Here’s what has happened to Whatcom home values during the COVID-19 pandemic
While COVID-19 knocked out much of the local and national economy last spring, it didn’t seem to hurt home values.
Whatcom County home values continued to increase in the second quarter, rising 4.9%, according to the latest data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. It ranked Bellingham 62nd highest among the 234 U.S. metro areas studied.
The Whatcom County spring increase is slower than in recent years. In 2019, home values rose 7% percent after a 9.6% increase in 2018 and a 12.2% jump in 2017. In the past five years, Whatcom home values have risen by 49.3%.
The report is based on an index that focuses on purchased and refinanced mortgages. Across the U.S., home values rose 5.4% year-over-year.
Washington state continues to have plenty of communities that rank high in terms of home value increases in the past year. Tacoma had the third-highest increase in the U.S., with a 7.9% increase, followed by Olympia (ranked seventh, with a 7.4% increase. Spokane, Bremerton, Kirkland and Wenatchee were all in the top 25 among the 234 U.S. metros.
Given how home sale prices have risen sharply this summer in Whatcom County, overall home values are expected to keep rising in the third quarter. Low inventory is a big factor: Earlier this month Bellingham had only 89 homes for sale, with the average list price of $1.03 million. The median price for those homes (or the midpoint) was $675,000.
While home values have risen in Whatcom County, the home affordability index has remained steady. The second-quarter index score was 94.3, according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington. The report defines its affordability index as measuring the ability of a middle-income family to carry the mortgage payments on a median price home. Anything below 100 means it is less affordable for a typical middle-income family.
One reason Whatcom’s affordability index has remained steady is the low-interest rates that have been in place this year. Interest rates and median income are factors in the index.
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
