Whatcom County and WA housing markets see new price decreases, what you need to know

Alyse Messmer-Smith
·2 min read
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Median home sale prices in Whatcom County plummeted last month, while statewide home prices slightly decreased. Washington state remains one of the most expensive places in the U.S. to buy a home.

Whatcom county’s median home sale price fluctuated throughout November, jumping up to $618,000 on Nov. 7 from a $500,000 median home sale price on Oct. 31. After the extreme increase, prices plummeted back down to $525,500 on Nov. 14, and back up to $555,000 on Nov. 21, according to Redfin Metro Area Data. Redfin, a residential real estate brokerage uses home listings to generate metro area data.

Whatcom County home prices were down 1.8% in October 2022 compared to October 2021. There were 120 fewer homes sold in October 2022 than October 2021, and on average homes in the county are on the market for 32 days before being sold, compared to 8 days last year, according to Redfin’s Whatcom County Housing Market Trends.

In Bellingham, Zillow home values slightly decreased between September and October, although Zillow has not updated housing data for November. The median Zillow home value in Bellingham was $729,817 in October, a small decrease from $730,348 in September. Zillow is a real estate company that collects data on real estate, apartments and home values.

Changes in Washington’s housing market

Across Washington state, home prices have decreased by 6.25% between March and September, as September reached a median home value price of $589,900, according to RedFin.

This increase is slight compared to the home price growth between January and July of 2022, when prices increased by 11.5%, according to previous reporting by McClatchy.

Washington is the third-most expensive state in which to purchase a home, following California with a median home value price of $760,800, and Hawaii at $698,800.