Bellingham Homes Market

Bellingham Homes Markethttp://bellinghamhomes.com/en-usFri, 02 Dec 2011 10:52:00 GMT10GDRSSFeeds v1.0Vancouver, BC Top 5 Place to Livehttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2011/12/02/vancouver-bc-top-5-place-to-live<div><font size="2"><img border="0" hspace="2" alt="Vancouver British Columbia" vspace="2" align="right" src="http://whatcomhomesearch.com/images/vancouver_2.jpg" width="250" height="187" /><strong style="color: #333399">Vancouver, BC</strong> - A recent article at CNBC.com is reporting that Vancouver is ranked the 5th best city in the world to live in. The q<font size="2">uality of life and personal safety rank high for the metropolises at the top of the list, according to a survey by human resources consulting firm Mercer, which evaluated 221 cities worldwide.</font> <div> </div> Vancouver is the only Canadian and North American city to make the top 10 on the list. </font></div> <p><font size="2">The city of Vancouver is renowned for making numerous lists of the world's most livable cities over the past decade. It has ranked among the top five in the Mercer quality-of-life survey for the past five years. </font> <p><strong><u></u></strong></p> </richtextabstract> <p><font size="2">Home to one of the mildest climates in Canada, Vancouver is also its greenest city, with the smallest carbon footprint of any major city in North America. The city is surrounded by water and snowy mountains, and its government constantly promotes green building, planning and technology, with the ambition of becoming the world's greenest city by 2020. </font></p> <div class="captiondesc1show"> <div> </div> <div> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com/"><strong style="color: #000080">Bellingham Homes For Sale</strong></a></div> </div> </div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2011/12/02/vancouver-bc-top-5-place-to-live" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2011/12/02/vancouver-bc-top-5-place-to-live#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2011/12/02/vancouver-bc-top-5-place-to-liveFri, 02 Dec 2011 10:52:00 GMTBellinghamHomes.com Tops One Million Mark.http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2011/08/02/bellinghamhomescom-tops-one-million-mark<div><strong><img border="0" hspace="2" alt="Bellingham Homes" vspace="2" align="right" src="http://bellinghamhomes.com/images/South_Hill_Bham.jpg" width="165" height="117" />Bellingham, WA</strong> - Our <strong><a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com"><strong style="color: #000080">BellinghamHomes.com</strong></a></strong> website recently went over the One Million mark on the number of pages viewed by internet users in the past 12 month period. The Bellingham Home site activity has increased every month by at least 10% or more for the past three years even in this tough real estate environment we are in. The amount of page views, according to Google Analytics is now 1,140,500 page views in the past 12 months. Even with our economy still in the tank, home buyers are actively looking and searching for real estate in the Bellingham area.</div> <div> </div> <div>Internet visitors to BellinghamHomes.com on average view 16.5 pages per visit, spend an average of 8:51 minutes per visit on the site, and currently the site has a low bounce rate of only 22.3 percent. The Bellingham Homes website traffic is now over 50% return visitors who use the site daily. That has been the nicest endorsement so far when half of your traffic is from return visitors...tells you that your doing something right.</div> <div> </div> <div>The site is built around an incredible IDX search engine provided by Graphical Data and that is fed into hundreds of custom searches within the site to make searching for homes that much easier. The site ranks in the top 5 over all in all searches when end users use our local geographic searches combined with real estate terms. Because of it's high ranking, the site does get a lot of visitors but when the end users get to the site they are also sticking to it as well based on the low bounce rate, average time on the site and page views. We also don't force registration inorder to search, which most people prefer when searching for a home.</div> <div> </div> <div>One of the largest growing segments of the site traffic are Canadian visitors looking for great home buys just over the border here in Whatcom County. Canadians are buying homes and properties in the US market in a large way today taking advantage of the value of their dollar vs the US currency. They just have a lot more buying power right now than they have had for years. Most of the Canadian calls and leads we are seeing are for Lake Whatcom, Lake Samish, Birch Bay, other recreation property and second homes here in Whatcom County.</div> <div> </div> <div>There are also a lot of new surprises about to be rolled out in the next few months that will really enhance the online experience for end users searching for real estate in Whatcom County area. Feel free to visit our BellinghamHomes site today and see what you think for yourself.</div> <div> </div> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com"><strong style="color: #000080">Bellingham Homes For Sale</strong></a></div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2011/08/02/bellinghamhomescom-tops-one-million-mark" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2011/08/02/bellinghamhomescom-tops-one-million-mark#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2011/08/02/bellinghamhomescom-tops-one-million-markWed, 03 Aug 2011 07:19:00 GMTBellingham Ranked 3rd Secure City Nationallyhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/12/21/bellingham-ranked-3rd-secure-city-nationally<div><strong style="color: #333399"><img border="0" hspace="5" alt="Chuckanut Drive" vspace="2" align="right" src="http://bellinghamhomes.com/images/Anacortes.jpg" width="175" height="131" />Bellingham Washington</strong> - Bellingham is the third most secure place to live among mid-size cities in America, according to the Seventh Annual Farmers Insurance Co. yearly study. The only national cities ranking ahead of Bellingham, WA were Olympia, WA., at number two and Sioux Falls, S.D., held the top spot in this this years most secure cities in America.</div> <div> </div> <div>This is the fifth consecutive year that Bellingham has placed among the top 20; the city ranked fourth in 2009. The ranking covers 127 metropolitan areas with populations between 150,000 and 500,000.</div> <div> </div> <div>Information about crime statistics, extreme weather, risk of natural disaster, housing depreciation, air quality, environmental hazards, terrorist threats, life expectancy and job loss were all factors.</div> <div> </div> <div align="center"> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <font color="#cccccc"><strong style="color: #333399"><a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com"><font color="#cccccc"><strong style="color: #333399">Bellingham Homes For Sale</strong></font></a></strong></font></div> </div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/12/21/bellingham-ranked-3rd-secure-city-nationally" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/12/21/bellingham-ranked-3rd-secure-city-nationally#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/12/21/bellingham-ranked-3rd-secure-city-nationallyTue, 21 Dec 2010 08:07:00 GMTLand Trust Buys Vendovi Islandhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/12/20/land-trust-buys-vendovi-island<div><strong style="color: #333399">San Juan Islands WA</strong> - The San Juan Preservation Trust purchased Vendovi Island, a 217 acre private island located in the San Juan Islands. The trust paid $6.4 million for the island which was less than half the asking price.</div> <div> </div> <div>Late high tech pioneer John Fluke bought Vendovi Island in 1966, and his family decided to put it up for auction this fall. The asking price prior to the auction was $14.5 million. The San Juan Preservation Trust came up with $3 million in donations and a $3.4 million low-interest loan from San Juan residents.</div> <div> </div> <div>The heavily forested, largely undeveloped island is just south of <strong style="color: #333399; text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/index.cfm/page/48970/parent/48462/Lummi_Island_Homes.html"><strong style="color: #333399; text-decoration: underline">Lummi Island</strong></a></strong> and sandwiched between three other San Juan Islands with <strong style="color: #333399; text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/index.cfm/page/72899/parent/69814/Samish_Island.html"><strong style="color: #333399; text-decoration: underline">Samish Island</strong></a></strong> to the southwest, Guemes Island to the south and Sinclair Island to the west. The Beautiful <strong style="color: #333399; text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/index.cfm/page/69814/Chuckanut_Drive.html"><strong style="color: #333399; text-decoration: underline">Chuckanut Drive</strong></a></strong> on the mainland is 3 nautical miles to the east of the island. Vendovi island is 7 miles north <strong style="color: #333399; text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com/index.cfm/page/93588/parent/50347/Anacortes_Real_Estate.html"><strong style="color: #333399; text-decoration: underline">Anacortes WA</strong></a></strong> and has no ferry service. The island has six beaches, a four-bedroom house and a harbor protected by a rock breakwater.</div> <div> </div> <div>No public access will be allowed while an inventory of the island's resources are conducted and a management plan is developed, but the trust says a public park is a long-term possibility.</div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/12/20/land-trust-buys-vendovi-island" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/12/20/land-trust-buys-vendovi-island#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/12/20/land-trust-buys-vendovi-islandMon, 20 Dec 2010 13:11:00 GMTBellingham #5 Best Place to Retirehttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/11/22/bellingham-5-best-place-to-retire<div>Bellingham, WA - CNNMoney recently published an article entitiled the "25 Best Places to Retire in the US. Bellingham, Washington not only made the list but was ranked as the # 5 town over all. We have gotten use to many top ten lists over the years and this one is no surprise to those that have lived here for awhile.</div> <div> </div> <div>This vibrant small city tucked between the Puget Sound and Cascade Mountains is 50 miles south of Vancouver, B.C., and 90 miles north of Seattle. Yet while Bellingham offers easy access to two major metro areas, it's a distinct community in its own right, with a nationally recognized hospital, international airport, and state college. </div> <div> <p>From the downtown harbor, boats depart regularly for the nearby San Juan Islands. Bellingham Farmers market attracts more than 100 local vendors and thousands of visitors over long summer weekends. <p>The town has a large retiree community, many of whom are no doubt attracted by the state's lack of income tax. Mild summers (average July high of 73 degrees) and winters (average January low of 32) are another selling point (as long as you don't mind frequent cloudy days). <p sizset="81" sizcache="10">At the Academy of Lifelong Learning at Western Washington University, faculty or other experts lead 60 multi-session classes and excursions a year. That has drawn about 250 members to the 12-year-old program. <br /> <br /> </p> </div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/11/22/bellingham-5-best-place-to-retire" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/11/22/bellingham-5-best-place-to-retire#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/11/22/bellingham-5-best-place-to-retireMon, 22 Nov 2010 18:35:00 GMTSSK Real Estate and Muljat Group Mergehttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/08/07/ssk-real-estate-and-muljat-group-merge<p><img height="131" alt="Muljat Group" src="http://bellinghamhomes.com/images/Muljat_Group_01.jpg" width="175" align="left" border="0" />Two family-owned, independent real estate companies are merging into one firm. <a href="http://www.muljatgroupnorth.com">Snapper Shuler Kenner Real Estate</a> in Lynden, WA has joined The Muljat Group and will take its name. The <a href="http://www.muljatgroupnorth.com/index.cfm/page/82938/Our_Agents.html">SSK Real Estate office</a>, which has 22 agents, will be renamed The <a href="http://www.muljatgroupnorth.com/">Muljat Group North</a>, but there will be few other changes, said Jerry Blankers, branch broker.</p> <p>The merger was partly the result of a contractual obligation. Paul Kenner, one of the partners at SSK Real Estate, was bought out and the company was required to give up the Snapper Shuler Kenner name. The remaining partners decided to align themselves with another company, reaching an agreement with Frank Muljat. The Blankers family will continue to operate the branch as they have for the past 35 years, with Jerry Blankers remaining as branch broker. <div></div> <div> <p>Jerry Blankers said the merger will allow the Lynden office to draw on other resources it previously didn't have, including the Muljat Groups appraisal division. For The Muljat Group, it will be the sixth Whatcom County office and the first in the Lynden area. The Muljat Group has three offices in Bellingham and one in Ferndale.</p> <p>"It's a great benefit for us because we had considered expanding into the north county area," said Frank Muljat. "It's also a chance for two family-owned companies to grow together. (The two families) have known each other for quite some time and have similar ways of operating."</p> <div>Snapper Shuler Kenner Insurance has been a separate company from the SSK real estate office since 1992. </div> <div> </div> <div>The <a href="http://www.muljatgroupnorth.com/">Muljat Group North</a> office is located at 505 Front St. in Lynden, Washington. Feel free to stop by their Lynden offices for all your real estate needs.</div> </div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/08/07/ssk-real-estate-and-muljat-group-merge" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/08/07/ssk-real-estate-and-muljat-group-merge#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/08/07/ssk-real-estate-and-muljat-group-mergeSat, 07 Aug 2010 12:55:00 GMTBellinghamHomes.com now on Facebookhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/01/04/bellinghamhomescom-now-on-facebook<div><a href="http://www.facebook.com/BellinghamHomes1"><img alt="Bellingham Homes Facebook" hspace="5" src="http://bellinghamhomes.com/images/Bellingham_Homes_Facebook.jpg" width="120" align="right" /></a><strong>Bellingham homes</strong> is now <strong>on facebook</strong>. We recently set up an account on facebook so that our end users, clients, and friends in the real estate industry could enjoy more interactions with BellinghamHomes.com directly. We plan to share lots of local experience on the Bellingham Washington real estate and homes business by posting useful information on our Bellingham Homes facebook site.</div> <div> </div> <div>Feel free to go to our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/BellinghamHomes1"><strong>BellinghamHomes.com facebook page</strong></a>, sign up and join in the conversation about real estate in the Bellingham & Whatcom County area. Simply click on the following facebook badge to visit our facebook page.</div> <div> </div> <div>We will try to post something every day about Bellingham real estate, trends in the market, news from area resources, things to do, real estate stats, and a whole lot more. Feel free to post a topic on our facebook wall and start a conversation about the local real estate market or something that might interest you. </div> <div> </div> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/BellinghamHomes1"><strong>Bellingham Homes on Facebook</strong></a></div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/01/04/bellinghamhomescom-now-on-facebook" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/01/04/bellinghamhomescom-now-on-facebook#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2010/01/04/bellinghamhomescom-now-on-facebookWed, 06 Jan 2010 18:31:00 GMTHousing Inventories Declinehttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/12/23/housing-inventories-decline<p><strong><img height="125" alt="US Home Sales" hspace="5" src="http://stockart.graphicaldata.com/art/Real Estate/full/Residential/DCP_3791.jpg" width="190" align="right" border="0" />US Housing Market</strong> - The number of homes listed for sale declined in many U.S. cities in November, but more houses are likely to hit the market early in 2010. The supply of homes available for sale in 35 major metropolitan areas at the end of November was down 2.4% compared with a month earlier, according to RealTrac.</p> <p>Inventories typically decrease modestly in November compared with the previous month, and especially during our holiday seasonality period between Thanksgiving and New Years. Over the past 25 years, the average change has been a decline of 1.8%.</p> <p>The November inventory in the 35 metro areas was down 28% compared with the year-earlier period for all single-family homes, condominiums and town houses listed on local multiple-listing services. </p> <p>One stat that's not figured into all of this are the number of homes that banks are preparing to put on the market, without that it's impossible to pin down what effect that will have on inventory levels in the new year. As of the end of October, banks and mortgage investors had 639,000 foreclosed homes for sale across the country. However, it should be noted that most of these bank-owned homes are mostly concentrated in Florida, California, Arizona and Nevada.</p> <p>I think that with the holiday season between Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, many homeowners have been awaiting for signs of a stronger market before trying to sell. They are likely to list their homes early in the new year to attract buyers seeking to qualify for a federal tax credit on purchases of homes made before the end of April 2010. I also believe a lot of home owners will want to market their homes with the world's attention focused on this area during the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics in February 2010. There is going to be a lot more inventory coming on the market by February or March 2010.</p> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com">Bellingham Homes For Sale</a></div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/12/23/housing-inventories-decline" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/12/23/housing-inventories-decline#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/12/23/housing-inventories-declineWed, 23 Dec 2009 11:11:00 GMTBellingham Ranks High For Secure Places to Livehttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/12/19/bellingham-ranks-high-for-secure-places-to-live<div><strong><img height="150" alt="Bellingham Washington" hspace="5" src="http://bellinghamhomes.com/images/Semiahmoo_Harbor.jpg" width="200" align="right" border="0" ? />Bellingham WA</strong> - Bellingham ranks as the fourth most secure place to live in the U.S. among cities of a similar size, according to the sixth annual study by Farmers Insurance Group of Companies. This is the fourth consecutive year that Bellingham has placed among the top 20 nationally. </div> <div> </div> <div>The rankings, compiled by database experts at Bestplaces, took into consideration several factors, including crime statistics, housing depreciation, number of foreclosures, extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, air quality, environmental hazards, life expectancy and job-loss numbers compared to 127 other U.S. metropolitan areas with 150,000 to 500,000 people.</div> <div> </div> <div>This is not surprising to locals that Bellingham seems to garner some type of national award every year. Maybe Bellingham, WA is the Utopia that locals claim it to be. With the Winter Olympics in Vancouver set to begin in less than two months, maybe our well kept secret won't be much of secret with the eyes of the world upon us. Visitors might want to visit our <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/28/bellingham-wa-visitor-center/">Bellingham Visitor Center</a> if their planning a trip soon.</div> <div> </div> <div>Several other Northwest cities ranked well on the list with Olympia ranking second, while Kennewick-Richland-Pasco ranked sixth and the Bremerton-Silverdale, Wash. area ranking as the eleventh most secure place. The Fargo, N.D.-Moorhead, Minn., area was the most secure mid-size city in the U.S., according to the study. </div> <div> </div> <div>The most secure small town (150,000 or fewer) is the Lewiston, Idaho-Clarkston, Wash., area. The most secure large metropolitan area (population greater than 500,000) was the central Texas area of Austin-Round Rock. </div> <div> </div> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham, WA - <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com">Bellingham Real Estate</a></div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/12/19/bellingham-ranks-high-for-secure-places-to-live" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/12/19/bellingham-ranks-high-for-secure-places-to-live#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/12/19/bellingham-ranks-high-for-secure-places-to-liveSat, 19 Dec 2009 07:59:00 GMTBellingham Real Estate Market Improvinghttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/12/17/bellingham-real-estate-market-improving<div><strong><img height="115" alt="Bellingham Home Sales" hspace="5" src="http://stockart.graphicaldata.com/art/Real Estate/full/Residential/DCP_3392.jpg" width="175" align="right" border="0" />Whatcom County</strong> - November was a busy month for property transactions in several Whatcom County communities, according to a monthly report put out by First American Title. There were 166 property sales in Bellingham last month, which was more than double the 82 transactions in November 2008.</div> <div> </div> <div>That's down slightly from October 2009 however, when there were 182 total sales. Total property sales cover residential, commercial, industrial and undeveloped land.</div> <div> </div> <div>For the areas of Ferndale, Lynden and Blaine, there were 153 property sales last month, compared to 105 in November 2008. In October 2009 there were 174 sales.</div> <div> </div> <div>The most significant activity was in used, single-family homes. There were 111 sales of such homes in November in Bellingham, compared to 48 in November 2008. In the north-county communities, there were 95 sales of used homes, up from 43 in November 2008.</div> <div></div>   <div>The increase in sales last month is having an impact on year-to-date totals. Through 11 months of 2009, total property sales are down 11 percent in Bellingham and 12.5 percent in Lynden, Ferndale and Blaine, compared to 2008. For the first half of this year, year-to-date totals were down more than 25 percent, which means that sales are improving as we move forward in this market.</div> <div> </div> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com">Bellingham Real Estate</a></div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/12/17/bellingham-real-estate-market-improving" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/12/17/bellingham-real-estate-market-improving#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/12/17/bellingham-real-estate-market-improvingThu, 17 Dec 2009 11:03:00 GMTWhatcom County Foreclosure Rate Lowhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/11/03/whatcom-county-foreclosure-rate-low<p><strong><img height="115" alt="Whatcom County Market" hspace="5" src="http://stockart.graphicaldata.com/art/Real Estate/full/Residential/DCP_3676.jpg" width="175" align="right" border="0" />Whatcom County</strong> - According to local data compiled by First American Core Logic, subprime mortgage lending formed a relatively small part of the local Whatcom County real estate picture. Their data shows that only about 1,000 subprime loans were outstanding in the Whatcom County area as of July 2009, compared to about 35,000 conventional loans.</p> <p>The data shows that almost 35 percent of those subprime loans were more than 60 days delinquent as of July, putting those homes at high risk of foreclosure. Since there was only about 1,000 subprime loans over all, the effect on the local real estate market was much smaller than what happened in other areas of the country.</p> <p>Among the 35,000 conventional loans in Whatcom County, less than 3 percent were 60 or more days delinquent as of July. A rebound in our market is much more likely and we could actually start to get back to normal by the Spring of 2010. Don't expect any of those double digit gains we saw five years ago, but a normal market would be a good sign.</p> <p>Nationwide, the delinquency rate on conventional prime mortgage loans is 6 percent, while the rate on subprime loans is close to 40 percent.</p> <div>The foreclosure rate in Whatcom County is also lower because real estate values have not fallen as far as they have in bubble states like Arizona, Nevada, California and Florida, which lead the nation in mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates.</div> <div> </div> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com">Bellingham Real Estate</a></div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/11/03/whatcom-county-foreclosure-rate-low" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/11/03/whatcom-county-foreclosure-rate-low#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/11/03/whatcom-county-foreclosure-rate-lowTue, 03 Nov 2009 09:25:00 GMTTips on Buying a Condominiumhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/10/31/tips-on-buying-a-condominium<div id="intelliTxt" itxtvisited="1"><strong><img height="112" alt="Bellingham WA Condos" hspace="5" src="http://bellinghamhomes.com/images/Condos150-200.jpg" width="175" align="right" border="0" />Bellingham Condo Market</strong> - If your version of the American dream doesn't include mowing the lawn. think about buying a condo. Good options for both first-time home buyers and older folks who are ready to downsize, condos are typically smaller and less expensive than a single family home, and can include attractive amenities as part of a home owners association (HOA), such as pools and fitness facilities. Bone up on both the pluses and the minuses.</div> <div itxtvisited="1"> </div> <div></div> <div>Think about how long you're going to stay in one place. Buying a condo is no different than buying a single-family home--you need to live there at least a couple of years to recoup closing costs, assuming the property will appreciate.</div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div>Give some thought to what you want. If you're not interested in the pool or sauna, understand that the condo's price and ongoing monthly association fees will reflect their use regardless of your interest in swimming or sweating.</div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div>Visit various condominium or townhouse communities and multiunit buildings so you know what's available where you live. Get a sense of prevailing prices.</div> <div> </div> <div>Request a market analysis from a real estate agent regarding the selling prices of condos in the building or area. Check the price appreciation on the market analysis to evaluate how quickly the condos are increasing in value; subtract the selling price from the purchase price and divide by the number of years the property has been held by the previous owner for a ballpark estimate of annual appreciation, if any (varies from state to state and place to place), in the neighborhood.</div> <div> </div> <div>Getting prequalified for a mortgage to buy your future condo will mostly likely help when negotiating a deal on a condominium unit.</div> <div> </div> <div>Find out if the building has a good reputation. Ask current residents how often repairs and maintenance are required, and how good the soundproofing is between units.</div> <div> </div> <div>Check out parking, storage, security and other amenities.</div> <div> </div> <div>Ask to see the minutes from a recent meeting of the home owners association (HOA). Find out what the hot issues are and if members are fighting tooth and nail. You may want to keep looking-- nobody wants to live where neighbors are at each other's throats.</div> <div> </div> <div>Ask how large the HOA's reserve funds (used to pay for maintenance and emergency repairs on the building) are. The larger the reserve, the less a chance of an assessment or one-time payment to chip in for an unexpected expense. The smaller the reserve, the greater the chance you'll be billed for an assessment in the near future. Some states require periodic updates of reserves to be published to HOA members.</div> <div> </div> <div>Check the HOA's history of assessments to see how many have been made in the past 10 years and how large they have been. This information will help you gauge how likely it is that you'll be assessed in the near future, and indicate how well-managed the building is. Better managed buildings make fewer assessments.</div> <div> </div> <div>Talk to other members and find out how restrictive your HOA is. For instance, some buildings even dictate what sort of holiday lighting you can put up. Request the same information as you would for buying a house. Read the CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and restrictions).</div> <div> </div> <div>Budget in association dues, which are above and beyond your monthly mortgage payment. To assist in long-term financial planning, ask the condo association whether association fees have increased in recent years. Also estimate monthly maintenance costs that you're responsible for in addition to the association fees.</div> <div> </div> <div>Make an offer and close on the deal. Hire a professional Realtor to represent you in crafting an offer and once the offer is accepted they will help facilitate the transaction through the process to a successful closing. </div> <div> </div> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com/index.cfm/page/49109/Bellingham_Condos.html"><strong>Bellingham Condos For Sale</strong></a></div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/10/31/tips-on-buying-a-condominium" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/10/31/tips-on-buying-a-condominium#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/10/31/tips-on-buying-a-condominiumSat, 31 Oct 2009 11:11:00 GMTHomebuyers Tax Credit Extensionhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/10/29/homebuyers-tax-credit-extension<p><img height="99" alt="Homebuyers Tax Credit" hspace="5" src="http://stockart.graphicaldata.com/art/Real Estate/full/Residential/DCP_3401.jpg" width="150" align="right" border="0" />According to the Associated Press, Senators have agreed to extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers and to offer a reduced credit to some repeat buyers.</p> <p>Reportedly, Senators agreed to extend the existing tax credit for first-time homebuyers while offering a reduced credit of up to $6,500 to buyers who have owned their current homes for at least five years. </p> <div>The tax credits would be available to buyers who sign sales agreements by the end of April 2010. They would have until the end of June to close on their new homes.<br /> This is a preliminary report, details and conditions may change as the legislation becomes finalized. We will give more details as they become available. </div> <div> </div> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com">Bellingham Homes For Sale</a></div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/10/29/homebuyers-tax-credit-extension" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/10/29/homebuyers-tax-credit-extension#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2009/10/29/homebuyers-tax-credit-extensionThu, 29 Oct 2009 17:17:00 GMTThe Sweet Smell of a Successful Salehttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/12/08/the-sweet-smell-of-a-successful-sale<img height="181" alt="Whatcom Blue Berries" hspace="5" src="http://stockart.graphicaldata.com/art/Food/full/Fruitveg/SSGP1005.jpg" width="145" align="right" border="0" />Scents and aromas can have a dramatic impact on people's emotions, otherwise, there wouldn't be a multi-billion-dollar fragrance industry! This same thought process can apply to selling a home. <p> Don't ignore the power of fragrance when showing your home. Smoke, pet odors, and cooking smells can each dramatically impact how potential buyers feel about your house.</p> <p>If your potential buyers never form an emotional connection to your home, chances are that they will remain just that, potential buyers.</font></p> <p>Don't allow smoking in your house for weeks leading up to showing it, find a pet-sitter for a few days, and clean, clean, clean!</font></p> <p>Once you've removed any aromas that might be off-putting and freshened the air in your home, you can actually use scent to your advantage.</font></p> <p>Consider doing some baking prior to showings. The scent of fresh apple pie is hard to beat when it comes to creating the atmosphere of a welcoming home!<br /> <br /> </font><font size="2"><em>In a pinch, a mixture of water, vanilla extract, and brown sugar in an oven on low heat can be used to create the pleasing aroma of fresh baking.</em></font></p> <div><font size="2">To a certain extent, buyers make purchase decisions based on their emotional response, so it's important to make it easy for them to fall in love with your home. </font><font size="2">Pleasant smells are one more way to do so.</font></div> <div> </div> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/index.cfm/page/61406/Bellingham_Neighborhoods.html">Bellingham Neighborhoods</a></div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/12/08/the-sweet-smell-of-a-successful-sale" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/12/08/the-sweet-smell-of-a-successful-sale#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/12/08/the-sweet-smell-of-a-successful-saleSun, 08 Mar 2009 13:28:00 GMTSellers Leave During Home Showinghttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/12/14/sellers-leave-during-home-showing<div><span style="font-size: 10pt"><strong><img height="187" alt="Home Selling Ideas" hspace="5" src="http://stockart.graphicaldata.com/art/People/full/People/SSGP1200.jpg" width="150" align="right" border="0" />Bellingham WA</strong> - When your home is on the market you should try to make yourself scarce when your house is being shown to prospective buyers. Whether you step outside, go for a walk, or just leave, you will increase your chances of selling your Bellingham home if you leave for a little while. Home Buyers are more apt to feel at ease and will less likely feel like they are invading your space if your not there during the showing time.</span> <div> </div> </div> <div><span style="font-size: 10pt">If you have shopped in a store where the sales people work on commission and seem to lurk in the background, watching your every move, while you shop, thats the same way the buyer feels when the seller is around. That scenario doesn't really put one in the mood for buying and has a similar effect on a home buyer.<br />  </span></div> <div><span style="font-size: 10pt">It can be uncomfortable exploring a home for sale when you also feel like you're being watched. Making buyers feel comfortable when looking for a home is absolutely essential. Buyers tend to have little interest in asking you questions about your property because the answers you provide will certainly be biased in some way. This is why you have hired a real estate agent to represent you and your home. Who better than a qualified professional to be the spokesperson for your home.</span> <div> </div> </div> <div></font><span style="font-size: 10pt">Over the years when I've shown homes in the Bellingham area, buyers are less likely to open closets, cabinets and home showings are much shorter when the seller insists on being there. The idea is to make the home buyer comfortable so they don't feel rushed, instead of thinking they are invading your space and the need to leave. </span> <div> </div> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-size: 10pt">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - </span><a href="http://www.BellinghamHomes.com"><span style="font-size: 10pt">Bellingham Real Estate</span></a></div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/12/14/sellers-leave-during-home-showing" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/12/14/sellers-leave-during-home-showing#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/12/14/sellers-leave-during-home-showingSun, 14 Dec 2008 17:14:00 GMTBellingham WA Visitor Centerhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/28/bellingham-wa-visitor-center<div><strong><img alt="Historic Fairhaven WA" hspace="5" src="http://bellinghamhomes.com/images/Fairhaven-St-Scene5.jpg" width="100" align="right" />Bellingham WA</strong> - If your planning a trip to Bellingham, Washington in the near future you might want to stop at the official Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism Center for lots of useful area information. I would think that if travelers to the upcoming <a href="http://www.northwestliving.net/category/vancouver-2010/"><strong>Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games</strong></a> starting in February of 2010 would find this a must stop to find out all the things to do in Whatcom County while your in the area. The Vancouver, BC Games are just around the corner and lots of the visitors will be traveling through Bellingham and Whatcom County.</div> <div> </div> <div>The Bellingham and Whatcom County areas offer many opportunities to do things you wouldn't find anywhere else in the country, whether just for a weekend or an extended stay. The area has three large fresh water lakes to explore, Bellingham Bay, Chuckanut Drive, and the Islands of the San Juans which are at Bellingham's door Step. Near by, Mt Baker offers hiking, skiing, and snowboarding. One can take in the local shops including Fairhaven and Downtown Bellingham which is going through a revitalization. The area also has one of the best universities on the west coast with local Western Washington University.</div> <div> </div> <div>Visitors can also take in the arts, theater, waterfront adventures and tours like whale watching. either by visiting their on line site or in person you can find out about  local businesses, organizations and resources you need for a visit, convention, or general community information. The <a href="http://www.bellingham.org/index.php/contact_us">Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism</a> Center is a local non-profit association dedicated to serving visitors. Going north on I-5, take exit 253, the Lakeway Drive exit. When you come to the stop sign after exiting I-5, just go through the intersection and the Bellingham Visitor center will be on your right side. The address location is 904 Potter St. Bellingham WA 98229<strong>.</strong> Their direct number is (360) 671-3990.</div> <div> </div> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com">Bellingham Homes For Sale</a></div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/28/bellingham-wa-visitor-center" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/28/bellingham-wa-visitor-center#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/28/bellingham-wa-visitor-centerFri, 28 Nov 2008 18:38:00 GMTBellingham Neighborhood Property Listingshttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/23/bellingham-neighborhood-property-listings<div><span style="font-size: 10pt"><strong><img height="125" alt="Bellingham Neighborhood Search" hspace="5" src="http://stockart.graphicaldata.com/art/Real Estate/full/Residential/DCP_3357.jpg" width="190" align="right" border="0" />Bellingham WA Neighborhoods</strong> - I just completed all of our Bellingham WA Neighborhood pages with capabilities to search for <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/index.cfm/page/61406/Bellingham_Neighborhoods.html">Bellingham property listings by neighborhood</a>. This brand new search function allows Bellingham area home buyers to really zero in their property searches for exactly where they desire to live. Home buyers can also create a free account on our site and then save their favorite home listings in one easy and convenient place.</span> </div> <div> </div> <div>Once your on the <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/index.cfm/page/61406/Bellingham_Neighborhoods.html"><strong>Bellingham neighborhood property search map</strong></a> you can also easily switch from one neighborhood to the next with the easy pull down menu. There are 23 official neighborhoods within the city of Bellingham and that is how many we have in our pull down menu as well.</div> <div> </div> <div>There are really so many different ways Bellingham home buyers can search for properties on <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com">BellinghamHomes.com</a> and the neighborhood adds just another great search tool. As we build out the Bellingham Homes site our goal is to make searching for Bellingham real estate and surrounding areas of Whatcom County as easy as as possible. One easily search for property listings in one convenient place like our Whatcom Map search page, but we want to be able to provide quick searches as well like searching by mls number, new listings, new homes, etc. as well. </div> <div> </div> <div>Well enjoy searching for your new home and be sure to save BellinghamHomes.com to your favorites when it comes to searching Bellingham homes for sale.</div> <div> </div> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com">Bellingham Real Estate</a></div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/23/bellingham-neighborhood-property-listings" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/23/bellingham-neighborhood-property-listings#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/23/bellingham-neighborhood-property-listingsSun, 23 Nov 2008 16:39:00 GMTNew One Story Homes Sellinghttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/19/new-one-story-homes-selling<div><strong><img height="131" alt="North Bellingham Homes" hspace="5" src="http://bellinghamhomes.com/images/Cloverdale1.jpg" width="175" align="right" border="0" />North Bellingham</strong> - In this tough real estate market we are experiencing here In the Bellingham area, one bright spot has been the sales of brand new <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com/index.cfm/page/49395/Liberty_Park_Homes.html">one story homes in North Bellingham</a>. This past year has seen a big drop off in sales for the Whatcom County area and new construction has been hit just as hard. Bellingham new home sales are down 26.5% for the first ten months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. The combined new home sales for Ferndale, Lynden, and Blaine are down almost 40% year over year in the same periods described above.</div> <div> </div> <div>I have represented Roosendaal-Honcoop Construction for the past 14 years of my real estate career, where the builder has been building brand new homes in the North Bellingham area. When they started building homes in their newest community of Liberty Park, we did an extensive study on the new homes market and found that 78% of all new homes being built today are two story homes. One story homes made up the smaller demographic of only 22%. The reason most new homes today are two story's are because of the size of the lots force most builders to build up instead of wider with ramblers.</div> <div> </div> <div>RH Construction decided to build to that niche market and increase the amount of one story homes in the new <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com/index.cfm/page/49395/Liberty_Park_Homes.html">Liberty Park community</a> to 40% and then 60% two story homes to capture more sales. In this 2008 real estate market they have sold every new rambler that has been built to date. In Fact they are selling their ramblers sometimes before they are even finished and ready for sale. </div> <div> </div> <div>The building lots in Liberty Park start at a minimum of 8,500 square feet and some are as big as 14,000 square feet. Most of the lots though are under 10,000 square feet. These are nice size lots though compared to most lots that are offered in the Bellingham market place, so this allows them to build a nice mix on one story and two story homes.</div> <div> </div> <div>Visit <a href="http://www.libertyparkhomes.com">Liberty Park homes</a> website or stop out and see Jerry  on the weekends at one of his open houses held every Saturday and Sunday.  We currently have two brand new one story homes that are under construction and currently for sale. Visit our <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/index.cfm/page/47794/Featured_Homes.html">Bellingham featured homes</a> page for more details on all of our properties for sale.</div> <div> </div> <div align="center">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com/index.cfm/page/48462/Ferndale_Real_Estate.html">Ferndale Homes For Sale</a></div> <div> </div> <div> </div><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/19/new-one-story-homes-selling" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/19/new-one-story-homes-selling#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/11/19/new-one-story-homes-sellingWed, 19 Nov 2008 12:11:00 GMTProperly Pricing Your Home to Sellhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/10/22/properly-pricing-your-home-to-sell<div align="left"><font face="Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"><img height="119" alt="Bellingham Home Values" hspace="5" src="http://stockart.graphicaldata.com/art/Real Estate/full/Residential/DCP_3786.jpg" width="180" align="right" border="0" />The price sellers set for their home is the first thing home buyers notice about your property. If you set your price too high, then your pool of buyers could decrease compared to comparable properties. You want your house to be taken seriously, and the asking price reflects how serious you are about selling your home. <br /> <br /> Several factors will contribute to your final decision. First, you should compare your house to others that are in the market. Using a professional real estate agent will provide you with a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis).<br /> <br /> The CMA will reflect the following: <br />    Homes in your price range and ones that Sold within the last half-year. <br />    Asking and selling prices of the homes that Sold.<br />    Current inventory of homes on the market. <br />    Features of each home on the market <br /> <br /> From the CMA, you will find out the difference between the asking price and selling price for all homes sold, the condition of the market, and other homes comparable to yours. <br /> <br /> Also, try to find out what types of homes are selling and see if it applies to your area. Buyers follow trends, and these trends can help you set your price. <br /> <br /> Always be realistic with your price set on your home. And understand and set your price to reflect the current market situation. </div> <p align="center">Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - <a href="http://www.bellinghamhomes.com/">Bellingham Real Estate</a></p> </font><P><a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/10/22/properly-pricing-your-home-to-sell" target="_blank">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/10/22/properly-pricing-your-home-to-sell#comments" target="_blank">Comments</a></P>Jerryhttp://bellinghamhomes.com/blog/2008/10/22/properly-pricing-your-home-to-sellWed, 19 Nov 2008 10:57:00 GMT