There is some good news for those looking to buy in Whatcom’s hot housing market
Whatcom’s real estate market hit new milestones in the first quarter of 2021, none of which are good news for anyone wanting to buy a house.
The median price for a home sold in this area once again soared, jumping 19.1% year-over-year in Whatcom County and 20.3% in Bellingham. The median price for a home sold in the first quarter was $607,500 in Bellingham and $500,000 in Whatcom County. That’s according to a report put together by Troy Muljat, owner of Muljat Group Realtors. Muljat’s report is based on data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
The jumps in prices and the extremely low inventory are at levels Muljat hasn’t seen in his 30 years in the industry.
“I thought we would have stabilized by now, but we clearly haven’t,” Muljat said.
Heading into the prime home-buying season of the second quarter, inventory, particularly in Bellingham, remains in terrible shape. For a city of more than 90,000 people, there were only 10 single-family homes for sale for under $500,000 in Bellingham on Friday, April 2. How about for under $700,00? That total was only 21, according to the multiple listings data.
The Bellingham real estate market was hottest in March, where sales were closing at 13% above the list price during that 31-day period. Of those homes sold last month, the average days on the market was just five, Muljat said.
The factors for this market frenzy and low inventory remain the same: More people are moving into the area than moving out, so the new homes that are being built aren’t enough to keep up with demand.
The one piece of good news that Muljat sees for those looking for a place to live is the large number of multi-family construction projects either underway or being permitted.
According to the city of Bellingham’s development dashboard website, 428 multi-family units and 74 single-family homes have been built in the past six months. The number of multi-family units currently under construction or in permitting is 2,292; the number of single-family homes under construction or in permitting is 350.
Muljat suspects that as more apartments become available and the vacancy rate rises, some might get converted to condominiums, providing at least another ownership option.
County sales heating up
With so few homes to buy in Bellingham, more people buying in other parts of Whatcom County. The hottest markets by number of sales were Ferndale (first-quarter sales up 58.9%), Mount Baker (up 57.8%) and Nooksack Valley (up 17.9%). Bellingham’s sale numbers dropped 13.3% in the first quarter compared to a year ago.
Muljat expects this sales trend to continue this spring and summer, adding that Blaine could become a hot market as several large housing construction plans in the eastern part of the community put new homes on the market.
This story was originally published April 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
