Bellingham bucks the trend as Whatcom County real estate prices drop in August
Median home sale prices in Bellingham and Washington increased in August, as Whatcom County saw an overall decrease in housing costs compared to July.
Whatcom County
Whatcom County’s median home sale price reached an extreme high of $682,000 in July 2024, the highest price from 2012-2025, according to Redfin Metro Area Data. Redfin is a residential real estate brokerage that uses home listings to generate metro area data.
Whatcom County’s median sale price across all of August was $594,000, a 3.9% decrease compared with July and a 5.7% decrease compared with the same month last year, according to Jason Lee, a local broker with Windermere Real Estate in Bellingham.
“Inventory held steady at just under 1,100 active homes and condos for sale in Whatcom County this August. Interest rates and days on market stayed elevated during the month,” Lee told The Herald.
Bellingham
Bellingham’s median sold price was $715,000 in August, according to Lee. That’s a 0.8% increase compared with July, and a 2% increase compared with August of last year, Lee said.
“In Bellingham, the average days on market for a home was up 60% compared to last year, at about 32 days. Still, some homes are still seeing multiple offers, about 20%,” Lee said.
Statewide
Washington’s median home sale price in August was $646,900, an increase of 0.4% compared to the same month last year, according to Redfin data.
Washington has been among the top five most expensive states in which to purchase a home in 2025, alongside California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Colorado.
“Nationwide, 29% of homebuyers searched to move to a different metro area between (June and August). The top 5 states homebuyers searched to move to were Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina, while California, New York, Illinois, Maryland and Washington were the top 5 states homebuyers searched to move from,” according to Redfin’s U.S. Migration Trends data.
