The final numbers for Hillsborough, New Jersey real estate sales in 2008 are finally in.  Hillsborough, after six continuous years of increases in value, saw the market take back a bit - about 3.3%.  In 2007 the average sale price was $393,017.  In 2008 the average sale price was $380,067.  The median sale price in 2008 was $345,000.  That compares to a median sale price in 2007 of $348,000.

What did $345,000 buy in Hillsborough in 2008?  Specifically, a fifty-year-old ranch with three bedrooms and a finished basement.  There were two full baths, one of them in the basement.  There was a single garage, and the kitchen had been updated with granite counters, new cabinets and stainless steel appliances.  The home was situated on about half and acre of level land, with city water and sewer.

Values increased in Hillsborough from 2002 to 2007.  The average sale price in 2002 was $273,227, and in 2007 $393,017.  I'll do the math for you: 44% increase.  The market took back 3.3% in 2008.  Did your stocks do as well/poorly?

What's ahead for Hillsborough?  A lot depends on the mindset and courage of the buyers out there right now.  With interest rates the lowest in half a century, and prices in this area probably as low as they will go, we should see increasing numbers of buyers jump in by next month.