Whatcom County Housing Market Second Quarter 2011

According to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research 2011 Second Quarter Housing Analysis; Whatcom County home re-sales ( # of units sold) were down -3.6% from the previous quarter, and down -8.7% from the second quarter in 2010. Statewide home re-sales ( # of units sold) were down -4.0% from the previous quarter and down -11.3% from the second quarter in 2010. Overall building permits in Whatcom County were down -17.8% from the second quarter of the previous year, in comparison to the 33.6% increase statewide. The median re-sale home price in Whatcom County was $253,000 (Up 1.1% from the second quarter in 2010), above the statewide median of $226,900 (down -7.6% from the second quarter of 2010). The 2011 Second Quarter Housing Affordability Index (HAI) was 128.00 for Whatcom County, lower than the statewide index of 154.7.

More Info: http://www.wcrer.wsu.edu/WSHM/WSHM.html

Whatcom County Housing Market, WCRER 2010 Fourth Quarter

According to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research 2010 Fourth Quarter Housing Analysis; Whatcom County home re-sales ( # of units sold) were up 20.3% from the previous quarter, and down -23.7% from the fourth quarter in 2009. Statewide home re-sales ( # of units sold) were up 17.7% from the previous quarter and down -21.5% from the fourth quarter in 2009. Overall building permits in Whatcom County were up 12.8% from the fourth quarter of the previous year, in comparison to the 16.4% increase statewide. The median re-sale home price in Whatcom County was $250,000 (down -1.0% from the fourth quarter in 2009), above the statewide median of $239,000 (down -2.0% from the fourth quarter of 2009). The 2010 Fourth Quarter Housing Affordability Index (HAI) was 130.6 for Whatcom County, lower than the statewide index of 149.3.

For more info: http://www.wcrer.wsu.edu/WSHM/WSHM.html

WCRER Housing Analysis/ 2009 1st Quarter/ Whatcom County WA

According to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research 2009 First Quarter Housing Analysis; Whatcom County home re-sales were down -4.3% from the previous quarter, and down -32.8% from the first quarter in 2008. Statewide home re-sales were down -8.6% from the previous quarter and down -30.6% from the first quarter in 2008. Overall building permits in Whatcom County are down -53.8% from the first quarter of the previous year, in comparison to the -53.3% reduction statewide. The median re-sale home price in Whatcom County is down to $259,900 (down -7.2% from the first quarter in 2008), above the statewide median of $253,500 (down -13.7% from the first quarter of 2008). The 2009 first quarter Housing Affordability Index (HAI) was 109.6 for Whatcom County, lower than the statewide index of 125.5

Project Updates Bellingham's Waterfront Redevelopment

Here s some interesting information about Bellingham's Future Waterfront development:

Per the Port of Bellingham Spring Newsletter "In March 2009, a group of local volunteer architects made a presentation to the Council and Commissioners regarding waterfront redevelopment concepts. Since that time, City, Port, Western Washington University, members of the local volunteer architect group and others have discussed priorities and options that would support finalizing a waterfront master planning process."

See the pdf report here:

http://www.portofbellingham.com/library/files/Waterfront_Redevelopment/2009-03-04-waterfront-architects-report.pdf

For more information meetings on the subject will be held:

6:30 - 8:30 p.m. April 29 Port & City Waterfront Public Information Meeting, Update on Planning Framework & Planning Assumptions, Bellingham Cruise Terminal, 355 Harris Avenue.

6-8 p.m., May 13 Port & City Waterfront Advisory Group Regular Meeting, Harbor Center Conference Room, 1801 Roeder Avenue.

For all project updates see:

http://www.portofbellingham.com/content/ArchivesItem_147_1657_v

Keeing up with new technology in the housing /building sector.

There are so many innovations taking place in building technology, it is difficult to keep up!
Here are some interesting web sites with a ton of information:

Tool Base Services is the housing industry's resource for technical information on building products, materials, new technologies, business management, and housing systems. : http://www.toolbase.org/index.aspx

Path -The Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) is dedicated to accelerating the development and use of technologies that radically improve the quality, durability, energy efficiency, environmental performance, and affordability of America's housing.
http://www.pathnet.org/index.asp

US Department of Energy: Residential Buildings: Energy Efficient Building Practices.
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/residential

Belligham Mayor's Waterfront Connection Plan Info

Per City of Bellingham website: "Pike presented his Waterfront Connection Plan to the Bellingham City Council and community on Sept. 29, and expects to engage the public in considering its pros and cons.
Public open houses scheduled for Nov. 13 and Nov. 17 offer public opportunities to review the Waterfront Connections Plan and weigh in on options that will shape the look and feel of our downtown and waterfront for generations to come."
The PDF can be viewed here: http://www.cob.org/documents/issues/waterfront-connections-plan.pdf

City of Bellingham's June "Neighborhood News" PDF cover Samish Way Urban Village Info.

The City of Bellingham has been putting out a very informative "Neighborhood News" pdf ( http://www.cob.org/documents/mayor/boards-commissions/neighborhood/2008-06-neighborhood-news.pdf ) almost every month this year, it covers issues such as neighborhood planning, park development, restorative projects, etc. This month the newsletter covers the Samish Way Urban Village project ( More information can be found here on the project: http://www.cob.org/services/neighborhoods/community-planning/urban-villages-planning/samish-way-urban-village.aspx ).
The meetings concerning the project started on June 5, 2008, and more are scheduled over the following Thrusdays:
Meeting Location: Elks Lodge, 710 S. Samish Way
Meeting Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
June 5: Introduction & Character (Including transition areas and plan boundaries)June 12: Public Realm: Streets, Trails, & PlazasJune 19: Development Character: Permitted Uses, Design, and ScaleJuly 10: Summary of Input and Discussion of Alternatives

Faster Appraisals, Online Ordering & Some Helpful Hints.

If you worked with appraisers ten years ago, you know how much technology has changed since then. What you might not realize is that there have been many developments in technology and e-commerce that have improved turnaround times on appraisal assignments. We're taking advantage of them. Are you taking advantage of every opportunity you have to speed up the process? Here are some suggestions.

1. Are you ordering appraisals online? With online ordering, you can recieve automatic e-mail acknowledgements that the assignment was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. It's the single biggest time saver available to both of us! We don't have to retype information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether we received the order.

2. Are you providing complete and accurate information about the subject property? There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to add unnecessary time to an appraisal assignment. And if you have a tax parcel number, plat map number, subdivision name or anything else that uniquely identifies the property

3. Are you letting us know up front any details about the property that might make it unique? . What takes time is analyzing how unique features contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. Let us know up front when you order your report if there are unique features of the home or surrounding area — for example, it's had a recent addition put on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's prone to flooding.

4. Are you making the occupants of the home aware of what to expect? One of the most time consuming parts of the appraisal process is setting an appointment with the occupants of the home. Some homeowners are understandably uncomfortable with the fact a stranger wants to come in their house and look around and make notes. Some think they have to make the place spotless before the appraiser comes by, thinking that will make the house appraise higher. So they put off the appointment until they can get around to cleaning. Encourage them to call us if they want to familiarize themselves with our staff and services. And tell them it's in their interest to set the appointment as quickly as possible!

5. Are you using our website as a resource to keep track of your report's status? Phone and fax tag are a thing of the past with up to the minute status updates available online, anytime, 24/7. As each important milestone in an assignment is completed, that information is available to you online. It's never been easier and faster to keep track of your report's status.

Bennett Appraisals Provides residential appraisal services to the following areas:

Bellingham, Birch Bay, Blaine, Custer, Ferndale, Fairhaven, Geneva, Silver Beach, Sudden Valley, Sumas, Acme, Anacortes, Alger, Arlington, Bow, Burlington, Cain Lakes, Conway, Concrete, Darrington, Deming, Edison, Emerald Lakes, Edmonds, Everett, Everson, Glacier, Granite Falls, Hamilton, Kendall, Laurence, La Conner, Lake Stevens, Lynden, Lyman, Lynnwood, Maple Falls, Marblemount, Marysville, McMurray, Monroe, Mount Baker, Mount Vernon, Mulkilteo, Rockport, Samish Island, Sedro Woolley, Snohomish, Stanwood,Van Zandt, and all of Whatcom, Skagit & Snohomish Counties. * Time permitted we also serve Point Roberts, via the Canadian Border.