a buyers market.

Can I get my earnest money back?

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