Business - Business News

POSTED: Thursday, Dec. 04, 2008

Drop in condo sales leads to slow November for Whatcom County real estate

The local real estate market remained sluggish in November, led by a significant drop-off in condominium sales.

Real estate agents sold 117 homes and condominiums in November, down 46.8 percent compared to the same time last year, according to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Condo sellers were especially hit hard -only 10 condo units sold for the entire month, compared to 55 units in November 2007.

For perspective, the number of overall condo units sold in Whatcom County from 2005 to 2007 averaged 831 units annually, or 69 a month.

Year to date, 451 condo units have been sold by real estate agents.

Mike Kent, a real estate agent at Windermere, said that along with the slowdown of high-end units, there has been a drying up of new low-end units because construction of those units has halted. Last year at this time, Kent was selling condos for the newly completed Darby Estates, which has 228 units.

"Overall it is just been very quiet, even though many agents have buyers," Kent said. "I expect the units to hold value, but the sales will be flat at least until spring."

One factor could be because the price of single family homes for first-time homebuyers has come down enough that they are choosing a home over a condo. The bigger problem, though, is that potential buyers continue to sit on the sidelines, said Gragg Miller of Coldwell Banker Miller-Arnason.

"With all of the uncertainty in the economy and all the negative news, it weighs on everyone," Miller said. "What it's going to take to turn this around is getting first-time homebuyers to jump back in, to start the process again. There is money out there to lend to buyers, but the psychology is negative."

The median price for those homes and condos sold last month was $265,000, down from $279,200 in November 2007. For the 10 condos, the median price was $187,000, down 8.8 percent from a year ago.

Pending sales - agreed-upon deals that haven't closed yet - also took a big drop year over year. There were 157 pending sales in November, down 29.6 percent compared to November 2007.

The numbers were similar across the 19 counties that NWMLS covers. In November 2,937 homes and condos sold, down 45 percent compared to 12 months earlier. The median price was $285,000, down 9.5 percent year over year, and pending sales were down 28.2 percent for the same period.