Local housing market slumps in third quarter

The number of homes sold in Whitman County dropped sharply in the third quarter of 2010, coinciding with the expiration of the federal home buyers tax credits.

According to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, only 260 homes sold between July and October in Whitman County. That number is a 32 percent drop from the same period in 2009 and a 28 percent off the real estate pace of the second quarter 2010.

Glenn Crellin, a WSU professor and director of the center, said the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credits was directly responsible for the drop.

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