Franklin Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, was recently named the fifth best city (population 50,000 to 300,000)to live in by Money magazine.  The real estate market is not yet quite so robust.  Like most of Somerset County, the number of sales made is off last year's number by about 20%.  Inventories of unsold properties (494) remain high, but no higher than 2007 (495), and about 10% lower than 2006 (520).  However, with fewer sales being made as a result of the mortgage market "unpleasantness", the supply/demand ratio has dropped to 36% as the absorption rate jumped to 10.5 months after being in the single digits for five months.

The number of closings is off more than 25% over 2007, 32% over 2006.  The median price of a home so far this year is off less than 1% over 2007, and the average sale price is down about 3%.  Homes that are in very good or better condition and priced close to market value are selling.  In fact, the average sale price is 97% of list price for all closed properties.  Homes that are priced out of line with their condition and/or location, etc., are not selling until the price is adjusted.

Franklin Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, is the most populous, with a 2000 population of 50,000.  It has been improving steadily over the past five months.

Absorption Rate.  For the fifth month in a row, the absorption rate has dropped, now at 8.1 months.  That's better than Somerset County as a whole, which increased to 9 months in May, but not nearly as good as Hillsborough or Bridgewater.  In January, however, that rate was a staggering 14.8 months, so there has been substantial improvement.

Supply/Demand Ratio.  The ratio between new listings and sales made has also been making steady progress.  It now is 54%, after being 25% in January.  This improvement promises even further strengthening of the market.

Although the number of closed properties trails badly behind last year (268 in the first five months, 166 this year), there is no reason to not think that the number of closed sales will increase as the mortgage crisis abates.  However, as long as buyers can buy properties at attractive prices in primary markets such as Bridgewater and Hillsborough, Franklin will remain secondary to them.