Northwest Living | Bellingham Real Estate Market

 Orcas Island, WA - Rosario Resort is offering summer weekends dedicated to whale watching and education in partnership with the Orca Network, a nonprofit group dedicated to promoting healthy and safe habitat for Pacific Northwest cetaceans. After a boat excursion in search of orca pods, guests will take part in a workshop hosted by the Orca Network. Also included is a bottle of Hoodsport “Orca Series” wine, a special release from the Washington winery that donates a portion of sales back to Orca Network. For more details: 800-562-8820 or www.rosarioresort.com.

A quick look at their website and Rosario Resort offers this: Enjoy an unforgettable and informative narrated cruise through the San Juan Islands in search of Orca (Killer Whales) and Minke Whales. The thrill of seeing one of these majestic creatures will be an experience you will never forget. You’ll pass by unspoiled, pristine islands and historical landmarks. This is simply the best way to see and learn about Orca whales and other marine wildlife of the San Juan Islands. Educational narrated trips with experienced captain/naturalists aboard will be available daily this summer from June - September directly from the Rosario Marina. Nature Cruises depart from Deer Harbor Marina most weekends throughout the year.

If you don’t want to stay at the Rosario Resort, there are many great bed and breakfast located on Orcas Island. If your staying on Orcas for more than one day, you should also take in the beautiful drive up to Mt Constitution as well.

Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group - San Juan County Real Estate

Last week with the bad news out of Seattle about the fires in the Street of Dreams development, one of my real estate web sites called StreetofDream.com experienced very high traffic for that news day. You’ll notice that my web site domain there is missing the s, unlike the original StreetofDreams site.

It was amazing how much traffic my real estate website got from all the national news. I assume they either clicked on my site because It came up in the results a few pages back or they might have typed in the domain name and forgot the s. I can only imagine what the popular StreetofDreams.com web site had received over the last week. Anyways…it never ceases to amaze me how far the Internet has come in the last ten years and just seems to be growing more and more every day. 

My little Northwest WA Real Estate site is just a five page site that shows property listings up in my Northwest corner of Washington State with homes listed from $500k and up. It usually averages about 100 visitors a day, but that one day was quite a spike in traffic. Not exactly the way I would want to receive traffic, but never the less…it was interesting to see such a huge spike up.

Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group - Bellingham WA

 Escaping for the weekend to the San Juan Islands after a short ferry ride from Anacortes, WA and arriving on Orcas Island to your home away from home.  Some call it their second home, but this can also be a great investment as well as a place to relax after a long work week back in the Puget Sound.

Homeowners, many of them baby boomers, who are realizing that just as a first home can be a tremendous wealth-generator, so can a second home. And equally important, it can provide something more valuable than mere money: A place to unwind with family and friends. A place to build fond memories. Whether your a current resident of Washington or planning to relocate  to Northwest WA, get out and explore the beautiful islands of the Puget Sound over a long weekend.

I can’t think of a better place to buy that second home than somewhere in the islands of Washington States San Juan County or Island County WA, to enjoy the serenity in life. When the weather is right there’s just no better place to be than on one of the islands like Orcas island, San Juan Island, Lopez Island, Whidbey Island and so many more destinations.  The San Juan Islands are a beautiful place to visit and would make a great investment for that perfect second home you might be looking for.

I have a client up in Anchorage, Alaska that has been watching the real estate market on Whidbey Island for over a year now.  When the right home and situation arises, he and his wife are going to buy a second home to enjoy for now, and once they retire, they plan to sell their Alaska property, relocate here, and enjoy their second home full time. 

The first of the baby boomers are starting to retire this year and I can see a wave of them over the next 10-15 years wanting to downsize and prepare for their retirement years.  Many of them in this area will be looking towards places like the San Juan Islands here in Washington State, or possibly relocation to islands with easier access like Whidbey Island, Camano Island, or maybe even Lummi Island, WA.

My family and I have taken several trips out to Orcas island and the surrounding islands in San Juan County, and its the magical allure that keeps us coming back. One of my favorite spots has to be on Orcas Island about 3/4 of the way up to the top of Mount Constitution.  There’s a great spot with a south west view, thats along the way to the top, where you can  stop and enjoy a view of most of the islands in this paradise.  You really feel like your in heaven sitting among the few clouds on a mostly clear day, an occasional plan flies by at eye level, a boat in the distance is in view with only its white wake to follow, and a Orcas Island resident bald eagle soars above. It’s an incredible experience that you want to bottle up and enjoy for the rest of your life. Yeah…I can see why some would want to consider the San Juan Islands for a second home or as their primary residence.

Second time home buyers are entering the real estate market more and more these days and buying up condos, small homes and yes…properties in the islands. The typical second home buyer tends to be in their 50s and 60s, more mature and financially stable, and have saved up for this option over time. Sometimes they recruit friends, thereby insuring a built-in social group in a new location.

There are many adventurous younger home buyers as well that are finding creative ways to get into that second home while still maintaining their current residence. Some great ways to make the purchase is to take out a line of credit for the down payment, find homes for sale offering seller financing, lease-option to buy, go in with a partner, or cash out other investments.

Mortgage interest rates have been coming down recently, hovering in the 6 percent range, and historically that is still considered low. Factor in the appreciation we’ve seen in real estate here in the Northwest, it’s very easy to take some equity out of the primary residence and use it as the down payment.

The real key to all of this is to take your time doing a lot of home work and researching the real estate market in the location your thinking of buying. When you find the location that works, find a real estate agent that knows that market and is willing to be patient, yet thorough in providing you the necessary details.  You’ll know when the right property comes along and everything usually falls in place. 

With real estate currently in a buyers market, It’s actually a great time to be looking in the San Juan Islands for a second home. Try searching for San Juan County homes for sale at San Juan County WA real estate. The San Juan County property search link site allows you to search all the islands within the San Juans and to save your favorites to private account.

For the high end buyers looking for a premium property in the San Juan Islands visit Street of Dream.  The site offers premier properties for the four counties in Northwest Washington. Check out San Juan County Luxury homes and Island County Luxury real estate.

Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group Realtors - Bellingham, WA 98225 (360)-739-7779

Washington state’s wine industry has exploded in the past two decades, from fewer than 20 wineries in 1981 to more than 360 today. Washington is home to more than 30,000 acres of wine grapes, and the industry is worth close to $3 billion to the state’s economy.

Pockets of the state have thrived on the growing industry, with fine restaurants, inns and brick-lined streets accompanying dozens of wineries. Many wineries have summer concert series or wine festivals to draw both music and wine lovers to their region.

Evening Magazine lists several great Washington wineries in its Back Roads page. 

The following is a list of more Washington State Winery:

• Washington Wine Country
• Wines Northwest - Gateway to the Pacific Northwest Wine country wines and wineries of OR, WA, Id and BC.
• Wine Yakima Valley - Washington’s premium wine region.
• Washington wines quick facts
• Washington Wine Commission
• Go Taste Washington Wines

If your looking for wineries for the Northwest corner of Washington State you’ll find the information below very useful for your wine tours.

Up here in Whatcom County we have a few local wineries producing some nice quality wine as well.  Try these for starters: Dakota Creek Winery, Samson Estate Wineries, and Mt. Baker Vineyards.  Goto this link with Taste of Whatcom for more Whatcom County Wineries.

Skagit County features Pasek Cellars, Carpenter Creek Winery, Challenger Ridge Vineyards, Eagle Haven Winery, Tulip Valley Vineyards, Glacier Peak Winery, Compass Wines, and Chuckanut Ridge Wine Co.  A great place to stay while touring the wineries of Skagit County would be to stay in beautiful LaConner, WA and then tour from there.  One of my favorite places in LaConner is a bed & breakfast called The Heron’s Nest.

When visiting Island County, WA here are some wineries Whidbey Island Winery, Blooms Winery, and Greenbank Farms on Whidbey Island.  While touring Whidbey Island look up The Country Cottage of Langley for a nice bed & breakfast stay on beautiful Whidbey Island.  That gorgeous photo to the right was featured on the Country Cottage web site. While your on their web site check out the list of 20 things to do on Whidbey Island and an additional 20 great links called Whidbey Island attractions.

Don’t forget that Camano Island, as well as Whidbey Island make up the county of Island County.  Good place to start touring these islands would be with Whidbey and Camano Island Tourism site for all the links you’ll ever imagine.  For all your Whidbey Island real estate needs contact Paullete Hill, Tara Properties, Coldwell Banker, in Freeland, WA.  She’s a great resource for information in the South Whidbey Island area, especially in the Freeland, Coupeville and Langley, WA areas.

This list of wineries would not be complete without naming some vineyards located in the beautiful areas of San Juan County.  San Juan Vineyards is the only commercial vineyard and winery on San Juan island. Started in 1996, had first harvest October 2000. They also have a great gift shop. Located on Roche Harbor Road.  Lopez Island features Lopez Island Vineyards, with their grapes grown organically on the estate vineyards.

Well enjoy your tours of the wine country and be safe in your travels here in the beautiful Northwest.  Here’s the advertisement part: Remember to visit our real estate site for all your Whatom County real estate needs here in the fourth corner of Washington state by visiting Northwest real estate.

Frontier Financial Corp. has acquired Whidbey Island Bank in a move to improve its position in the Northwest area of Washington State.  The deal to purchase Whidbey Island Bank will cost Frontier about $191.1 million.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have Washington Banking join our organization,” stated John Dickson, Frontier Financial’s President and Chief Executive, in a prepared statement. ”Whidbey Island Bank is a high-quality organization that operates with a philosophy very similar to our own.”  He went on to say, “We believe this will be an outstanding combination of highly talented employees who bring with them a solid customer base, and we look forward to welcoming the Washington Banking team into the Frontier family.”

The holding company for Frontier Bank, Frontier Financial is headquartered in Western Washington. The terms of the agreement call for Frontier to pay approximately $21.40 per share to Washington Banking Co., the holding company of Whidbey Island Bank.

Frontier already owns 782,506 shares of Washington Banking common stock at a cost basis of $3.1 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.

Frontier operates 47 offices in Washington and plans to open its 48th location in October in Gig Harbor. Whidbey Island Bank has 20 branches in San Juan, Skagit, Island, Whatcom and Snohomish counties.

“The professionals on the Frontier team are amongst the finest bankers in the region, and I am confident that our organizations will both benefit from this combination,” said Michal Cann, chief executive of Washington Banking Co. “As we considered all of our strategic growth options, it became obvious that choosing to partner with Frontier would provide the greatest benefits and opportunities for our shareholders, employees, customers and the communities we serve.”

Following the merger, Cann will continue as senior vice president and regional manager. Additionally, one member of the Washington Banking board will be selected by Frontier to join the boards of Frontier.

Frontier previously announced a merger with the Bank of Salem that it is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2007. Following the mergers with Bank of Salem and Washington Banking, Frontier’s total assets will be approximately $4.6 billion.

For all your Whatcom County real estate needs visit Bellingham WA Homes.