This section of Department of Numbers is no longer being updated and may be removed in the future. The data here is out of date and should no longer be used.
Bellingham, Washington Home Affordability
The data below measures home affordability for the Bellingham, Washington metropolitan area using price-to-income and price-to-rent metrics.1 The maximum affordable loan amount for the median household income is also calculated. You can also compare Bellingham home affordability to other cities.
Bellingham, Washington Home Price-to-Income Ratios
The second chart shows a history of the ratio as an index calculated from the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Bellingham HPI series. Median household income data for Bellingham is from the Census American Community Survey.
Price-to-Income Index Ratio: FHFA
Note: Index set to 100 in Q1 of 2000
Bellingham, Washington Home Price-to-Income Ratio History
| Date | FHFA (Index Ratio) |
|---|---|
| December 2013 | 140.6 |
| September 2013 | 141.1 |
| June 2013 | 137.9 |
| March 2013 | 136.6 |
| December 2012 | 137.3 |
| September 2012 | 136.0 |
| June 2012 | 133.1 |
| March 2012 | 134.2 |
Bellingham, Washington Home Price-to-Rent Ratios
The chart below shows an index of the rent ratio calculated from the metro FHFA HPI series and the Bellingham median contract rent data from the Census ACS.
Price-to-Rent Index Ratio: FHFA
Note: Index set to 100 in Q1 of 2000
Bellingham, Washington Home Price-to-Rent Ratio History
| Date | FHFA (Index Ratio) |
|---|---|
| December 2013 | 129.5 |
| September 2013 | 130.0 |
| June 2013 | 127.0 |
| March 2013 | 125.8 |
| December 2012 | 126.4 |
| September 2012 | 125.3 |
| June 2012 | 122.6 |
| March 2012 | 123.6 |
Bellingham, Washington Inferred Affordable Mortgage
The inferred affordable mortgage value is determined by taking the median household income for Bellingham, Washington and calculating the mortgage 30% of that income could afford. Traditionally, 30% of income is the maximum amount a homeowner could use towards a home loan. Inferred affordable loan values are calculated from ACS median household income and average monthly mortgage rates.
Inferred Affordable Mortgage
Bellingham, Washington Inferred Affordable Mortgage History
| Date | Inferred Mortgage |
|---|---|
| February 2014 | $259,956 |
| January 2014 | $255,992 |
| December 2013 | $255,090 |
| November 2013 | $261,194 |
| October 2013 | $263,382 |
| September 2013 | $254,193 |
| August 2013 | $255,090 |
| July 2013 | $257,810 |
| June 2013 | $267,197 |
| May 2013 | $285,066 |
| April 2013 | $288,274 |
| March 2013 | $284,008 |
| February 2013 | $285,420 |
1. Specifically, home prices are from the non seasonally adjusted FHFA all-transactions quarterly series. Dollar ratios are calculated using NAR metro prices when available. Rent and income data are from the Census ACS and are carried forward into the following year prior to release of the new data. ↩
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