I know you've been hearing nothing but doom and gloom from the financial markets for the last week. And, it does feel like the sky is falling some days.

But the August numbers actually show lots of reasons for optimism. Almost across the board, by any measure of activity, the numbers look much, much better than they did a year ago.

In Culpeper, the inventory is at 676, down from 814 homes for sale at this time a year ago. Meanwhile, closed sales jumped from 32 to 64. Even new listings coming on the market has fallen from 154 to 121.

In Fauquier the story is much the same. Inventory is at 730 now vs. 823 a year ago. While the sales are still relatively flat, they have increased from 57 to 60.

Prince William has seen dramatic improvements, year over year. Inventory levels right now are at 4835. A year ago there were 5654 homes for sale. Sales have doubled from 419 to 838. The only negative indicator here is that new listings continue to come on the market at a fast clip.  There were 1300 new listings in August. But a year ago there were 1530.

Rappahannock even showed some dramatic results with 5 sales last month compared to 2 a year ago. Inventory, however, remains close to it's highest point (August of last year) at 82 homes for sale.

While activity is very good, prices show no signs of recovery right now. And, I believe you'll continue to see prices flat or falling for at least the next six months. But banks are getting their listings sold. They're not doing it by getting them in great shape. They're doing it by dramatically discounting price.

If you're a seller, that's your dilemna. Do you drop your price to compete with the banks? Can you afford to wait until all the foreclosures work their way through the system, potentially at least another year? Do you rent it out and hope for a better market at the end of the lease?

Whatever you decide, whatever your situation, it's good to hear a little good news this week!