March may show where Whatcom County real estate is headed in 2011

With spring nearly here, it's an important time to see what tone will be set for the local real estate market in 2011.

March has traditionally been the time Whatcom County sees the first uptick in home sale activity, generally peaking in the summer months before school starts. Of course March was a bigger deal for home sales in 2005, when 372 homes were sold, than 2009, when 143 homes were purchased, according to data from the Whatcom County Real Estate Research Report.