How much did the value of your Whatcom County home appreciate in 2019?
Whatcom County homeowners have seen their home appreciations settle into a steady pace, but it’s still one of the highest in the U.S.
Home values at the end of 2019 were 7% higher than the previous year in Whatcom County, according to a new report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. For a Whatcom home valued at $350,000 at the end of 2018, that’s an increase of $24,500.
That’s an average rate; appreciation of individual homes will vary.
That percentage increase ranked Whatcom 27th highest among 232 metro areas surveyed.
The report is based on an index that focuses on purchased and refinanced mortgages. Across the U.S., home values rose 5.1% year-over-year.
This 7% percent increase comes after a 9.6% rise in home values in 2018 and a 12.2% jump in 2017. In the past five years, Whatcom home values have risen 51.4%.
With the slower home appreciation compared to recent years, the home affordability index began to improve in Whatcom County. Whatcom’s affordability index stood at 96.8 at the end of the third quarter, up from 87.4 in the second quarter. That’s according to data compiled by the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington. The affordability index measures the ability of a typical family to make payments on a median-priced home. Anything below 100 means it is less affordable for a typical middle-income family.
Washington state had several metro areas near the top of the list of home appreciation increases. Spokane ranked fourth with a 10% year-over-year increase, while Bremerton (up 8.2%) ranked eighth, Yakima (up 8%) ranked 11th and Tri-Cities (up 7.8%) ranked 14th.
