January home market survey shows median price, inventory down in Whatcom County
Median home sale prices in Bellingham and Whatcom County decreased in January, and Washington remained one of the most expensive states in which to purchase a home.
Whatcom County real estate prices
Whatcom County’s median home sale price reached a peak of $682,000 in July 2024, the highest price from 2012-26, according to Redfin Metro Area Data, a residential real estate brokerage that uses home listings to generate metro area data.
The county’s median sale price across all of January was $570,000, a 5% decrease compared with December and a 3.4% decrease compared with the same month last year, according to Jason Lee, a local broker with Windermere Real Estate in Bellingham.
“Mortgage rates reached a three-year low in January, hitting the 6% mark. Mortgage rates remain near 6% as February ends, boosting optimism among buyers and sellers for the 2026 local real estate market,” Lee told The Herald.
Bellingham
Bellingham’s median sale price was $644,000 in January, according to Lee. That’s an 8% decrease compared with December, and a 2.4% decrease compared with January 2025, Lee said.
“Whatcom County’s inventory of active homes dipped briefly below 600 in January — level not seen since March 2025,” Lee said.
In December, Bellingham’s median sale price increased to $685,000.
Statewide
Washington’s median home sale price in January was $594,100, a decrease of 1.8% compared to the same month last year, according to Redfin data.
Redfin lists Washington as the fifth most expensive state in which to purchase a home in 2025, following California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Colorado.
“Nationwide, 30% of homebuyers searched to move to a different metro area between (October and December). The top five states homebuyers searched to move to were Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina, while California, New York, Illinois, Washington and Maryland were the top 5 states homebuyers searched to move from,” according to Redfin’s U.S. Migration Trends data.
