Whatcom County home prices drop, although Bellingham sees an increase in real estate costs
Median home sale prices in Whatcom County decreased in July, while Washington state remains the third-most expensive state in which to buy a home.
Whatcom housing market
Whatcom County’s median home sale price has fluctuated throughout 2023. The median home sale price reached an extreme high of $682,000 on Jan. 2, the highest price so far this year, according to Redfin Metro Area Data. Redfin, a residential real estate brokerage, uses home listings to generate metro area data.
In July, Whatcom’s median home sale prices decreased, dropping to $524,250 on July 31, the lowest price since February.
Jason Lee, a local broker with Windermere Real Estate in Bellingham said Whatcom County’s median sale price was $533,000 as of July 23, an 8.1% decrease compared with June and a 5.3% decrease compared with July of 2022, Lee wrote in an email to The Bellingham Herald.
“We are still in a sellers market despite the head wind of recent mortgage rate highs. Seller credits for closing costs and rate buy downs are more common for homes that have remained on market longer than average,” Lee wrote in the email.
Whatcom County home prices were down 4.2% in June 2023 compared to 2022, according to Redfin’s Whatcom County Housing Market Trends.
As Whatcom County’s median home sale price is $524,250, San Juan County had the highest median home sale price of $1,198,500, and Columbia County had the lowest of $205,000.
Bellingham’s housing market
In Bellingham, Zillow home values decreased throughout the beginning of 2023, until beginning to increase in May. The median Zillow home value in Bellingham was $671,371 across the month of July, up from $668,069 in June. Zillow is a real estate company that collects data on real estate, apartments and home values.
As of July 23, Bellingham’s median sale price was $639,000 according to Lee and Windermere Real Estate, a 2.1% decrease compared with June and a 1.7% decrease compared with June of last year, Lee wrote.
Washington state housing market
Across Washington state, home prices have increased by 12.56% between December 2022 and June 2023, as June reached a median home value price of $621,000, according to Redfin.
Washington is the third-most expensive state in which to purchase a home, according to July 2023 data, following California with a median home value price of $798,600 and Hawaii at $712,600.
