There's a constant refrain here. And, I know I sound like a record stuck in a groove. But May numbers continue to reinforce that we've still got too much inventory.

Culpeper County shows we're only eight units off where we were last year at this time. The good news is that sales jumped substantially this month. And, I'm not using month over month comparisons, but year over year. Both new contracts and closed sales took a big jump. But that pace is going to need to continue for months in order to start to see the reduction in inventory we need in order to stabilize prices.

In Fauquier County last year at this point in time we hit our highest number ever for inventory. Unlike Culpeper, we've come down substantially. A year ago there were 867 homes for sale and now it's only 764. The contracts written and the sales closed are both also up, if not quite as much as in Culpeper.

Prince William County actually has a large increase in inventory. While contracts and sales are up, the increase in inventory means no firming up of prices there any time soon. Since Prince William County is one of the hardest hit counties in Virginia for foreclosures, this will likely take some time to resolve itself. But bargain hunters are out there.

Rappahannock County remains a place apart. The market is almost exactly where it was a year ago. Days on market are longer there as well, inventory is higher than it was several years ago. But it's a very different market than what we're seeing in the other three counties.

Our numbers reflect the national numbers pretty well. New contracts are up across the nation. The numbers you hear from NAR and from most of the national media are primarily comparing May, 2008 to April, 2008 and of course the numbers are going to go up. The more meaningful number is always year over year.

We've got some good signs out there. There are buyers out there. They're looking for bargains. They've got the right market for it.

It's been a good week! I've gotten two offers on two different properties, one of which has already culminated in a ratified contract! That's definitely a good week!

One property is in Bealeton in Fauquier County and the other is in the town of Culpeper.

These properties share those critical qualities; they're aggressively priced and they show beautifully! The owners in both cases did everything they could to help get this done.

Only time will tell whether either of them actually go to settlement. You never know for sure until you sit at the settlement table and sign the documents. The two issues I'll be watching most closely are the appraisal and the financing. Either of these could derail this contract.

And, we'll have to wait and see whether the other offer ultimately results in a ratified contract. It's not dead yet!

All of this is proof again that there are buyers out there and it is possible to attract them.

That's good news for all of us to take into a weekend!

We're average! I'm not sure if that's good news or not. But given that housing indicators here are uglier than the national average in many ways, this could be a good thing.

Nationwide 10% of all ratified contracts are falling apart due to the inability of the purchaser to get financing. And, locally, we're seeing the exact same number of ratifed contracts fail.

I can't tell you that each and everyone of the contracts here fell apart over financing issues. But I can tell you that 99% of the time, that's the case.

This means, if you're a seller, the first thing your real estate agent should look at in an offer is the lender letter. Is the lender reputable? If it's someone they've never heard of there are several possible strategies to pursue. But the first thing to know is to be very careful!

And every seller should be aware that no house is ever really sold until the ink is dry on the paperwork the day of settlement. If you're buying another property, make sure that you've indicated coinciding settlements meaning your new purchase can't happen until the settlement on the house you're selling.

If you're a buyer you should know that the latest version of the contract is much more favorable to the seller if your lender backs out of a loan commitment. Choose your lender very carefully to avoid heartaches and headaches down the road!