After a lackluster July, Whatcom County home sales strongly rebounded in August, posting the highest monthly total in more than two years.
Last month real estate agents sold 250 houses and condominiums, up 66 units compared to July, according to data compiled by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The last time 250 or more homes and condos were sold locally in a single month was in July 2009.
While sales picked up, prices dropped. Last month the median price for those Whatcom home and condo sales was $234,750, down $11,500 compared to July and the lowest monthly median price in 17 months.
Much of the growth in home sales were concentrated in the Lynden and Ferndale areas, said Lylene Johnson, a real estate agent for The Muljat Group. In her own report analyzing the NWMLS numbers, she estimates Lynden had its busiest August in six years, while Ferndale had its busiest August in four years.
Johnson said several factors were at work for the spike in Lynden and Ferndale home sales: Both communities have a stock of new home construction, the prices reflect the current market value, and both markets are small enough that a new trend can have a large impact on the overall numbers.
In her report, Johnson said she expects the fallout of the real estate bubble burst to continue to impact prices. Even if prices begin to stabilize, "we will all be dealing with the fallout for a long time to come in the form of short sales and foreclosures," she writes in the report. However, lower prices are creating opportunities for buyers.
One other factor impacting prices is a growing market for homes under $300,000. Johnson noted that in August, 61.4 percent of homes were purchased for under $300,000 in Bellingham; in August 2010 the percentage was 50.6. Two years earlier, it was 42.4.
The increased activity and lower prices also was a trend across the 21 Washington counties the NWMLS serves. Last month 5,704 homes and condos sold in those areas, a 35.5 percent increase compared to a year earlier.
The median price last month was $236,000, a 12.4 percent decline compared to August 2010.
