Canadians Buying Whatcom County Homes
Ever since the Canadian Dollar started to reach parity with the American Dollar, our Canadian neighbors have been buying more and more across the border. Just in the last year retail sales have seen an up tick in the local Whatcom County market. Most retail items in Canada, on par, are more expensive than in the states, so Canadians are shopping in Whatcom County and the Puget Sound region more often.
In the real estate market I’ve also experienced at least a third of all my business calls coming from across the border. Most of the Canadians that I’ve spoke to, have said that they can get much better deals on real estate by buying in Whatcom County and else where. As long as the two currencies are relatively close in price, I think we’ll see more and more of our Canadian friends purchasing homes in Bellingham over the next few years.
Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - Bellingham Homes For Sale
As a West Toronto Realtor I have been observing the U.S. housing crisis for last few months and in my opinion, it´s not only a great deal for Canadians, because the price due to weak dollar is for many people very attractive, but it also helps the economy in some areas, as the Canadians are bringing new purchasing power on the market, which, in my opinion, is really needed in some areas.
Comment by West Toronto Realtor — February 29, 2008 @ 3:16 am
Hi Jill - I agree that it helps the local economy in many ways to have our Canadian friends shopping here and buying homes across the border. The Whatcom County real estate market has fared pretty well recently in part due to the influx of Canadians from British Columbia buying homes down here. My Bellingham real estate business has definitely been helped over the last year or two because of this.
I also believe that it helps our Canadian neighbors as well, because they can stretch their dollar by making some of their purchases on cars, appliances, retail items and yes homes for sale as well. Several years ago when the roles were reversed, many locals use to cross the border and purchase cars in BC instead. So it works both ways, and can actually benefit each other depending on the circumstances.
Comment by Jerry — February 29, 2008 @ 5:05 pm