This story is a bit outside of my normal geographical range, plus it was covered by Ben on Saturday, but I wanted to at least touch on it here. Up in Bellingham building is far outpacing population growth:
It has become almost conventional wisdom that Bellingham and Whatcom County have been growing fast in recent years. But that growth appears to be more in homes than people.
From 2000 to 2005 Whatcom County gained a new home for every 1.58 new people – 30 percent fewer people per home than the county total in 2000, according to the state Office of Financial Management.
“I keep telling people I don’t see explosive population growth,” said Hart Hodges, director of Western Washington University’s Center for Economic and Business Research. “I do see a heck of a lot of building.”
I’m putting Bellingham on my “places to watch” list for when things finally settle down. I imagine there will be some killer deals up there.
(Aubrey Cohen, Bellingham Herald, 01.15.2006)