Housing market slumps during spring

Gazette Reporters

Whitman County’s housing market slumped during the second quarter of 2011.

The Washington Center for Real Estate Research released its quarterly report earlier this month, showing the number of home sales in Whitman County between April and June fell 5.6 percent from the same period 2010 and eight percent from the first three months of 2011.

Only 340 homes sold in Whitman County during second quarter 2011.

Glenn Crellin, director of the real estate center, said funding cuts at WSU likely slowed homebuying activity, as faculty in Pullman were reluctant to either buy or sell their homes until they know the future of their jobs.

“I think, with all the uncertainty at WSU, we’re not going to see a lot of activity in the market,” said Crellin.

WSU officials told the Gazette earlier this year that cuts from the university’s operating budget could mean the elimination of some-700 campus jobs - about three percent of the county’s labor force.

Average price for those home sales also fell from the previous year. Median price paid for homes in Whitman County during second quarter 2011 was $192,700, down 7.4 percent from the 2010 average of $208,000.

New home building also dropped off the map, with permits for just 10 housing units, including apartments, being issued throughout the county.

Whitman County building official Dan Gladwill earlier this month reported only two new homes were permitted in unincorporated Whitman County during the 2011 spring quarter, a six-year low.

The local building slump was nothing, though, compared to the rest of Washington. All but nine counties saw the number of home sales fall more than Whitman County.

Across the state, the number of homes sold fell 11 percent from 2010. Average sale price of $226.900 was down 7.6 percent from a year ago.