With the end of spring break and Passover upon us, the spring market is officially here and understanding the statistics, though not as entertaining as walking in on a showering tenant who had purportedly vacated two weeks earlier, is something we ought not avoid discussing in this column.

The first quarter numbers are showing a clear picture (with some exceptions) of a market that is holding and even advancing the trends of this past year. The number of sales continues to slow as inventory remains sparse. Average sale prices this quarter have risen from last quarter by about 5.5% and there is no sign of a change in the near future.

While completely anecdotal to V&N Realty, the first week of April has been quite the busy one at our office. More listings were signed up this week than any week I can remember in the past sixje months. Hopefully this presages a much needed inventory boost to meet the record demand for homes in our area.