Tomorrow, the National Association of Realtors® will release the existing home sales data for May for the country.  These are the sales that closed in May.  The pending sales index for May will be released July 1.  Here are the May numbers for Hillsborough.

The number of properties for sale in Hillsborough on June 1 was down a bit from the preceding month (234 vs. 246), and down a more significant number from last year's June (234 vs. 278).  Pending sales were off month-to-month, with 33 sales written in May, as opposed to 39 in April.  Compared to last year, sales were off more than 20%, with 42 written in May of last year.  The absorption rate rose to 7.1 months over April's 6.3, still a couple of weeks better than Somerset County as a whole.

The number of properties that closed in May was 28, with a median sale price of $251,000, but that's more than the 23 that closed in May 2009, with a median sale price of $300,000.

The market in Hillsborough continues at about 20% of the activity level of last year, averaging about 31 sales written per month.  The absorption rate at 7.1 suggests that buyers still have an advantage in this market.  The soft economy of the first quarter significantly affected activity that had already been strained by the real estate slowdown.  However, homes in excellent condition and priced competitively are selling quickly.  Smart buyers and sellers can do well.