Whatcom County prices holding up

Home prices in Whatcom County continued to fall in 2008, but not as steeply as in much of the nation, according to a new report.

Zillow.com, a Seattle online real-estate information service, said home prices in the fourth quarter of 2008 fell 4.9 percent year over year in the Bellingham metro area.

The Web site's Real Estate Market Report gave Whatcom County a home-value index of $264,262. Zillow's home-value index is the median valuation of homes and condominiums in a given geographic area.

In Whatcom County, the communities of Maple Falls (down 13.1 percent), Lynden (down 9.0 percent) and Ferndale (down 5.8 percent) were hit harder than other areas, while Lummi Island (up 6.4 percent) and Point Roberts (up 7.9 percent) saw gains.

Other statistics from the report shed some light on the market in 2008:

• Whatcom County homes that sold for a loss in 2008: 12.8 percent.

• Negative equity: At the end of 2008, 10.4 percent of all homeowners in Whatcom County owed more than their house was worth. The U.S. average was 17.6 percent.

• Short sales: 5.2 percent of transactions that took place in 2008 were short sales, which means the proceeds of the sale is less than the amount due on the seller's loan; the U.S. average was 10.9 percent.