Whatcom County-- WCRER Housing Data-- First Quarter 2010

According to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research 2010 First Quarter Housing Analysis; Whatcom County home re-sales ( # of units sold) were down -17.6% from the previous quarter, and up 27.1% from the first quarter in 2009. Statewide home re-sales ( # of units sold) were down -12.3% from the previous quarter and up 36.3% from the first quarter in 2009. Overall building permits in Whatcom County are down -16.4% from the first quarter of the previous year, in comparison to the 37.4% increase statewide. The median re-sale home price in Whatcom County is down to $241,400 (down -7.1% from the first quarter in 2009), below the statewide median of $245,900 (down -3.0% from the first quarter of 2009). The 2010 first quarter Housing Affordability Index (HAI) was 122.1 for Whatcom County, lower than the statewide index of 135.4

City of Bellingham to Launch an Updated GIS system

According to the City of Bellingham website:

"In celebration of geographic information systems (GIS) Day, the City of Bellingham is hosting a GIS Day Open House on Wednesday, Nov. 18. This free community event takes place 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the lobby of Bellingham City Hall at 210 Lottie Street.

The open house will showcase CityIQ, a new software developed by City GIS staff that incorporates the City's GIS mapping and document search functions. CityIQ allows users to access zoning and neighborhood information, park and landmark locations, utility data, and high resolution aerial photos. GIS Day will introduce this powerful tool to the public, and everyone is invited to stop by, try it out and provide feedback. The city plans to make the application available on the city’s website near the end of 2009".

More information can be found here: http://www.cob.org/services/maps/gis/index.aspx

2nd Quarter 2008 WCRER Housing Analysis: Whatcom County WA

Here is some interesting and helpful housing data:

According to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research 2008 Second Quarter Housing Analysis; Whatcom County home re-sales were down - 14.7% from the previous quarter, and down -26.5% from the second quarter in 2007. Statewide home re-sales were down -8.5% from the previous quarter and down -31.7% from the second quarter in 2007. Overall building permits in Whatcom County are down -42.9% from the second quarter of the previous year, in comparison to the -29.7% reduction statewide. The median re-sale home price in Whatcom County is $280,000, below the statewide average of $291,900. The 2008 second quarter Housing Affordability Index (HAI) was 90.9 for Whatcom County, slightly lower than the statewide index of 95.5.

See all county info: http://www.wcrer.wsu.edu/WSHM/2008Q2/Snapshot_2008Q2.pdf

City of Ferndale, WA (Whatcom County ) Announces New Online Mapping Function

The City of Ferndale WA announced its new online mapping function today via an email:
"The City of Ferndale is pleased to announce the implementation of an online mapping function that allows users to view overhead photos, parcel lines, zoning information, as well as create and print maps directly from our webpage! We encourage you to use this new online feature found by clicking on the GIS/Mapping icons"

http://www.cityofferndale.org/GIS/GIS.php

Very good real estate info!!

Ferndale's (WA) Centennial Riverwalk

According to the latest E- Newsletter put out by the City of Ferndale (Spring 2007):
The "Riverview Plaza and Trail Plan", has been re-titled the "Centennial Riverwalk" and has moved from the planning stage to the building stage with the securing of funding to carry out the project. The project is anticipated to provide a long needed spark that will hopefully start a productive period of downtown re-development and revitalization.
See the plan:
Click on plan at the top of the page:http://www.ci.ferndale.wa.us/planning/planning.php
This link may take awhile to load: http://www.ci.ferndale.wa.us/planning/Riverview%20Plaza%20Plan.pdf