LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -

With the IRS beginning to accept tax returns this week, no doubt dealers are eager to have potential vehicle buyers arrive at their stores with refunds in hand to make down payments.

And stemming from what Black Book is seeing in the lanes, dealers also are looking to acquire the inventory that will satisfy those possible buyers.

“The used market continues to recover with higher demand from buyers in the auction lanes,” Black Book executive vice president of operations Anil Goyal said in the latest installment of the company’s Market Insights report.

“Both inventory and sales percentages were reported to be rising,” Goyal added in the report.

Delving into the volume-weighted data, Black Book determined overall car segment values declined by just 0.13% last week. That’s less than half of what analysts computed as the four-week average drop of 0.29%.

Again perhaps reflecting preps for those tax-season buyers, Black Book reported values of sub-compact cars, midsize cars and full-size cars all increased.

According to its volume-weighted truck data, Black Book indicated overall truck segment values (including pickups, SUVs, and vans) values declined by 0.28% last week. While not as much as in the car arena, analysts did point out that drop came in below the four-week average decrease of 0.37%.

Among trucks, analysts also noted the values of sub-compact crossovers and small pickups increased, too.

Black Book closed its latest report with anecdotes from its nearly 60 representatives stationed at sales nationwide. Here is the rundown:

— From Georgia: “The auction was really good today as the attendance and consignment were more than we expected. The fleet/lease lanes were selling, but the dealer lanes had difficulty getting buyers to visit their lanes.”

— From Michigan: “Clean 4- to 5-year-old vehicles with good miles are drawing some attention, but the 2- to 3-year-old vehicles are the most in demand.”

— From California: “A strong sale with action on the floor and online.”

— From Tennessee: “Our market is moving in the positive direction with trucks leading the way.”