Looks like the numbers are starting to rise in Whatcom County. That general downward trend may be coming to a halt and turning around. We’ll have to wait a few months to see. It still looks like a buyers market in the county even though Bellingham is almost at a  balanced market.

Interest rates are still amazingly low.   This may be a great time to buy a home.

f you have any questions or want to see any Whatcom County Real Estate feel free to email me at or give me a call at 360-739-6981

Could this really be the market turnaround. The stats are telling us it’s a fairly balanced market with about 6 to 7 months worth of homes on the market. The graph also shows we have had 3 steady months of price increases since January’s 5 year low point.

The number of homes on the market is unusually low for this time of year, so buyers will be competing for a smaller number of homes which tends to push prices up.

It will be interesting to see where the prices and chart go in the next few months leading up to election day.

Stay tuned.

• Postponement of the port’s beloved plan to have a marina inside the old Georgia-Pacific Corp. waste water treatment lagoon.
• The demolition of the Granary Building, which historic preservation advocates hoped to restore, it’s just to costly.
• Elimination of a proposed “Log Pond Park” along the shoreline between the old G-P pier and the port’s shipping terminal, so the area can be developed as a waterfront industrial job source.
• Indefinite postponement of relocation of BNSF Railway Co. tracks that now cut through the site.
• Indefinite postponement of a new Cornwall Avenue railroad bridge to link downtown to the waterfront.
• Commercial Street bridge, once thought of as a late-stage project, could be built somewhat sooner than envisioned in previous plans, (no dates were offered for the estimated $30 million project.)

The grand vision of the downtown redevelopment was began in the boom times of 2005, the city had revenue and the economic engine was churning, well times have changed, scaled down and slowed down.
The port and city seem to be working together on this plan, and the conflicts over key issues by the two entities appear to have been resolved.
But the plan still faces a long and windy road ahead including public hearings before the Planning Commission, followed by City Council review.
Port Environmental Director Mike Stoner made it clear that the port still wants to see a marina as part of the plan.

If all goes well, the first phase of the waterfront re-development could be done by the end of 2015 and would include:
• a new street link where the Granary now stands
• turning the existing Central Avenue into a bike and pedestrian route;
• cleanup and redevelopment of the Cornwall Avenue landfill site as a new park, complete with an over-water walkway to Boulevard Park.
area for light, marine-related industry indefinitely, instead of designating it for eventual conversion to commercial, office and residential use.

Charter vessels from around the Salish Sea come to Bellingham for this two-day celebration and show off their boats and honor our maritime history at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal the home of the Alaska Ferry.

Sunset Cruise – Saturday April 28 from 6-9pm you can cruise Bellingham Bay aboard your choice of boats at the Bellingham Bay Rendezvous. Historic boats cruises are $39 and include a boxed dinner. The Victoria Star is only $29 adults/$15 kids (age 3-17) and also includes a boxed dinner.

Schooner Race! Sunday April 29 from 1-4pm – You can be part of the action by reserving your space on one of the participating schooners (Zodiac, Spike Africa, Dirigo II, Mycia or Suva) that will be racing in Bellingham Bay or on either the  M/V David B or Victoria Star which will be course markers for the race. Tickets for the Victoria Star are $15 adults/$7 kids age 3-17. All other boats tickets are $25

Tickets are available at  San Juan Cruises at 360-738-8099

Here are some of the events for the Rendezvous

• Boat Show of historic wooden schooners and small ship cruise vessels,
• Sunset Sail on Bellingham Bay – Saturday April 28 – 6-9pm
• Schooner races – Sunday April 29 – 1-4pm
• Antique marine engine demonstrations,
• Kids activities – build a wooden boat,
• Arts and Crafts Vendors,
• Food booths
• Dirty Dan Days at the Fairhaven Village Green – Sunday April 29

This news came out last week.   The first stage of the new process will begin in June. The new timelines include the requirement that mortgage servicer’s review and respond to requests for short sales within 30 calendar days from receipt of a short sale offer.
New guidelines will require the following:

• Review and respond to requests for short sales within 30 calendar days from receipt of a short sale offer and a complete borrower response package;
• Provide weekly status updates to the borrower if the short sale offer is still under review after 30 calendar days;
• Make and communicate final decisions to the borrower within 60 calendar days of receipt of the offer and complete borrower response package.

By the end of this year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will announce additional enhancements addressing issues such as borrower eligibility and evaluation,  documentation simplification, property valuation, fraud mitigation, payments to subordinate lien holders, and mortgage insurance.

Along with Bank of America’s new short sale timeline improvements, this is a great step forward in helping out both “underwater” homeowners and home buyers.

If you need to sell your home or are interested in buying a short sale give me a call at 360-739-6981

These are all the Bank Owned homes listed for sale as of 4/22/12. These homes are all ready for new owners. Contact me if you’d  like to tour a home in your location and price range.

You are required to have a carbon monoxide detector outside each sleeping area, in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms.
You are required to have at least one carbon monoxide detector on each floor of your home, even if there are no sleeping areas on that floor.

Battery operated carbon monoxide detector are an inexpensive item you can find at any home improvement or hardware store.. 

It’s a good idea to install a carbon monoxide detector in your home even if your not selling it. These detectors are similar to smoke alarms and can warn you when carbon monoxide levels become unsafe. If the alarm goes off, evacuate the building and call 911.

If you’d like any more information just give me call.

Partnering Organizations & Individuals include:
Allied Arts of Whatcom County - Allied Arts Education Project - The SPARK Museum - Appliance Depot -Bellingham/ Whatcom County Tourism Bureau - Everybody Bike - FIG Family Interactive Gallery - Graham Schodda Sculpture + Design - Mindport - Procession of the Species Parade - The Lakeway Inn and Conference Center - The RE Store / RE Sources - Thor Myhre, Artist and RARE Founder - Whatcom Museum.

Check out the event map here.

It has been five years since the U.S. housing bust sent sales and prices declining. Is this the year things will turn around and look like a recovery.

Bank of America is making changes to its short sale procedures with a goal of  reducing the time frame for a short sale decision to less than three weeks.

Beginning Saturday, April 14, real estate professionals working with B of A will be required to submit five documents for short sales with an offer

The bank’s new short sale process will enable real estate agents, brokers, attorneys, and other short sale specialists involved in pre-foreclosure transactions to complete necessary tasks involved in a short sale transaction simultaneously. This will reduce  the time frames for these usually lengthy transactions

Bank of America says it will be able to provide a decision on a short sale offer in 20 days.

In addition if  the buyer walks away from the sale, Bank of America is giving agents five days to submit a backup offer. Interested buyers will be limited to two counteroffers and will receive a response from the lender within three days.

Bank of America’s expects short sales to continue to increase and says they are taking steps to ensure it is providing decisions quickly and real estate agents are alerted of status as soon as possible.

Let’s hope this works out well for all concerned and other banks will follow this novel approach to short sales, which will help not only the banks, but home buyer’s and seller’s as well.

If you or someone you know has a home underwater, give me a call and I would be glad to explain your options.