Bellingham Real Estate Blog » Market Update

$8000 Tax Credit for Down Payment Assistance

Ryan Martin — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:17:23 +0000

Most first time home buyers are aware that the Federal Government is providing an $8,000 tax incentive to qualifying first time home buyers. Currently the IRS is allowing the $8,000 tax credit to be claimed on 2008 taxes is a purchaser has not owned a home in the last 3 years and meets certain income requirements. Home buyers are even allowed to file an amendment to their 2008 tax filing if they purchase a home in the 2009 tax year. This is a wonderful opportunity for first time home buyers, however, it is about to get even better as the Washington State Association of Realtors® have been working on a down payment assistance plan that would work in conjunction with the tax credit.

The Washington State Association of Realtors® have been working on getting a new bill signed where the same qualifying first time buyers will be able to use this $8,000 credit towards their down payment. This will have an immediate impact on the first time home buyer market. An $8,000 down payment would give a first time home buyer more than 3.5% equity in a $200,000 home. One has to assume that FHA would allow the $8,000 to be used as a down payment, which would mean that a first time home buyer could purchase a home on an FHA loan without a down payment and have instant equity in a home.

This new down payment assistance plan was created by the Washington State Association of Realtors® and has already been passed by the State. At this point the bill just needs to be signed off by the IRS to be put into motion. It is likely that this will be passed within the next 30 days or less.

If you are a first time home buyer, this is absolutely great news. You will soon have the option to take the $8,000 credit on your taxes and spent the money on home improvements, or use the credit as a down payment on your first home. What an exciting time to be a first time home buyer!

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Understanding Micro Real Estate Markets in Bellingham

Ryan Martin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:58:14 +0000

It is important to understand that there are many micro markets in real estate. When someone says that home prices are down 10% are they talking about homes across the US, within the state, in the city of Bellingham, or in your neighborhood? While real estate is affected at a broad level, it is also highly sensitive to the neighborhood.

It is not necessarily a bad time to sell your home. It really depends on your micro market. Let’s look at Bellingham as an example. There are currently 512 homes on the market within the city. Over the last 6 months the average days on market for homes in Bellingham that have sold is 105 days. Based on these figures you might think that your home in Bellingham will take 4 months to sell, but that is not necessarily the case. Let’s look a couple of niche markets within the Bellingham real estate market.

Cornwall Park is a pretty established and popular neighborhood. Most of the homes were built in the 1920’s. The average price point in the Cornwall Park Neighborhood is under $300k and lower than the average in Bellingham. This makes the Cornwall Park Neighborhood an ideal location for first time home buyers. Over the last 6 months the average days on the market for the neighborhood was only 39 days. If you currently own a home in the Cornwall Park Neighborhood and wanted to upgrade to a larger, now is a perfect time. Where would be a good place to buy a home in Bellingham right now?

The Barkley Neighborhood might be a good place to target. Most of the homes in the Barkley Neighborhood are priced over $300k. On average, the homes in the Barkley Neighborhood are larger and newer than homes in the Cornwall Park Neighborhood. Over the last 6 months the average days on the market for the Barkley Neighborhood was 134 days. While it looks like it might not be a good time to sell a house in Barkley, it does look like a good time to buy one.

It is important to know your mirco market when making decisions about buying and selling your house. Don’t rely on national media or your local newspaper to sway decision to buy or sell. You should be contacting a real estate professional that knows your micro market.

Fairhaven Condos Market Update

Ryan Martin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:59:36 +0000

Being located in Fairhaven over the last 6 years I have become the local expert in Fairhaven condos. I was in Fairhaven before the real estate boom. At that time there were very few condos located within the downtown core of Fairhaven. During the real estate boom of 2004 and 2005, there was a massive increase in inventory with over 100 units added to the market. These condos were easily absorbed by the market boom. Due to the high demand for living space in Fairhaven condo prices continued to increase through 2006. In 2007 prices seemed to have reached their ceiling as they stabilized. Last year, in 2008, the price of condos in Fairhaven fell just slightly. This brings us up to 2009.

One of the most important things to look at when evaluating a market is the supply of inventory. Right now there are only 14 condos for sale that are located within the core of Fairhaven. The supply is really low right now, which is why we haven’t seen large decreases in prices. In fact, the prices are really spread out in Fairhaven right now. I believe that the current market value of a condo in Fairhaven falls somewhere between $300 – $350 per square foot. The exception to these prices would be a handful of the condos that are truly over the top in quality, but for the most part a condo priced over $350 per square just isn’t going to sell.

Over the last six months there have been 9 condos sell in downtown Fairhaven. Of the 9 condos that sold, nearly all of them sold between $300 – $350 per square foot. The actual sales prices of the sold condos ranged from $175,000 up to $942,000. If we go back and look at the condos that are currently on the market we will see that most of the condos that are priced over the $350 per square foot mark have been on the market for several months. Maybe some of the sellers are being unrealistic, or maybe they don’t really want to sell right now, but I believe that the market price is pretty clear.

If you are interested in learning more about the Fairhaven condo market, leave a comment below and let’s discuss this further.

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Real Estate Bellingham Washington

Ryan Martin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 23:11:04 +0000

I have been selling real estate in Bellingham Washington for the last 6 years. During this time I have been successful selling homes when the market goes up and when the market goes down. Despite the recent down turn in national real estate, Bellingham Washington has held up fairly strong. I believe that this is largely due to the fact that Bellingham Washington was undervalued prior to the real estate bubble. As prices were inflating, Bellingham’s values were just catching up to where they should have been. Now that prices have come down, so has the inventory. There are currently only 430 homes on the market in Bellingham Washington. That is a relatively low number considering that there are 80,000 people living in Bellingham.

Where will the price of real estate in Bellingham Washington go from here? Just like everything else it depends, but we do know that Bellingham is still a very desirable place to live for many reasons. I believe that Bellingham’s desirability will help fuel the demand for homes. We also need to consider the fact that currently there are no new homes being added to the inventory, as the City of Bellingham has worked hard to eliminate growth in Bellingham. Any city with a strong demand and limited supply is going to face increased prices.

That brings me to the big question that I am asked daily… Is now a good time to buy real estate in Bellingham Washington? My answer to that question is as follows. We know that prices will recover and begin to increase as soon as the economy recovers. As soon as there are signs of recovery in the economy we are going to see a rise in interest rates. As interest rates go up, affordability will go down. I believe that right now we are in a sweet spot, where real estate prices are affordable and interest rates are low. Now is a great time to buy real estate in Bellingham Washington.

Call Ryan Martin for info. about real estate Bellingham Washington

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9 Economic Factors that Support an Upturn in the Washington State Real Estate Market

admin — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:39:58 +0000

1.    The weak US dollar is positive for WA State because it makes exports cheaper and Washington State is the 3rd largest exporter in the US.
2.    Washington State is a strong business to business provider and will be the last hit and last to come out of a slowdown of the US economy. Microsoft is currently going gangbusters!
3.    Wage inflation is outpacing price inflation 7% to 5%.
4.    The weak US dollar is dramatically slowing employment outsourcing to India.
5.    Washington State has a negative net migration. (Positive population growth)
6.    Seattle has the lowest CAP rates on apartments in the US.
7.    Forbes “Seattle best location for real estate investment”
8.    Negative press in other areas of the country may become a self-fulfilling prophecy in Washington State.
9.    While the economy is really ugly in Miami, Arizona, Las Vegas and parts of South California Bellingham and Seattle are among the top 3.

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Is the Bellingham Real Estate Market Healthy?

admin — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:37:43 +0000

What are the signs of a healthy real estate market?

One of the best signs of a healthy real estate market is number of months of inventory. The number of months of inventory will convey whether a real estate market is a buyer’s market, seller’s market, or balanced market. A balanced real estate market in Bellingham should have 3 to 6 months of inventory. If there is less than 3 months of inventory, then there is a clear seller’s market. In a seller’s market the number of available homes are scarce and there is a high demand for homes. If there is more than 6 months inventory, then it is a buyer’s market. In a buyer’s market there is a lower demand for homes and prices begin to fall.

How many months of inventory are currently on the market in Bellingham?

There is currently 6.7 months of inventory on the market in Bellingham. This suggests that Bellingham is in a buyer’s market. However, if we look at the past 13 months we can see that Bellingham’s real estate market was very balanced until last August. During last August the national credit/lending crisis occurred and nearly every real estate market took a spike in inventory as it became increasingly difficult to obtain financing.

As we can see by the graph, Bellingham’s real estate market did not spiral out of control and never broke over 10 months of inventory. The market has slowly been working back towards a balanced real estate market of market and I expect the July figures to continue the downward trend from the last couple of months.

I follow the real estate trends in Bellingham very closely and would be happy to discuss the market further with anyone who is interested.

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Post tags: balanced real estate market, Belingham real estate, bellingham inventory, Bellingham real estate, bellingham real estate market, buyer's market, healthy real estate market, months of inventory, seller's market

Bellingham ~ a Good Buy or Bad Buy?

admin — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:59:58 +0000

I follow the Bellingham real estate market very closely. As I was looking through the new homes that came on the market this morning, I was overwhelmed by the number of new homes priced way too high. The real estate market has begun to pick up, but by no means are things going gangbusters.

Note to Sellers

You need to be very careful when pricing your property in this market. Assuming that you have chosen to work with a knowledgeable real estate agent, you really need to listen to them. When they suggest a listing price, you should strongly consider their advice. The days of putting a steep price on a property to “see what happens” are long gone. I will tell you what will happen. Your house will not be shown by anybody and you will become very frustrated.

Good Deals Bellingham

There are some good deals on the market right now and some of the homes being listed today are great deals. I still feel firmly that the best deals are being offered by the motived sellers in this market. I suggest that you don’t fall into the trap of foreclosures and short sales. You will only end up wasting time and money. You are far better off working with a seller that has the financial capability to give you a good deal.

Subscribe to Find the HOT Deals

I am no longer publishing my Hot Buys blog. If you would like to subscribe to my list of hot buys in Bellingham. Send an e-mail to Ryan (at) RyanMartinRealEstate.com with HOT BUYS in the subject line and I will get you on the list.

That is it for now. Over and out.

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