Northwest Living | Bellingham Real Estate Market

Mount Vernon, WA - When the calender turns to the month of April that is the sign for Tulips in Skagit County through out the Mount Vernon and La Conner areas. This year the Skagit Tulip Festival is celebrating it’s 25th anniversary and with the warm weather it should be a great festival this year. To find out more about this year’s event visit their site at Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

The best times to visit the Tulip Festival is during the week when their are less crowds. If you go on the weekends be prepared for traffic delays and crowds. Once your into the tulip field areas though, it’s not too bad on traffic. The Skagit Valley is 60 miles north of Seattle, Washington, 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Traveler’s can take I-5 and then use Exits 221 - 236, all of these exits have tulip brochures at the nearest business.

The tulip fields are spread out over a 15-mile radius and tulip festival events are scattered around the entire county. There are many festival sites, my advice would be to check out this Skagit Valley Tulip Field Map for locations of farms. Checking out their site and maps will help out in planning your day trip to one of the most colorful and spectacular display in the Northwest corner of Washington State.

While your visiting the Skagit Valley Tulips you might want to visit the town of La Conner as well. La Conner is a small town south west of the main tulip areas and is nestled on the Swinomish Channel that divides the mainland and Fidalgo Island. This is one of my favorite spots in Northwest WA because there’s tons of shops, restaurants, and lots of tourist things to do. Expect to take up 2-3 hours of an afternoon visiting the gorgeous town of La Conner. For more on this town visit our La Conner WA real estate web site. 

Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - Skagit County Real Estate 

Bellingham, WA - Even though the economy seems to have tanked It’s been reported that local Whatcom County household incomes keep rising. Whatcom County median income is currently at $53,573 as job growth continues locally. When it comes to household income growth, Whatcom County has been doing great compared to the rest of the state in the last two years, according to a new state report.

The median household income in Whatcom County is up 4.7 percent from the preliminary 2006 numbers and up 12.2 percent from 2005, according to the Washington state Office of Financial Management.

Household income is determined by a variety of revenue streams, including salaries, dividends, rental income, retirement and disability income. The median measures the point at which half the households have more income and half have less. Statewide, median household income is up 4.2 percent year over year, and up 8.9 percent from 2005.

Hart Hodges, director for Western Washington University’s Center for Economics and Business Research, believes there are a variety of factors at work for the increase in wages. One is that the same increase in income will look like a bigger percentage change because Whatcom County has a smaller base. In addition, the impact of higher-wage jobs being added to large employers such as BP, Alcoa Intalco Works and WWU is being felt.

“We seem to be seeing a slight improvement in the job mix as the local economy gets larger,” Hodges said. “For example, larger economies tend to have relatively larger finance and information sectors, and we’ve seen some growth there. The job mix is slowly changing.”

Whatcom County has seen a steady rise without any year-over-year decreases in household income since 1989, when the median number was $28,367, according to the report.

Hodges expects wages to continue to rise in 2008 because of a continued tight labor market and a relatively low existing wage base. The local unemployment rate has been under 5 percent since January. Many economists consider anything under 5 percent to be full employment.

Skagit County has also done better than the state average. Year-over-year household income there rose 5.8 percent to $56,163. “Both (Whatcom and Skagit) counties have seen a few good years of job growth in manufacturing and work at the refineries,” Hodges said. Partially via bham herald.

Jerry Campbell - The Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - Whatcom County Real Estate

Northwest Washington - During the whole month of December we have been developing a brand new Whatcom County real estate web site in order to better serve home buyers and sellers in the Whatcom County area.  The site will also provide full services to the Skagit County homes, Island County property, and San Juan County real estate markets as well.

The real estate search capabilities were developed using Graphical Data, Inc. out of Seattle combined with state of the art web design from Real Estate Webmasters (REW), Nanaimo, BC to create a dynamic style web site of the future. The new web site is called WhatcomRealEstate.com  and the search engine part of the site is called WhatcomHomeSearch.com . The combination of these two technologies together will serve our current clients and future clients needs in so many ways, that we feel we will be providing them with many advantages over the competition. 

The new real estate web site will provide extensive information about Whatcom County and the three surrounding counties to better inform buyers relocating to the Northwest corner of Washington State. These four counties also just happen to be the area we like to concentrate on for our Northwest Living real estate blog here.

 Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - Whatcom County Real Estate

 Bellingham, WA - Chuckanut Drive is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful and scenic areas in the Northwest. If given the choice to take Chuckanut Drive over I-5 freeway, on my way back to Bellingham or on the way out of town, hands down, I’d choose Scenic Chuckanut Drive on a sunny day.

For even residents of this part of Northwest Washington, very few tire of what this 20 mile stretch of Highway has to offer. Chuckanut Drive runs from just south of historic Fairhaven area of Bellingham south to the Bow area of Skagit County.  There are many opportunities along the long stretch of Chuckanut Drive to park along the road and take in the breath taking views of Bellingham Bay and the San Juan Islands. 

It goes without saying that homes for sale along Chuckanut Drive tend to be expensive, but when your address ends in Chuckanut Drive most observers in Whatcom County and Skagit County would expect Chuckanut Real Estate to be pricey.  When it comes to Location as a principle of real estate, Chuckanut has to be one of the most sought after addresses for real estate.

What is it about Chuckanut that draws over a half million travelers up and down this beautiful stretch of highway after all…the sun setting on a clear warm summer day, does it for me. There’s a spot about the half way point where you can stop, walk along a short trail, and really enjoy some fantastic views. I named this spot “Heavens Porch”, because it truly feels like your looking out upon sheer beauty of what heaven must look like.

To find out whats for sale currently on Chuckanut Drive visit our Bellingham WA Real Estate and search Chuckanut Drive real estate. Tour the Scenic Chuckanut Drive sometime soon, you’ll remember it forever.

Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group - Bellingham WA - Chuckanut Drive Homes For Sale

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 Jerry Campbell for local expertise.  He’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 Bellingham homes for sale.

Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group - Bellingham Real Estate

 Fall has finally arrived here in the Northwest, one of my favorite times of the year.  There are so many things to do here in Whatcom County even as our warm weather slowly slips away. 

In writing this post I was thinking of putting together a to do list of things my family and I enjoy doing during the fall and see if we could work some of them into our schedule.  Then I realized that if someone were to travel to our beautiful area of the country during this time, maybe they would like to know what locals enjoy doing as well.  So here is a list of just some of the things one could also do while visiting our Northwest corner of Washington state:

1. Harvest time is a great way to visit one of our local farms and buy some fresh apples, pears, pumkins, squash, sweet corn, and many more vegetables fresh off the farm. Try this link for a list of local farms that sell their fruit, vegetables, jams and nuts at their farm stands - Whatcom County harvest time.  Another great source for local fruits and vegetables would be for one to visit the Bellingham Farmers Market located downtown. Lynden, WA has their annual Lynden Harvest Festival October 18 & 19, 2007.
2. Visit Mt. Baker and the beautiful drive along Mt. Baker Highway.  During the month of October one can enjoy all the autumn colors that fills the trees. The road travels along the Nooksack River at several points and on many occassions in September, thru November you might be able to see schools of salmon make their way up the river to spawn. Check the weather reports for Mt. Baker snow reports if you plan to travel farther up the mountain.  However, if your planning to go skiing or boarding, enjoy Mt. Baker Skiing because its one of the best ski areas in the Northwest.
3. Tour Western Washington University campus. The fall brings the arrival of  12,000 WWU students and the campus comes to life in activity. Once you find some parking, tour some of the architecture and art that covers this gorgeous campus and find out why its rated as one of the best universities on the west coast.
4. Take in live theatre at the Bellingham Theatre Guild. The fall is usually when things start to get busy at the Guild, so go check out their web site and take a show in. Mount Baker Theatre would be well worth checking out as well. Before the show try dinner downtown or nearby on the water front at one of the fine restraunts.  The Downtown Bellingham web site can help you on dining and shopping.
5. Visit Historic Fairhaven and all that it has to offer. So much has happened over the last ten years that if you had visited then and now, there would be a noticeable difference. The skyline has changed thats for sure, with a lot of buildiing going on in the District.
6. Walk around Lake Padden or hike one of the several trails that line Bellingham including the interurban trail, Whatcom Falls trail system, and more at Bellingham walking trails. Fall time is a great time to hike and take in all the wonderful colors of the fall in this beautiful area we call home.
7. Lynden Craft and Antique Show is held every fall during the month of October.  The event is held at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds in Lynden, Washington and will be going on from October 18, 19, & 20, 2007.
8. Whatcom Artist Studio Tour will be held from Oct. 6 to Oct. 14, 2007.  52 artists participate in the 13th annual Whatcom Artist Studio Tour. They open their studios to the public for two weekends. The tour is a perfect venue to shop for fine art and craft, and see artists at work.
9. Try the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra which is celebrating 32 years of harmony with Whatcom county.
10. Lighted Christmas Parade and Sinterklaas, the patron saint of the Dutch, welcomes in the holidays each year as he enters Lynden at 1 pm atop his white horse, accompanied by his helper, Zwarte Piet, and Lynden’s Youth Klompen Dancers. Children of all ages are delighted by Sinterklaas’ visit the first Saturday of each December. The highlight of the day is the annual Lighted Christmas Parade at 6 pm.
11. Jingle Bell Run - 20th Annual Jingle Bell Run/Walk in Downtown Bellingham on the corner of Cornwall & York. Two-mile Walk; four-mile Run, held Dec. 8, 2007.
12. Enjoy some fresh sea food at one our local restaurants. Fall is a great time to enjoy fresh salmon, halibut, tuna and of course Northwest clam chowder.  There’s so many restruants to recommend and I really don’t want to leave any out. So, try the following: Anthony’s at Squalicum Harbor, Cliff House, D’Anna’s Café Italiano, Harborside Restaurant, The Oyster Bar, and The Keg Restaurant. Here are some links to other Restraunts in the Whatcom County area: Bellingham WA Restaurants, Taste of Whatcom, and Bellingham Restaurants.
13. For even more things to do this fall in Whatcom County visit Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism.
14. Nearby you might want to attend the Leavenworth Octoberfest, the Skagit Valley Farm Tour, and just over the border in British Columbia one could easily put together another list with 50 more things to do. Instead of putting it here, just go to Vancouver, British Columbia Tourism and have fun.

Even though this article is written in the Fall of 2007, any of these ideas can be done in years that follow or at any time of the year for that matter although the festivals will vary. Most of the event items are at or about the same time every fall. What ever you choose to do while visiting our home here in Whatcom County, enjoy yourself and be safe. And although this area is just one little corner of the world it has a wealth of beauty and depth which changes with each season. So enjoy and have a wonderful adventure this autumn!

We also have some nice links to more local information including area towns, Bellingham neighborhoods, shopping, restaurants and much more at the Bellingham WA Homes web site.

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.

Jerry Campbell | Muljat Group | Bellingham WA | Whidbey Island Real Estate