Whatcom County, WA: Foreclosures, Tax Liens & Distressed Properties

Whatcom County, WA, Washington: 18 ZIP codes scored, Whatcom County, WA averaging 34/100 (moderate, Whatcom, WA), from 33 to 34. Whatcom County, WA is in its contraction phase (Whatcom, WA confidence 30/100): Whatcom, WA home prices down 0.3% (Whatcom, WA) over twelve months. Whatcom County, WA lender headwind: 51/100.

Highest-scoring Whatcom County, WA ZIPs: 98220 (34/100), 98225 (34/100), 98226 (34/100), 98229 (34/100), 98230 (34/100), 98237 (34/100). Also scored in Whatcom County, WA: 98240, 98244, 98247, 98248, 98262, 98264, 98266, 98276, 98281, 98283.

Across Whatcom County, WA's scored ZIPs: median home value $512,972, household income $80,723, 15.1% vacancy, 11.6% poverty, 76% owner-occupied, median age 41.4.

Whatcom County, WA insurance distress 86/100 (#223 in the US); FEMA hazard 78/100 for Whatcom, WA; 6 federal disaster declarations in Whatcom County, WA since 2023 (6 flood); 304 Whatcom, WA NFIP flood claims, $22.2M paid; Whatcom, WA construction distress 65/100.

14 banks with 48 branches lend in Whatcom County, WA; Whatcom, WA weighted bank stress 65/100, highest 92/100 in Whatcom, WA.

Whatcom County, WA unemployment 4.5% (Whatcom, WA -0.6 pts, six months); 1,097 new housing units permitted in Whatcom County, WA over twelve months, Whatcom, WA down 15% from 1,292; Whatcom, WA home prices +8.7% a year (Whatcom, WA) over three years.

103,520 housing units in Whatcom County, WA; 33,703 Whatcom, WA renter households; 56% of Whatcom, WA renters spend 30%+ of income on rent, 28% (Whatcom, WA) half or more.

Whatcom County, WA ranks #1,100 nationally on the opportunity index (Whatcom, WA, among all ranked counties); Whatcom, WA scores 30.8/100 and Whatcom, WA sits #12 inside Washington. Whatcom, WA is in the early_signal opportunity phase; Whatcom, WA's primary driver is construction, Whatcom, WA second driver bank institutional; Whatcom, WA moved down 148 places. 34 short-sale listings across Whatcom, WA; 77 days on market observed in Whatcom, WA; 7.9% vacancy over 18 Whatcom, WA ZIPs.

0.8% of Whatcom County, WA mortgages were ninety-plus days late in December 2025; Whatcom, WA's thirty-to-eighty-nine-day share was 0.6% (CFPB county sample). Whatcom, WA's ninety-day rate is up 0.5 points on twelve months earlier; the Whatcom, WA peak since 2008 was 2.7% in February 2012; Washington overall reads 0.6%.

Whatcom County, WA has 8 watched banks; 8 Whatcom, WA banks sit in an elevated band. Whatcom, WA footprints: Peoples Bank (9 branches, stress 60) in Whatcom, WA; Wafd Bank (5 branches, stress 67) in Whatcom, WA; Banner Bank (5 branches, stress 58) in Whatcom, WA.

HUD lists 8 assisted multifamily properties in Whatcom County, WA with 1,099 units; 150 Whatcom, WA units are assisted, 3 Whatcom, WA properties under project-based Section 8.

9,499 of the 103,520 housing units in Whatcom, WA sit vacant. Whatcom County, WA permitted 464 multifamily units in twelve months; Whatcom, WA's one-to-four unit structures added 633 units in Whatcom County, WA.