Ventura homes for sale trends are reflected in homes that have gone into escrow, or what Realtors call “pending sales” or just pendings. It’s one sign we use to track the marketplace, but it’s influenced by different factors, one of which is level of inventory. Right now, especially in the entry level marketplace, we see low levels and marked competition for clean, well priced homes. But we’re in the home stretch for first time buyers (the $8,000 tax credit) and when that ends next month, perhaps inventory levels will climb and competition will ease in that sector. Here is the homes pending spreadsheet for Ventura. It shows that the quarter ending September is down from 2008, but substantially higher than 2007. These numbers come from the Ventura MLS.