Feasibility Study Data for the Bellingham, WA Metro Area

The Bellingham record in brief

For Bellingham, SBA's files list 547 approvals over FY2017 to FY2026, totalling $341.8 million in gross dollars. Bellingham lands against every other area in the files, on volume, as 157 of 928. The core of Bellingham lending sits between $83,000 and $701,500, and a median near $267,000; which sets the median at 1.28x the nationwide median. By program, Bellingham shows 451 loans in 7(a) and 96 under 504. Franchised units took 8.4% of the loans.

Bellingham: classes and counties

Worth noting, of the named classes we count for Bellingham, full-service restaurant heads the list with 27 loans, trailed by gas station and truck stop (24) and hotel and motel with 17. Another 369 loans in Bellingham sit outside every class. Every loan in Bellingham falls in Whatcom County, WA, at 547 loans, which makes our work around Bellingham a one-county exercise.

Bellingham: institutions behind approvals

Names listed for Bellingham stem from SBA's public Bellingham records of the 547 guaranteed loans in Bellingham, with the holder as SBA lists it; the records log every loan and offer nothing on what lenders require. Next, for 7(a) lending in Bellingham, SBA lists Banner Bank (70 loans, $14.0 million); next, Harborstone CU, with 48 loans for $30.8 million. In the 504 program near Whatcom County, WA, SBA names Ameritrust CDC at 45 loans and $33.5 million; next, Northwest Business Development Association at 34 loans and $28.4 million. An applicant near Whatcom County, WA may ask the leading Bellingham holder Banner Bank or other Bellingham holders near Whatcom County, WA what documentation it expects, then build the Bellingham study to answer it.

Bellingham: loss floors and years

Looking at Bellingham approvals from FY2017 to FY2024, not below 9.0% ended in cancellation after approval in Bellingham, a floor; the true Bellingham figure is no lower. Separately, a charge-off rate around Whatcom County, WA is left blank here, seeing that too few Bellingham loans were disbursed. That empty cell, around Whatcom County, WA, should never be read as no losses. Next, in the yearly line, Bellingham was strongest in FY2018 at 70 loans and $33.3 million, and hit its low in FY2023 at 31 loans and $22.9 million.

Bellingham: what a study tests

The Bellingham study starts with customers: who passes in Whatcom County, WA, who travels in, measured against Bellingham overall, and whether full-service restaurant, with 27 loans, leaves any room. On cost: $267,000 is the Bellingham median and $83,000 to $701,500 the central range, so a Whatcom County, WA site should cost itself against that $267,000 marker. Coverage: Bellingham cash flow outlasts a weak year against plus the 9.0% floor for cancellation and charge-off rate for Bellingham, which is also not published as its cohort is small. The Whatcom County, WA appraisal has to support the worth lent against. Bellingham follows the July 2023 delineation; any loan whose project county is not matched is missing from any area, Bellingham as well, though the totals cover loans sitting outside the classes we track.