Bellingham Primary Trade Area (population 237,347)

Bellingham’s primary trade area serves a population of 237,347, which includes Bellingham’s city population of 96,014 (2021) and an addition population of 141,333 Whatcom County residents based on natural barriers and a lack of retail options.

Bellingham Secondary Trade Area (population 550,000)

The secondary trade area of Bellingham serves a population of 550,000 which includes the lower mainland of British Columbia including Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, and Abbotsford as well as a population of 131,945 (2021) from Skagit Valley. Canadian retail tourism is strong in Bellingham’s trade area with over 12,000,000 passengers crossing the border from Canada into Bellingham in 2019. Current data on border crossings is bleak as the border was closed for most of 2020 and very limited in 2021.

Retail, Office, and Industrial Market Statistics

One of the best ways for a business or investor to determine what direction the market is headed is by looking at where the market has been. At Pacific Continental Realty, we track market statistics in Bellingham and the surrounding markets to keep us up to date with the market and so we can help educate you to make informed decisions. Currently, we produce a quarterly vacancy report for retail, office, and industrial in Bellingham.

How much retail space exists within the Bellingham market? There are over 450 retail buildings and over 10,00,000 square feet. That may seem like a lot of retail space in a market the size of Bellingham, but with a 2021 vacancy rate of 3.89% it may not be enough. The retail market in Bellingham can be heavily influenced by the Canadian dollar. When the Canadian dollar is on par with the US dollar, the retail market screams in Bellingham. Given historical data, the breaking point appears to be around $0.80 on the US dollar for when the Canadian retail influence begins to diminish and the Bellingham commercial real estate market begins to feel it.

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The trends in office space usage has changed over the last decade. Office tenants are not only demanding more open space and different types of layouts than before, but they also want more flexibility with their lease. This change in treads has created many older styled offices to be less desirable and with new office tenants wanting shorter lease terms, this would appear to be perfect storm for a disaster, but the statistics suggest otherwise. The current vacancy rate for office space in Bellingham is only 3.8%, which is well down from the recent average of 10.2%.

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The industrial market in Bellingham remained steady in 2020. With demand still very strong for industrial and no new buildings adding to the supply, the vacancy rate declined slightly. Still remaining below 1%, the overall vacancy rate for industrial buildings is a critical issue for manufacturers or distributors looking to enter the Bellingham market. The average asking rent for industrial space in Bellingham decreased from $0.76/SF/MO in Q1 to $0.73/SF/MO in Q2. The industrial sector is one of the strongest in the market for Bellingham commercial real estate.

Search the entire market for Bellingham industrial space for lease.