Those Now Eating Will Soon Be Eaten

It’s true, what you’ve heard: Bellingham’s real estate market is sticky. And maybe no neighborhood’s door is harder to unlock than that of historic South Hill.

Tucked discreetly between heady Western Washington University at the top of the hill, and the too-dear shopping district of Fairhaven at the bottom, South Hill is picturesque in any season. With elm-lined lanes named after the city’s founders, South Hill is is a proud neighborhood steeped in tradition, appointed with significant architecture, and beholden to some of the most breathtaking views in town.

But these advantages don’t come without a pricing premium. Enter this earnest 2-bedroom Cape Cod on private corner lot gazing west and north over the Bay, city and all the way to the Canadian Cascades.

Available for the first time in more than 30 years, this well-kept and un-remuddled beauty is offered for $539,000.

Well of course that’s a lot of money for 1040 square feet. More than $500/sqft to be exact!

$539,000 American…

There are two $450k+ teardowns within two blocks. I’ll be open 12-2pm Sunday– come say hi. Soon the maggots will be as big as Redwoods…

–tMdR

 

 

 

 

How to Get Balled in Bellingham

There are lots of different ways to organize real estate listings. Price is  a popular and practical measure, of course. But listings can also be grouped according to geography, size, age or even color. Blue houses over there; yellow houses here. That sort of thing.

My favorite way to order real estate houses this week, however, is alphabetically. Because then my new listing is #1, meaning all other listings are #2 or lower.

Introducing 2309 A Street… 

Voguing demurely at the top of A Street, adjacent to Cornwall Avenue and across from picturesque Assumption Church, this little honey has all the charm you’d hope to find intact in a house of its vintage. When this home was built in 1918, White City amusement park was still thrilling locals on the north shore, and the population of Bellingham was less than 25,000. We’ve come a long way, babies.

“Craftsman” is probably the single-most misused word in the real estate business. Some brokers think anything built before 1950 is a “Craftsman.” But with the masculine brick columns staking its long, covered front porch, the symmetrical rooflines, 8-over-1 double-hung windows, fir floors and endless built-ins, this is a true Craftsman home from the Golden Age of the Pacific Northwest Craftsman boom. Boom!

There’s been some thoughtful updating, but no home-a-cides here. The kitchen has been opened to the rear porch, affording an abundance of natural light from the transomed back stairwell. A tiled arch frames the cooking nook, flanked by exposed brick and tin tile. Stainless appliances, granite tile counters, and a deep, modern stainless steel farmsink bring the kitchen into the 21st century without betraying its modest roots.

The original clawfoot tub was replaced by one that actually doesn’t leak, and it is angled in the  room’s corner– a luxurious use of space made possible by the displacement of the sink which is now in a private arched enclave in the hall.

Character is very photogenic, but features like central heat, modern gutters and reliable electricity can be sexy in their own, utilitarian way. This house has all that.

But don’t take my word for it– come and see for yourself! I’ll be open 12-2pm on Sunday. This home even has Bellingham pedigree, having once been owned by the mother of renowned trumpeter Joel Ricci.

–tMdR

 

2309 A Street        *         2bedrooms 1bath         *         1136sqft         *        $349,000

 

p.s. I wouldn’t know how to get balled in Bellingham. But I did stage this house with some usable literature. Come see!