Montgomery Township, just north of Princeton, New Jersey and including the areas of Skillman, Belle Mead and Blawenburg, was one of the first markets to get hit two years ago when the market turned south.  It is now one of the shining lights in Somerset County, even outshining Hillsborough.  Although the supply/demand ratio is not what it was in June, the numbers look good.

A year ago on August 1, there were 165 properties available, this year just 135.  At that time the supply/demand ratio (remember this was before the crash of the mortgage market) was 59%, now it is 72% - a significant improvement.  A year ago the absorption rate was 4.7 months, it is now 4.1 months.  Last year 35 sales were written in July, this year 33, and 33 properties closed this year in July, compared to 25 last year in July.

The bad news is that total closed sales are down from 130 last year, to 117 so far this year.  The volume of sales is off from last year, but in 2006, there were even fewer - 111.  The average sale price in 2007 was $618,180, this year so far it is just $587,902.

In spite of all this, it has to be said that Montgomery is a strong market, bordering on the "hot sellers' market."  Remember, that it is a small market (fewer than 300 sales per year), so a few sales one way or another can have a big impact.  Nevertheless, Montgomery is well on its way to recovery.

Suddenly, the real estate market in Montgomery Township, NJ, seems to have caught fire.  June seems to have been a breakout month, with sales made outnumbering listings taken, for a supply/demand ratio of 113%, the highest in several years. At the same time, with inventories about 20% less than 2007, the absorption rate dropped to 4.2 months, into the seller's market category, the best since February 2006.  Average monthly inventory was 128 homes, compared to 149 in 2007.

The number of sales written in June was identical to the number in June 2007, and the number of sales closed was also identical for June in those two years.  In fact, the number of sales written was 40% higher than June of 2006. Still, that number was off 16% over the first two quarters of 2007.

The average sale price in the first two quarters of this year is $591,177, 3.3% lower than the $611,647 for the same period in 2007. It should not come as surprising news that as sellers adjust their prices and/or expectations to reality, homes sell. Homes ARE selling, and the Montgomery market is recovering. 

Since it is a relatively small market with many higher end ($800,000+) homes, with fewer than 300 sales per year, Montgomery can see some wild variations from cold to hot and vice versa with just a few sales difference.