County home prices dipped last quarter

  WHATCOM -- The sale prices of Whatcom County homes declined slightly in this year’s first quarter for the first time in recent years.
  Housing sales in Lynden and Ferndale were about the same as last year, but sales in Birch Bay/Blaine and Sudden Valley dropped by more than 30 percent in comparison to 2007, according to Lylene Johnson of The Muljat Group South office in Fairhaven. Johnson analyzed data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service to calculate comprehensive statistics for local communities.
  “The low and high ends of the market – below $300,000 and above $750,000 – are quite strong,” Johnson said. “It is that middle section from $300,000 to $750,000 that has slowed down, creating an excellent opportunity for buyers.”
  The county’s median price – the figure at which half the sales were above and half were below – in this year’s first quarter was $280,000. That’s 3.4 percent lower than a year ago. The average price of all housing sales in the county was $321,166, down 2.4 percent from the first quarter of 2007. The number of county housing sales dropped 14.1 percent to 457 this year, Johnson added.
  These are the specifics, by area:
  Bellingham – Average sale price, $356,685, down 2.2 percent; total homes sold, 205, down 12.8 percent; average days on the market, 96.
  Lynden – Average sale price, $350,182, up 12.5 percent; total homes sold, 41, up 2.5 percent; average days on the market, 141.
  Ferndale – Average sale price, $305,624, down 12.5 percent; total homes sold, 72, up 4.3 percent; average days on the market, 144.
  Sudden Valley – Average sale price, $272,524, down 10.9 percent; total homes sold, 33, down 31.3 percent; average days on the market, 125.
  Blaine/Birch Bay – Average sale price, $266,371, down 15.5 percent; total homes sold, 45, down 39.2 percent; average days on the market, 96.