Local real estate market stabilizes in fourth quarter

Whitman County’s real estate market steadied in 2011 after the previous year’s dip which followed the expiration of the 2010 federal first-time home buyers’ tax credit program,

Figures released by the Washington Center for Real Estate Research showed 460 homes sold during the fourth quarter of 2011, an 18 percent increase from the same period in 2010.

Glenn Crellin, director of the center, pointed out the 2011 fourth quarter total was still well under the 620 homes sold during the fourth quarter 2009.

This was the first report produced by Crellin’s office since it moved from WSU to the Univers...