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.

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.

The heat's still on.  The Hillsborough, New Jersey real estate market continues to amaze a lot of people, as numbers continue to improve.  The supply/demand ratio jumped to 86% in July as 49 sales were reported and 57 listed taken in that same period.  That's the highest number since December 2004.  The absorption rate remained at 5.0 for the second month, the lowest this year, and the lowest since April 2007.

On August 1, there were just 247 properties available for sale, according to the Garden State Multiple Listing Service, compared to 308 on August 1, 2007.  That's nearly 20% less inventory than last year.  As far as prices are concerned, the average sale price in Hillsborough was $393,017, and so far this year it is $386,541, about 2% less. However, through July of 2007 there were 253 closed sales, and this year that number is just 213.  Only June and July this year were comparable to last year's closings, so after the first five months of this year that were disappointing, there seems to be some significant improvement.

The real estate market in Hillsborough is very strong, and promises to continue in that direction.