A Simple Tour of Bellingham for Buyers
An out of town buyer was in Bellingham for only one weekend...
As I'm sure you can guess (based on the historically lean inventory), the majority of our business at BNP is working with real estate Buyers.
In 2021, 61% of our closed sales involved us representing the Buyer.
Some of them are locals who are either first-time homebuyers stepping into the world of homeownership.
Many Buyers, (though I don't have exact stats), are out-of-area people moving here, an effect called "in-migration".
The City of Bellingham's Housing Data website reports population growth (inside the city limits) of about 1350 people per year, with 76% of that being in-migration.
These folks are moving here because:
They're tired of smoky summers and have heard about our mostly-fresh air;
Their employers said, "Move wherever you want, as long as you have high-speed internet";
They graduated WWU years ago, left for awhile, and are ready to settle here;
They have kids and/or grandkids here and they want to be closer;
They're outdoor fanatics and want to bike, hike, paddle, ski, fly, foil, fish, sail, swim, and on and on;
And all the other reasons someone seeks out the sort of town that ends up on the "Best Places" lists in dozens of different publications and polls.
Here's a fun one: B'ham ranks as the top Washington city for beer drinkers!
About these Buyers...
We are most often put in touch with these Buyers by referrals from, well, YOU!
(Thank you! We love every one of them!)
But we've also had a growing number of Buyers reach out to us after they've done a significant amount of online research, and have chosen BNP based on what they have read.
The frequency of that occurrence sort of exploded in the months after Covid began two years ago, and it has not tapered.
Every Realtor treasures when they've answered a call and found that they're speaking with someone who is "RDB" -- Ready to Do Business.
It's common to learn that the Buyer on the phone has been to Bellingham several times in the past, but they have a long list of questions about the area.
They might have a weekend trip planned, and they want to get as up to speed as possible on what areas they should explore that fit their particular criteria and price range for housing.
One such couple planned a trip here from Portland this past weekend.
They had a range of good questions, reasonable criteria, and a price range of $600K to $900K.They asked for some guidance on what neighborhoods could be a fit, so they could tour around them.
Below are some of the tidbits we shared...
Let's Explore Some 'Hoods!
First, we pointed them to the "Explore Communities" page on our website.On that page we have a map of all Bellingham's named neighborhoods, and you can click on any of them to:
Read about that particular neighborhood's general character and features;
See a street map of the neighborhood, and...
We also provided them with a street map of Bellingham we often use that, similar to the map above, shows the named neighborhoods. It looks like this:
Then we shared some specifics, based on what they're shopping for in a home, and with their price range in mind of $600K to $900K.
Our recommendations were that they drove to and through the following neighborhoods, which we sent with these brief write-ups and their respective map sections:
1) The north-of-downtown Core Neighborhoods of Columbia, Lettered Streets, Sunnyland, Broadway Park and Cornwall Park.
These have high walk-scores to brewpubs and coffee shops, lots of remodeled early 20th century homes including Craftsman style, some mid-century, and some newer construction built to match the older styles.
These are extremely desirable and 90% of the homes would be in your general price range.
In the last 90 days, the average sale price was $640K, and the average escalation amount was 7.26% over list price.
2) The Fairhaven and Edgemoor neighborhoods on the south end of town.
Fairhaven is beloved by everyone for its charming shops and restaurants, outdoor movies in the summer, multiple parks and Bellingham Bay access.
If you travel south from Fairhaven and look in the eastern half of the Edgemoore neighborhood you can find homes that would be in your price range.
In the last 90 days, the average sale price was $823K, and the average escalation amount was 8% over list price.
3) Ridgemont, Samish, and around Lake Padden
These neighborhoods are east of I-5, and while they don't have as high of a walk-score to shops and such, but they are renowned for having near-by access to Galbraith Mountain and and Lake Padden.
That, plus south-side school attendance, makes them very desirable.
In the last 90 days, the average sale price in this highlighted area was $691K, and the average escalation amount was 4.23% over list price.
4) Whatcom Falls and Puget neighborhoods
These neighborhoods have homes primarily from the mid-century and newer.
Puget has view homes that would likely be in your budget, and Whatcom Falls has some excellent Galbraith Mountain and Whatcom Falls Park access, both of which have an abundance of trails.
In the last 90 days, the average sale price in this highlighted area was $697K, and the average escalation amount was 3.85% over list price.
5) Alabama Hill and Silver Beach
These neighborhoods have some very nice homes in your budget.
Many of them will have views, and they benefit from close-by access to Lake Whatcom via Bloedel Donovan Park, and the Bellingham's largest park, Whatcom Falls Park, from the north and east entrances.
In the last 90 days, the average sale price in this highlighted area was $768K, and the average escalation amount was 7.55% over list price.
The Buyers used the information above and, per their follow-up with us after the weekend, had a great tour!
They ultimately liked Sunnyland, Cornwall Park, Silver Beach, and Alabama Hill.
They're a ways out from making their move, but we always tell our Buyer clients:
"The earlier you start getting calibrated to the market, the better."
We'll set them up on an automatic email from the MLS for homes that match their criteria...
We'll have lots of dialogue about the homes they're drawn to, and exclusionary criteria that start to emerge...
We will occasionally video tour a home they're extra fond of......and we'll occasionally ask, "Has your criteria changed at all?"
By the time they're ready to get serious, we'll bring them up to speed on "what's happening now" regarding the level of competitiveness and what's required to get a house.
It's an ever-changing landscape, which is, of course, half the fun!
