POSTED: Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010

Total property sales in Whatcom communities end weak year on strong note

While property sales were down overall for the year, several Whatcom County communities were busy with transactions in December.

Last month 165 properties were sold in Bellingham, compared to 124 in December 2008, according to data from First American Title in Bellingham. Total property sales include residential, industrial, commercial and undeveloped land.

For 2009, Bellingham had 1,806 property sales, down 9.7 percent compared to 2008.

For new single family homes sales, 2009 was a difficult year: Only 71 new homes sold in Bellingham last year, compared to 173 in 2008. Condominiums (down 25.7 percent) and commercial/industrial property (down 22.4 percent) also posted significant decreases.

Used homes posted a 5.1 percent year-over-year increase in Bellingham, with 1,121 used homes sold last year.

Ferndale, Lynden and Blaine totaled 156 property transactions in December, up from 107 in December 2008. For the year, those three communities had 1,651 property sales, down 7.6 percent compared to 2008.

Those three areas combined to sell 140 new homes last year, nearly matching the 2008 total of 142. The biggest percentage declines year over year were in unplatted land (down 34.2 percent), condos (down 29 percent) and multifamily buildings (down 21.9 percent).