Home prices in Whatcom County decrease as Bellingham’s prices jump to average of $700k
Home sale prices in Whatcom County decreased in December, although Bellingham prices increased, and Washington state now has the third most-expensive homes in the country.
Whatcom housing market
Whatcom County’s median home sale price has fluctuated throughout 2023. The median home sale price reached an extreme high of $702,500 on Nov. 20, the highest price recorded in 2023, according to Redfin Metro Area Data. Redfin, a residential real estate brokerage, uses home listings to generate metro area data.
In December, Whatcom’s median home sale price fluctuated, starting at $564,500 on Dec. 11, then increasing to $607,000 on Dec. 18.
Jason Lee, a local broker with Windermere Real Estate in Bellingham, said Whatcom County’s median sold price across December was $549,000, a 5.5% decrease compared with November and a 4.5% decrease compared with December 2022, Lee wrote in an email to The Bellingham Herald.
“As expected, December 2023 was a seasonally slow activity month in Whatcom County. So slow in fact that our current inventory has dipped below 400 active homes at the start of 2024, a threshold that we didn’t fall below even once in 2023,” Lee wrote.
“In mid December we saw one of the biggest 2-day rate drops in decades followed by notable rate stability after a whipsaw 2023. The drop provided relief for buyers and optimism for continued mortgage rate improvement in 2024,” Lee wrote.
As Whatcom County’s median home sale price was $549,000, San Juan County had the highest median home sale price of $1,461,500, and Columbia County had the lowest of $152,750.
Bellingham’s housing market
In Bellingham, Zillow home values decreased throughout early 2023, then began to increase in May. The median Zillow home value in Bellingham was $650,858 across November, a slight increase from $650,574 in October. Zillow is a real estate company that collects data on real estate, apartments and home values.
In December, Bellingham’s median sale price was $720,000 according to Lee of Windermere Real Estate, a 15.2% increase compared with November and a 14.3% increase compared with December of last year, Lee wrote.
“As we begin 2024, let’s remember that recent memory can interfere with current reality. The events and market data from 2023 are valuable and provide context for the start of 2024, but we should be conscious of how it can precondition our opinions of a dynamic local real estate market in the new year,” Lee wrote.
Washington state housing market
Washington’s median home sale price in December 2023 was $606,200.
Washington is the third-most expensive state in which to purchase a home, according to December 2023 data, following California with a median home value price of $794,200 and Hawaii at $713,400.
