Inventory levels remain very low, demand is high in Bellingham and Whatcom County.
Use my Language of Real Estate page to help you understand the market data in the reports below.
Woohoo! Our months supply of inventory has increased by 1/10th of 1% from February - it's now .7 months! This is still down 22% from a year ago. If I review the same data for zip code 98225, which covers a lot of Bellingham's southside, the months supply of inventory drops to 4/10ths of a month, which is down 33% from a year ago. No surprise, the median sales price has increased nearly 23% in the past year.
Unbelievably, the months supply of homes continues to dwindle, both in comparison to January and to February of 2021. Prices have jumped 28% in one year! This is bad news for buyers. An increase in interest rates is unlikely to have a significant impact on these numbers, at least for the near future. This is because of the pent-up demand for Buyers.
As we look for new hope that inventory increases will help the imbalance in the real estate market, there is no sign of listing activity increasing. Not surprising, the number of closed sales dropped slightly, compared to a year ago. Also, the percentage of list price increased slightly.
Considering that new listings are down 14% compared to a year ago, it's no surprise that closed sales are down slightly (3%). Likewise, seeing the days of drop drop and average sales price increase is a logical consequence. Homes are continuing to sell for over list price. And my recent blog post that shows the constant home inventory decline means there is no end in sight!
New listings can't keep up with demand. Consequently, prices continue to climb. Tough time to be a buyer!
While new listings increased slightly compared to a year ago, they are down from September. The average sales price increased significantly compared to a year ago, and have made great gains in the past month. Average average days on market have decreased significantly, compared to a year ago, but are up slightly from September.
Inventory of homes for sale increased slightly, but remain very low. Days on Market dropped in half, after dropping over 40% in August, compared to a year ago. Home prices are relatively stable, compared to August. Homes continue to sell for above asking price!
Inventory of homes for sale (1 month) has dropped by over 40% - these inventory levels are extremely low! Days on Market has also dropped significantly by over 42%. Home prices continue to climb.
Inventory of homes for sale (1.1 months) dropped nearly 50%, compared to July of 2020 (2.1 months), but inventory has creeped up slightly, compared to June 2021 (.9 months). Days on Market has also dropped significantly compared to 2020, down 17 days. Home prices have increased 26% in one year!
Inventory of homes for sale remain less than one month. Buyers who feel they have a lack of selection in Whatcom County are supported by the market stats! While there is evidence of a slowdown across the nation, Whatcom County demand continues to exceed supply. It will be interesting to see what happens in the market when interest rates eventually increase.
Months Supply of Inventory is staying steady at .8 months - it's still a 62% decline from the same time last year. Unfortunately, the inventory of homes is staying steady despite an influx of new listings. I know I sound like a broken record, but demand continues to exceed supply! One theory is that while many people are re-assessing their lives, the impact on Whatcom County is that residents understand they have a good life here, and people outside Whatcom County are actively searching for a lifestyle that Whatcom County provides. I don't see when this dynamic will change, which means inventory levels will remain low and prices will continue to climb. Even when we reach a market slowdown, I believe that Whatcom County will see prices continue to climb, but just at a less rapid pace.
We are continuing to see new listing activity rise. This is likely a reflection of Sellers who chose to wait until they could see the light at the end of the COVID tunnel and also Sellers who recognize that with low interest rates and excessive demand, now is a great time to sell. New listings in April were up 52% from April of 2020! But wait, there's more - pending sales are up 69% from last year! April 2020 was the beginning of uncertainty related to what COVID would mean for the real estate market. Closed sales took a big jump in April compared to March, so again we are seeing demand outpacing supply. With this type of activity, I worry that Sellers will get greedy, which can contribute to a market slowdown. But we continue to see homes selling for 4-5% above list price!
As we get closer to Spring, we expect the number of new listings to rise. This has happened in March (306 new listings) compared to February (236 new listings). But pending sales surpasses these new listings dramatically - a 48% increase compared to last year and 36% increase compared to February. Not surprisingly, this is driving prices up.
While Median and Average list prices are up from last year, they took a big dip in February from January. I expect this is an anomaly, and we will see average prices to climb higher in the coming months. Days on market were also up in February, but with less than one month's supply of inventory and no expected influx of lots of new listings, I expect the days on market to drop in the coming months.
New listings and pending sales (pending sales are a reflection of current demand) are both up compared to January of last year. Days on market has gone up slightly since December, but are still much lower than a year ago. The average sales price continues to climb - nearly a whopping 30% over the same time last year. Inventory is driving these numbers - less than one month's inventory means that even in a typically slow month like January, demand exceeds supply BY A LOT.
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