Real estate update: Prices fluctuate across Bellingham, Whatcom and WA state in September

Median home sale prices in Whatcom County increased in September, while Washington remains the fourth 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 September, Whatcom’s median home sale price fluctuated, starting at $550,000 on Sept. 4, then rising to $625,000 on Sept. 18 and then dropping to $558,000 on Sept. 25.

Jason Lee, a local broker with Windermere Real Estate in Bellingham said Whatcom County’s median sale price was $550,000 in September, a 1.1% increase compared with August and a 2% decrease compared with September of 2022, Lee wrote in an email to The Bellingham Herald.

“Average days on market trended up in September for homes and condos in Whatcom County causing some homeowners to accept lower that listed prices. For example, in the past 30 days about 47% of all homes in Bellingham sold under list price,” Lee wrote in an email.

Whatcom County home prices were down 2.6% in August 2023 compared to 2022, according to Redfin’s Whatcom County Housing Market Trends.

As Whatcom County’s median home sale price is $558,000, San Juan County had the highest median home sale price of $925,000, and Garfield County had the lowest of $154,000.

Bellingham’s housing market

In Bellingham, Zillow home values decreased throughout early 2023, until beginning to increase in May. The median Zillow home value in Bellingham was $664,436 across the month of August, up from $661,826 in July. Zillow is a real estate company that collects data on real estate, apartments and home values.

In September, Bellingham’s median sale price was $620,000 according to Lee of Windermere Real Estate, a 4.6% decrease compared with August and a 5.3% decrease compared with September of last year, Lee wrote.

Washington state housing market

Washington is the fourth-most expensive state in which to purchase a home, according to September 2023 data, trailing only California with a median home value price of $783,300, Hawaii at $713,800, and Massachusetts at $638,100.

Across Washington state, home prices have increased by 10.36% between January and July, as July reached a median home value price of $610,600, according to Redfin.