March's Market Report: An In-Depth Analysis of Bellingham Washington's Real Estate Market Trends

     If you're looking to buy or sell a home in Whatcom County, Washington, you may be wondering how the market is doing. Aldo with the LeVain Real Estate team with Windermere, explains home prices are still up 5% from last year, but the margin is getting smaller as appreciation slows down a little bit. The average active list price in Whatcom County right now is $808,000, which is up about 15% from last year. The average sold price is now $665,000, which is still up 5% from last year.

Inventory is starting to slow down a little bit, but there is still two and a half times more inventory right now than there was at this time last year. There are about 361 homes available to purchase, and the months of inventory are around two and a half months. For those of you that don't know, months of inventory refers to the time it would take to sell all of the current inventory if no more homes were listed.

The number of homes under contract has gone down about 12%, while the number of homes sold has gone down almost 20%, with a total of 179 homes being sold compared to 230 homes being sold around this time last year. The days on market has increased to 67 days, which is essentially three times more than last year around this time.

If you're a seller, you may be wondering how long it will take for your house to sell. On average, it takes around two months, which is a lot longer than last year when homes were selling around the 40-day mark. If you're a buyer, it may be difficult to be excited about buying a home with interest rates hitting almost seven percent. It's hard to make it affordable, especially if you're buying a $500,000 house and only putting 5% down. Your mortgage will probably be around $3,000 a month, making it hard for banks to approve your loan.

However, the good news for buyers is that they can expect to get some money off the price of the home or have their closing costs paid for, up to almost 4%. There are a lot of programs out there that can help, such as the two-on buy-down program, which can save you $6-700 a month in the first year and $2-300 in the second year.

If you're a seller, you likely have a lot of equity built up in your home, especially if you bought it at least two years ago. However, you need to be patient as it will probably take two months for your home to sell. It's important to listen to your real estate agent and take their advice on pricing. You may think that your home is worth a certain amount, but if they show you comparables that indicate otherwise, you need to take that into consideration. The longer you sit on the market, the less desirable your home becomes.

Overall, the Whatcom County real estate market is still strong, but the appreciation is slowing down, making it a good time for buyers to take advantage of discounts, and a challenging but manageable time for sellers. Give us a call today to get a better idea of YOUR standing in the market!