The number of transactions (homes sold) held steady all year until September when we saw a significant drop compared to September 2006. October numbers came in at a 16.8% decrease from October 2006, but that number may shrink a little when the final numbers are calculated. It’s too early to tell if this trend will continue, but I would not be surprised if we see the reduced activity continue at current levels until March of 2008. Current inventory is at 6600+ homes which is up approximately 20% from the same time last year. Some of the increase in inventory is a result of our expanding market, as the Jonesville Road corridor and Woodruff Road corridor continue to expand. Production Builders and Custom Builders both have worked hard to reduced their inventory levels to match the current demand and at the same time retain enough inventory to have a selection for the home buyer that wants to close in 30 to 60 days. Existing home inventory is above normal and it continues to be a strong buyer’s market. If you manage your transaction properly you can make a good buy on both existing homes and local builder speculative homes. Incentives have been good through most of the year and will probably remain good through the winter months as builders try to motivate buyers that are sitting on the fence. We (my client & I) received our largest incentives of the year from a regional production builder during an October contract and closing. We also made a very good buy on a high end speculative home by a local builder that was 95% complete. The incentives combined with our savvy negotiating made both transactions excellent buys. It may be the best time in a number of years to build a custom home, if there is such a thing as a good time to build a custom home. Several of our high end custom builders are watching their inventory closely and quoting their projects aggressively. Building a custom home is a complex project and doing it successfully requires careful planning and well defined goals and objectives. I may write an article on this subject and publish it on the web site or blog over the winter months, so stay tuned.  The key to making a high quality purchase is having well defined goals and objectives, obtaining all the information necessary to develop a powerful negotiating strategy, and being able to walk away from the deal if the numbers aren’t attractive. Happy Thanksgiving, Keith