Bellingham's economy is booming.A new study by the federal government shows that Bellingham did extremely well in their most recent study of growth that took place between 2004 and 2005. They looked at Bellingham's gross domestic product and ranked it seventh out of 363 metropolitan areas. Bellingham's GDP growth was 11.1 percent compared 3 percent increase nationwide. The GDP is the market value of goods and services produced by property and labor.According to Hart Hodges who is the director of the Center for economics and business research at Western Washington University much of the increase could be attributed to the rise in oil prices. Look like they took all of Whatcom county into consideration, not just Bellingham, Mount Vernon saw an even bigger increase of 18.9 percent the seco... 09/27/2007

Thinking about starting a business in the Bellingham-Whatcom County region? A free seminar called "If Only I Knew . . ." will be held at the Washington Mutual Bank,  1336 Cornwall Ave. in Bellingham.Several agencies are teaming up to sponsor this free seminar, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm, Wednesday, October 10th.The event is sponsored by Western Washington University's Small Business Development Center, Whatcom Chamber of Commerce, and Service Core Of Retired Executives (SCORE).If you are a business owner, starting a business, or a manager,  this should be on your agenda! After the presentation, there will be time for networking. Be sure and bring a notepad to jot down answers to those elusive questions that have been haunting you! To register, or for more information, please contact Rosa Devo... 09/25/2007

Noted in a number of publications as being one of the "top" rated areas for retirement, Bellingham Washington offers many options for retirees. From planned golfing communities such as Sudden Valley or Birch Bay Village, to communities devoted to 55 and up purchasers. For many such retirees coming from out of area, our real estate marketis affordable for a comfortable retirement. Hiking trails, skiing, kayaking, boating, golfing are a few of the many active retirees hobby's. Many retirees owning boats can spend time fishing, sightseeing, and just taking in the beauty between here and the San Juan Islands. Located just north of Seattle, WA and just south of Vancouver BC, Bellingham is the quiet little town tucked away but easily accessible to large city fun. To further accommodate retire... 09/25/2007

Did you ever want to join the circus and be a clown?  Well here is your opportunity to learn how to be a clown.   The NW  Festival of Clowns is coming to Bellingham this weekend Sept. 27-30 at The Best Western Lakeway Inn. The instructors will be Steve "Peachey Keene" Long who has been a clown since the late 1970's, & Gerry Giovinco the cosmic clown, Captain Visual, who started in 1980.  Some of the events title classes are: Make-Up "Let's Face It", Clowning in Hospitals, Fast/BIG/FUN Balloon Hats. Sounds like a fun filled event to me. 09/20/2007

Joe's Garden was founded by Joe Bertero, in 1927. Joe was a native  of Italy, He and his wife Ann started what has become a Bellingham institution.  The small farm changed hands in the 1980's but kept the name. It is an oasis in the city,sSeveral acres of vegetablesand berries surrounded by homes and condos. You can see Joe's produce in many local markets just marked as Joe's, everyone in town knows what that means, fresh locally grown Bellingham's own. If you want to visit Joe's they are on the corner of 30th Street and Taylor Ave.Enjoy Fresh & Local  09/18/2007

Trader Joe's will finally be opening in Bellingham September 28.Bellinghamsters have been anxiously awaiting TJ's for quite some  time now as the neareast one is down in the Alderwood Mall south of Everett.They are great marketers, I have been getting their catalogues for at least 6 months now, getting us primed  for their coming I guess.We've all heard of Two Buck Chucks, their infamous award winning inexpensive wine. I know folks looking forward to the exotic and not so exotic bargains that await..................Well the wait is almost over. 09/18/2007

The Whatcom Transit Authority's newly expanded and renovated bus station in downtown Bellingham will be open for business this Sunday September 16th. There's actually grand opening reception today between 11 and 1 PM that is Friday September 14th. The buses will move back to their new home and away from the temporary location on State Street. My wife is from Bangkok Thailand with a bus system is heavily used. She always comments about how empty the buses look in Bellingham. In Bangkok there are really crowded, people standing in the aisles. I can relate to that as I grew up in New York City and took the public bus system to get high school and college. What would pass for crowded bus in Bellingham would be an empty one in New York or Bangkok.A little interesting history about the Bellin... 09/14/2007

What can you do to your home to make it more appealing.Let's start with all the fixtures in the house. Make sure they're all clean and replaced with new ones where needed. Clean the sinks really good to try to remove any stains they may have. Make sure all knobs and faucets turned easily and don't leak.Take a look at the walls and ceilings and see if there any water stains. If there are make sure the leaks have been repaired and and stained areas repainted. Speaking of paint, a neutral off white paint make your home feel more light and spacious and will appeal to more people than brightly colored rooms. Paint is inexpensive and easy to apply.Steam clean the carpets or replace any that are outdated or worn out. Repairing broken tiles and windowpanes, make sure all the doors are easy to o... 09/13/2007

Friday Sept 14The Nylons: 8pm, Bellwether on the BayGreek Orthodox Festival in Bellingham at St. Sophia Orthodox Church, 510 E Sunset Drive, September 14-16Saturday Sept 15Todd Rundgren: 8pm, Silver Reef CasinoSpeed & Chrome Car Show: 8am-3pm, 1400 Larrabee Ave.Fairhaven Runners Waterfront 15K: 8:30am, Fairhaven Village Green - a 9.3-mile race features Bellingham Bay's beautiful waterfront trailBroken Spoke Festival  10am Sat., Sept. 15 Meet at Bellingham Farmers Market - "The BrokenSpoke Festival showcases the area's trail networks and park systems and the unique ways they link the community."Salmon Barbecue: 1:30-3:30pm, Fairhaven Village Green   09/13/2007

Thursday September 27th from 6-8 pm, come network, taste great local wine, and have a great time. Whatcom Winemakers, a local business located at 130 E Champion St in downtown Bellingham, between Cornwall and Railroad Ave, will be hosting the event. There will be great opportunities to network, win prizes, and taste great wine made right here in Bellingham, Wa. The even is sponsored by the Hilltop Restaurant, Moss-Adams and the Whatcom Young Professionals. For more information contact Dale Serbousek at 360-201-7717. 09/13/2007

The two time Grammy award winning vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo is coming to Bellingham tomorrow night for a performance at the Mt Baker Theater.Ladysmith Black Mambazo's latest CD, "Long Walk To Freedom" has received two Grammy Award nominations.  One nomination for Best Contemporary World Music CD, and the other, for Best Surround Sound Production.  This marks the eleventh and twelfth nominations the group has received over the years. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is regarded as South Africa's cultural emissary at home and around the world. In 1993, at the request of Nelson Mandela, Ladysmith Black Mambazo accompanied the future President to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway. They sang again at President Mandela's inauguration in May of 1994. 09/12/2007

Getting ready to sell you Bellingham Home.Selling your home can be very emotional process. It is best to set the emotion aside and think of you house as just another marketable commodity. It is not an easy process I know, you have spent years there living life, cooking meals, raising kids, entertaining friends, making improvements, so you are emotionally attached to your home. But soon it will be somebody else's home, and for you the sooner the better, so that you can move on with your life and get into your new home. Your goal here should be to make someone else see the house as their potential home.One of the first things you will want to do in order to have buyers see your home as theirs is to "de-personalize" it. Take your personal pictures off the walls and refrigerator. This gives... 09/08/2007

Friday Sept 7:Warbird Weekend Dance: 7-10pm, Heritage Flight MuseumContra Dance: 8-11pm, Fairhaven Library Saturday Sept 8:The DK & Morgan Show: 9pm, Upfront TheatreChuck Dingee & Friends: 2-5pm, Larrabee State Park Classic Car Show: 10am-4:30pm, Silver Reef CasinoRockin' at the RE Store feat. the Yogoman Burning Band; the High, Wide and Handsome Band, more 6-10pm The old RE Store space, 600 W. Holly St.Ruth Beckel Exhibit: 6-10pm, Firehouse Performing Arts Center (Ruth is one of my favorite local artists and a dear friend, I will be there.)Sunday Sept 9: Northern Lights Jazz Orchestra: 1:30-3:30pm, Fairhaven Village GreenHans York: 2pm, Nancy's FarmBarton Frank: 7pm, Whatcom MuseumMini Meet Car Show: 9am-3pm, Hovander Park, FerndaleCribbage for a Cause: 11am-6pm, Boundary Bay Brewery; ... 09/06/2007

Georgia-Pacific is finally saying goodbye to Bellingham. They announce today that they will shut down its tissue mill on the city waterfront in December, eliminating more than 200 jobs and ending the company's 44-year history here. This comes as good and bad news for us here in town. The bad news is the loss or over 200 good paying jobs, the good news is G-P will be totally gone from Bellingham's waterfront. G-P's history in Bellingham began in 1963, when the company took over Puget Sound Pulp & Timber Co.'s waterfront operation that dated back to the 1920s. G-P expanded its operations on the downtown waterfront site over the years they were here, adding a chlorine plant and chemical production and employing more than 1,000 people at the peak in the 1980s. Their decline began in 2000,wi... 09/06/2007

I love living in this incredible corner of the world...especially during this time of revitalization for our waterfront.The waterfront in Bellingham is going to undergo a HUGE facelift over the next few years and will make Bellingham even more of a premier landing pad for the hip, cool and urban-tired. I will be posting updates on our blogs whenever new info on the waterfront transformation becomes available. Come back often to see what all of the BUZZ is about.Bellingham continues to amaze me in it's abiltity to make itself better and better!Live Good. Be Happy. Be bullish on Bellingham.-Mimi 09/06/2007

The Bellingham condo market hasn't fared so well. The average sales price fell 11% compared to last year. The good news is the median sales price is up 15.8%..Once again I will say that I think these statistics will change pretty drastically in the coming months to increases for condo sales prices as some of the upscale condos like the Waldron & Young, and the Drake buildings are finished and the reserved units there start closing.If you would like any more information about Real Estate or Real Estate statistics visit my website at BellinghamProperty.com 09/05/2007

Bellingham Market Report Graph Residential Real Estate - August 2007 Very interesting graph we have here,The median price is very close to where it was last month, but is up 2.3% over last year. While the average price has gone down 9.5% for the month and the year.If you would like any more information about Real Estate or Real Estate statistics visit my website at BellinghamProperty.com 09/05/2007

Real Estate Market Report/Conditions for Bellingham, WA for Septeember 5, 2007The following is a quick analysis of the Residential Bellingham real estate market by Michael Eisenberg of Fairhaven Realty.Currently Active Listings: 692  Average List Price $484,932   Days on the Market:  99 Sold in August: 142    Average Sales Price: $360,175 Average List Price: $367,287Ratio of List to Price: 98% Average Days on the Market: 95 Median Sales Price: $310,988Pending Sales Last Week: 24  Condo Analysis for BellinghamCurrently Active Listings: 368  Average List Price $254,893   Days on the Market:  204Sold in August: 51    Average Sales Price: $203,571Average List Price:$206,191Ratio of List to Price: 95.7% Average Days on the Market: 205Median Sales Price: $191,000Pending Sales Last Week: 14Aft... 09/05/2007

For two days now I have been staring at my computer, pondering my first blog....what should I write about, what do people want to read, why am I doing this??? Well, a recent email from my cousin Cathi who lives in the mid-west prompted the idea for this blog.She is selling a piece of real estate here in the NW.  She is deeply concerned with the housing market.  Is now the time to sell, the time to buy, the time to invest in something other than real estate?  Fear has taken over her desire.With the media reminding us everyday of the break down of the lenders, the depreciation averages, and foreclosures on the rise...it is easy to get caught up in concern.Well, here in the NW; more specifically Bellingham real estate the only market segment that should be concerned is the Bellingham condo... 09/02/2007

Whatcom County home prices are rising at a faster rate than the national average according to a federal study. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight reported that home prices in Whatcom County during the second quarter increased 5.1 percent compared to last year. The national average appreciation for the same period was 3.2 percent, while the Washington state average was 9.1 percent. According to the OFHEO, the nation's average 3.2 percent annual change was the lowest since 1996-97. "House prices were basically flat in the second quarter despite tightening credit policies, rising foreclosure rates and weakening buyer sentiment," said James B. Lockhart, OFHEO director. "Significant price declines appear localized in areas with weak economies or where price increases were par... 09/01/2007