Home sales in Whatcom fall over 25 percent in second quarter with coronavirus impact

The coronavirus pandemic has started to show its toll on the housing market in Whatcom County as home prices rose slightly but sales fell more than one-quarter compared to last year.

Only 651 homes were sold in Whatcom County in the second quarter (April-June), down 26.7% from the same period last year, according to Troy Muljat of Muljat Group Realtors. However, the median home price rose to $425,000 in the same quarter, up 4.9% from the same period 2019 and building on gains made in the first quarter of 2020.

The report, released Friday, July 3, is based on data gathered from the Northwest Washington Multiple Listing Service.

“The low number of homes for sale contributes significantly to the rise in median and average sale prices,” Muljat said in the release. “Record low inventories are continuing to exacerbate the availability of homes in Whatcom County.”

With the outbreak of coronavirus in February and March, impacts on the housing market were not expected to be seen until this quarter. And with much of the state progressing through the state’s re-opening plan, numbers for the next period could reflect that.

Bellingham and Sudden Valley were the only cities that had drops in median home prices with Bellingham falling 2.9% to $489,000 and Sudden Valley falling 3.6% to $375,000. Both cities also had drops across the board in all categories measured.

Ferndale and Lynden had median price increases of 14.1% and 16.1%, respectively, while the average home price in the county went up 3.9% to $468,942.

The report showed the biggest gains as:

▪ Median price: Nooksack Valley up 18% to $380,000.

▪ Average price: Mount Baker up 21.4% to $352,450.

▪ Days on market: Mount Baker down 40% to 45 days.

And biggest losses as:

▪ Median price: Sudden Valley down 3.6% to $375,000.

▪ Average price: Bellingham down 4.7% to $548,223.

▪ Days on market: Ferndale up 20.5% to 47 days.

▪ Units sold: Mount Baker down 40% to 45 homes sold.

This story was originally published July 4, 2020 at 5:00 AM.