The inventory crunch just continues to get tighter. Today there are only 102 homes for sale in Bellingham. This is always the lowest point in the yearly cycle for number of houses available, but this is a record low. Last year at this time there were 180 houses to chose from. In the years leading up to this crunch we typically had a little more than 300 houses available in the dead of winter, and now we barely reach that at the height of summer. Meanwhile, demand continues to climb. Comparing the entire year of 2016 to 2012, the inventory dropped by 53% but the number of sales went up by 25%! Of course when demand exceeds supply, the prices just continue to climb. Great news if you already own a house, but pretty discouraging for first time buyers, with no relief in sight.