What is the deal with the insane Bellingham housing market?? (Pacific: mobile home, to buy)

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by bartonizer

As to your comment about many places feeling like Bellingham in Western WA, I disagree. Sure, some elements of the city and culture are common across the region, but there aren't many other small-to-medium-sized cities that are scenic and NOT part of suburban Seattle.

I agree with you 100% on this, bartonizer. There's only Olympia and Bellingham for free standing small cities (that are big enough to be called a city) that are not attached to the Seattle or Portland Metros.

This might also be driving up prices and probably always will. Those who want a small city in this area basically have those two choices.

Small, self-contained cities are a scarce resource in WA.

[saturno_v]

Originally Posted by mayfair

I agree with you 100% on this, bartonizer. There's only Olympia and Bellingham for free standing small cities (that are big enough to be called a city) that are not attached to the Seattle or Portland Metros.

This might also be driving up prices and probably always will. Those who want a small city in this area basically have those two choices.

Small, self-contained cities are a scarce resource in WA.

Unless we are talking about literally a handful of homes and a main road in the middle of nowhere, what are exactly the advantages of BHam compared to, let's say Anacortes, or La Conner or any other small town by the water (not villages) in the PNW?

All have easy access to the outdoors, all offer, more or less, lousy restaurant scene and so on.

I understand the allure of truly "out there" locations for a vacation home, for example the ever popular San Juan Islands.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by saturno_v

Obviously at the end it's all matter of personal preferences. Personally I'm not interested in buying a house in Bellingham at any price since I already live in Seattle where I have any PNW outdoor experience I want at easy reach and the social and cultural venues/restaurant scene is vastly superior (no comparison really).
To me a vacation home has to represent enough of a change in scenery.

That's kind of how I feel. If you want a change of scene from Western WA, it isn't that different.

Bham has more of the same water views, trees and hiking trails that we all are probably desensitized to because they're everywhere and we're used to them. I actually love visiting Bellingham for a small change of scenery, but need a break after seeing the same stuff (Whatcom Falls, Boulevard Park etc.) or it's not very exciting.

Fairhaven is cute, but it's full of expensive boutiquey stores and I'm not into high end shopping. The bookstore is nice, though. I miss Rocket Donuts.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by saturno_v

Unless we are talking about literally a handful of homes and a main road in the middle of nowhere, what are exactly the advantages of BHam compared to, let's say Anacortes, or La Conner or any other small town by the water (not villages) in the PNW?

All have easy access to the outdoors, all offer, more or less, lousy restaurant scene and so on.

I understand the allure of truly "out there" locations for a vacation home, for example the ever popular San Juan Islands.

I think it's because Bham has a Trader Joe's. Everyone in the small towns laments the lack of TJs.

[saturno_v]

Originally Posted by mayfair

That's kind of how I feel. If you want a change of scene from Western WA, it isn't that different.

My neighbor is considering buying a vacation home in Walla Walla...that I can understand, wine country (he loves wine) and a quite dramatic change of scenery, drier, sunnier.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by saturno_v

The closeness to BC is another dubious point to justify significant premium to RE prices IMHO, there are no shortage of beautiful hiking spots (lakes, mountains, etc...) all across Western Washington state.

I don't think it is any particular feature, but the overall "lifestyle". Consanguinity of politics/culture matters, with liberals and conservatives seeking out "blue" or "red" areas, respectfully. It is as "liberal" as Seattle, but without all the headaches of "big city" living, a slower pace, and more of a "community" feeling - Bellingham is more like a big "village". Violent crime is significantly lower than state or national averages, although property crimes are higher.

It probably compares best with Olympia, although Western has a much bigger economic impact than Evergreen with 16k vs 2k enrollment, and close to three times the academic/administrative staff. Olympia is also busy when the Legislature is in session, but recumbent when it isn't - although closer to Seattle than Bellingham (60 vs 85 miles), it is arguably a harder drive.

Walkability, water views, and easy access to nature certainly add to the perceived "value". Sailing, kayaking, and paddle boarding are at your fingertips. Mt. Baker is an international snowboarding "mecca". North Cascades National Park is a lesser visited "gem" of the National Park system.

Access is not just to Vancouver BC's urban attractions (dining, entertainment/concerts, museums, parks, shopping, etc.) but also to world-class skiing at Whistler, BC's Provincial Parks, as well as Victoria and Vancouver Island's wondrous beaches. Bellingham (Fairhaven) is also the jumping-off spot for Alaska's Marine Highway System.

You might not be willing to pay a large "premium" to live in the Lettered Streets, Cornwall Park, South Hill, Fairhaven, and Edgemoor districts (which is a relatively compressed area), for instance, but many others are, bidding up prices in the process.

[bartonizer]

Originally Posted by saturno_v

Unless we are talking about literally a handful of homes and a main road in the middle of nowhere, what are exactly the advantages of BHam compared to, let's say Anacortes, or La Conner or any other small town by the water (not villages) in the PNW?

All have easy access to the outdoors, all offer, more or less, lousy restaurant scene and so on.

I understand the allure of truly "out there" locations for a vacation home, for example the ever popular San Juan Islands.

Okay, the goal posts have changed a bit here. This didn't start out as a thread about debating vacation home possibilities for other Puget Sound residents. It was about asking why Bellingham real estate is expensive.

If I was looking for a vacation home or second home, I'd probably look for something dramatically different, too, either on the dry side of the Cascades or the Desert SW. So, I understand why FL sounds enticing as a change of pace for you. But again, that's not what we've talking about, and you started the thread by literally telling us that you were looking at BHAM with no intention of moving or buying a house here.

So I'm going to steer it briefly back to why people would want to spend a lot of money to live here. You've now told us that you haven't been here in a while, so again I somewhat understand why this may surprise you. But myself and other posters have given you a lot of good reasons as to why this city is popular: Closer proximity to nature, closer distance to some world-class destinations, easy access to some urban amenities, a strong community, a laid-back vibe, and a lack of the overwhelming crush that many people get from living in a big city (again worth mentioning that many people who live in Seattle proper don't even visit many of the amenities or tourist attractions and dislike fighting traffic or finding parking, etc.). There are many walkable/bikeable areas, a great trail system, and people can do things like hike a mountain or mountain bike the most popular mountain bike trail system in WA directly out of their neighborhood or within 10-15 minutes drive with no traffic. As CrazyDonkey just posted about, though, it's not really any one of those things, but they do add up to a "lifestyle" that a lot of people find appealing and are willing to pay a premium for.

Note: So that I'm not accused of selling people on the place, as mentioned, Bellingham also has its share of modern societal problems plaguing the country right now- homelessness, rapidly escalating real estate prices, etc. But to many people, including many potential buyers, it checks a lot of things off of a list and is highly desirable.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by mayfair

I agree with you 100% on this, bartonizer. There's only Olympia and Bellingham for free standing small cities (that are big enough to be called a city) that are not attached to the Seattle or Portland Metros.

This might also be driving up prices and probably always will. Those who want a small city in this area basically have those two choices.

Small, self-contained cities are a scarce resource in WA.

Well, there's Port Townsend in the not-a-city category, that has the breathtaking scenery, very easy access to outdoor recreation, and charm. And because of all that, it, too, has been undergoing a boom of transplants from all over the US, the West Coast, etc. Even the occasional blast of pulp mill fumes hasn't slowed the stampede. But Pt T is unique in WA for a very small town.

[saturno_v]

Originally Posted by bartonizer

Okay, the goal posts have changed a bit here. This didn't start out as a thread about debating vacation home possibilities for other Puget Sound residents. It was about asking why Bellingham real estate is expensive.

The reason we did start talking about vacation homes is because other users were acknowledging the fact that BHam economy does not justify current RE prices and there was a mentioning of "outside money" (either retirement or vacation homes).

[saturno_v]

Originally Posted by bartonizer

Okay, the goal posts have changed a bit here. This didn't start out as a thread about debating vacation home possibilities for other Puget Sound residents. It was about asking why Bellingham real estate is expensive.

If I was looking for a vacation home or second home, I'd probably look for something dramatically different, too, either on the dry side of the Cascades or the Desert SW. So, I understand why FL sounds enticing as a change of pace for you. But again, that's not what we've talking about, and you started the thread by literally telling us that you were looking at BHAM with no intention of moving or buying a house here.

So I'm going to steer it briefly back to why people would want to spend a lot of money to live here. You've now told us that you haven't been here in a while, so again I somewhat understand why this may surprise you. But myself and other posters have given you a lot of good reasons as to why this city is popular: Closer proximity to nature, closer distance to some world-class destinations, easy access to some urban amenities, a strong community, a laid-back vibe, and a lack of the overwhelming crush that many people get from living in a big city (again worth mentioning that many people who live in Seattle proper don't even visit many of the amenities or tourist attractions and dislike fighting traffic or finding parking, etc.). There are many walkable/bikeable areas, a great trail system, and people can do things like hike a mountain or mountain bike the most popular mountain bike trail system in WA directly out of their neighborhood or within 10-15 minutes drive with no traffic. As CrazyDonkey just posted about, though, it's not really any one of those things, but they do add up to a "lifestyle" that a lot of people find appealing and are willing to pay a premium for.

Note: So that I'm not accused of selling people on the place, as mentioned, Bellingham also has its share of modern societal problems plaguing the country right now- homelessness, rapidly escalating real estate prices, etc. But to many people, including many potential buyers, it checks a lot of things off of a list and is highly desirable.

I guess they must find something all right...

Now it will be interesting to see if this inflated prices have legs to stand on in the long run...