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) |
|---|---|
| September 2011 | 142.7 |
| June 2011 | 138.9 |
| March 2011 | 142.5 |
| December 2010 | 146.9 |
| September 2010 | 149.6 |
| June 2010 | 148.6 |
| March 2010 | 149.7 |
| December 2009 | 162.3 |
| September 2009 | 162.3 |
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) |
|---|---|
| September 2011 | 133.6 |
| June 2011 | 130.0 |
| March 2011 | 133.4 |
| December 2010 | 137.5 |
| September 2010 | 140.1 |
| June 2010 | 139.2 |
| March 2010 | 140.2 |
| December 2009 | 146.8 |
| September 2009 | 146.8 |
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 |
|---|---|
| November 2011 | $261,817 |
| October 2011 | $259,305 |
| September 2011 | $258,062 |
| August 2011 | $253,178 |
| July 2011 | $244,957 |
| June 2011 | $246,106 |
| May 2011 | $242,399 |
| April 2011 | $236,858 |
| March 2011 | $236,858 |
| February 2011 | $233,892 |
| January 2011 | $239,052 |
| December 2010 | $240,438 |
| November 2010 | $252,277 |
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. ↩
Department of Numbers
The Department of Numbers contextualizes public data so that individuals can form independent opinions on everyday social and economic matters.
