I know we all need some positive news right now, so here you go... Our inventory in College Park is the lowest it's been since mid January. That's a good thing. The number of closed sales in March was up over February's numbers. That's a good thing. The number of pending sales is the highest it's been since late August of '08. That's a good thing. So the bottom line is, things appear to be settling down a bit and buyers are gaining more confidence.

We still have a bit of harsh reality to deal with, however, and there's no sense in sugar coating the facts. When I just pulled the fist quarter stats for '09 and compared them with last years first quarter numbers, here's what I found. In 32804 in Q1 of 2008, there were 45 closed sales with a median sales price of $295,000. For Q1 of 2009, there were 28 closed sales with a median sales price of $203,306.

As I poll my realtor peers, and with what I'm seeing with my own listings, there is VERY little activity in the over 300K market. Of the 34 pending sales, 74% are listed under $300,000, 5 are bank owned properties and 10 are in pre-foreclosure.

Average rates on a 30 yr. fixed have gone back up over 5% today.

CLOSED SALES: 4/6/2009 - 4/12/2009
1002 Edgewater Ct.: 2/1 - 1074 sq/ft - $253,000

OTHER MARKET ACTIVITY: 4/6/2009 - 4/12/2009
New Listings: 8
Pending Sales: 3
Price Reductions: 17

PRESENTLY ON THE MARKET: 4/12/2009
Active Listings: 280
Under 100K: 8
100K - 199,999: 59
200K - 299,999: 84
300K - 399,999: 43
400K - 499,999: 18
500K - 599,999: 15
600K - 699,999: 21
700K - 799,999: 7
800K - 899,999: 8
900K - 999,999: 4
Over $1,000,000: 15
Total Pending Sales: 34

The above numbers come from single family homes and condos listed in the MLS in the 32804 zip code. Please contact me for more specific information, or for statistics on commercial property or vacant land.