It was another strong year for Bellingham, Washington Real Estate! What I like about our market, is unlike Seattle, where prices have been skyrocketing and supply of inventory is very low, Bellingham has experienced a more slow and steady market rebound over these last few years. This makes for a more sustainable recovery. It also means that in most areas of our market, home prices are still affordable (and still pencil out to purchase versus renting).
Median home values are up 4% for 2014 in Bellingham, with a median price of $283,000, and homes sales rose by 3% year over year.
So home values and sales are both up slightly, but the dollar per square foot buyers are paying, has largely remained the same over the last year (between $170 and $180 per square foot of living space on average).
What this says is list prices have been slowly increasing, sales have been improving, yet buyers are still negotiating, and purchasing for value. In certain price ranges *under $250k) and neighborhoods (popular neighborhoods like Columbia and Fairhaven), home values have increased, but in many neighborhoods, home prices are mostly flat in the last year.
Still, based on the fact that there is only 3 to 4 months worth of inventory available in Bellingham (click on chart to the right), the supply and demand implies that the market should still continue to improve. When there is less then a 6 month supply of inventory, that typically means home values are rising. So home values are increasing, just at a very slow and steady pace. I consider that a very healthy Real Estate market.