Median Home Price Jumps

Published May 20, 2019 | By Ralph

The cost of purchasing a home has risen according to Redfin, climbing 2.8% year-to-year in April. 

The published data from Redfin’s report indicated that only five of the 85 largest metros saw a year-over-year decline in their median price. One such area was San Jose, which over the past five years saw its home values appreciate 78%, so a 5% dip in price is actually a healthy sign. San Jose area’s median home value now is $1,128,300. San Jose isn’t the only market showing signs of cooling; San Francisco home values have fallen by 0.1% as well.

Still, in general, pricing is reflecting a cautious optimism. With mortgage rates below the averages that they were this time last year, we can expect to see homebuyers stepping back into the market.

The good news is that the economy continues to thrive while home prices are keeping pace with the growth rather than leap-frogging to higher levels.

The Redfin report indicates that they don’t expect to move higher “in a meaningful way this year.”

In many markets, inventories are increasing again, which is another attractive factor when it comes to bringing in serious buyers.

The Redfin analysis saw home sales falling in 41 of the 85 largest housing markets.

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

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New Jersey Tourism 2018/2019

Published May 17, 2019 | By Ralph

The report on the economic impact of tourism for New Jersey in 2018, published March 2019, came out.

Overall it was a good 2018 with respect to tourism and visitor spending for the state of New Jersey in 2018.

Considering that was the initial surge in the economy, 2019 appears to provide the same kind of economic drive.

Visitation in 2018 surged 7.4% to over 110 million visitors. Total visitor spending increased to $44.7 billion.

New Jersey’s tourism industry supports 9.8% of all jobs within the state.

Tourism in New Jersey generated $5 billion in state and local taxes in 2018.

Tax revenue per household in New Jersey was supported by tourism to the tune of $1,545 in 2018.

2018 represented the ninth straight year of visitor spending growth increasing by 4.5% year-over-year. This was the strongest surge of growth since 2011.

New Jersey saw two major hotel openings in Atlantic City, which increased room supply in Atlantic City by 25%.

During the 2018 season, New Jersey was not affected by a single tropical storm.

Visitation in 2018 increased by 7.6 million trips, an increase of 7.4% over 2017. According to the report, the number of tourist stays has risen by nearly 45 million since 2009.

Recreational spending reached $5.4 billion in 2018, which is the highest level recorded.

New Jersey tourism directly supports $19.4 billion in state GDP, and $40.6 billion in total.

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

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Monmouth County, One of New Jersey’s Strongest Markets

Published May 16, 2019 | By Ralph

America’s real estate market has continued to recoup much of its losses sustained due to the 2008 market crash. According to Zillow, the average home price in the United States is the highest it’s been in more than two decades, based upon the metrics for home prices in the first quarter of 2019.

The median home value in New Jersey was $327,500, which is still significantly higher than the national median of $226,700. But not all of New Jersey markets have seen such strong growth as in certain towns and boroughs in Monmouth County and even Ocean County.

According to a recent article in the Star Ledger, Monmouth County clearly had an outstanding year for real estate valuations. Even the super strong Jersey City market didn’t fare as well as some of these Monmouth County markets. Jersey City, located in Hudson County came in at number 11 in market valuation increases, climbing by 6.7% to an average home value of $483,600.

Here are a few of those reporting some of the best growth rates in the entire state:
1. Oceanport, Monmouth County, Home value: $515,200 Change + 17.8%
2. Atlantic Highlands, Monmouth County, Home value: $450,700 Change + 13.6%
3. Asbury Park, Monmouth County, Home value: $363,100 Change + 12.6%
4. Manasquan, Monmouth County, Home value: $715,400 Change + 12.2%
5. Ocean, Monmouth County, Home value: $488,700 Change + 10.9%
6. Deal, Monmouth County, Home value: $2,265,700 Change + 9.4%
8. Lake Como, Monmouth County, Home value: $415,000 Change + 8.3%
10. Sea Girt, Monmouth County, Home value: $1,870,500 Change + 7.5%
12. Belmar, Monmouth County, Home value: $585,000 Change + 6.6%
14. Spring Lake, Monmouth County, Home value: $1,927,100 Change + 6.4%

The Jersey Shore was a beneficiary of a strong real estate demand in the last quarter with 10 of the 15 municipalities that grew the most in Monmouth County.

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

LET’S CONNECT ONLINE!

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Mortgage Applications Rise

Published May 15, 2019 | By Ralph

Good weather and the continued good economy are now appearing to fuel the entrance of new buyers into the real estate market. Total mortgages measured by application volume increased by 2.7% from the prior week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. In addition, the volume jumped by 8% as compared with the same week one year ago. This indicates the entrance of new buyers and first-time buyers continuing to dip their toes into the real estate market.

May represents one of the strongest months for home sales, normally attracting families looking to move before the new school year starts.

Inventory continues to plague home buyers with limited supply as well as overall variety of homes for sale.

Even though prices are not falling in New Jersey, they are also not accelerating at unsustainable rates.

For the recent week, the refinance market of mortgages represented one of the lowest levels since last November. Applications for refinancing decreased to 37.9% of the total number of applications, which is down from the 38.8% from the prior week.

Good news for home buyers this spring is that mortgage rates have continued to stay stable without jumps in the rates.

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

LET’S CONNECT ONLINE!

Connect with Ralph on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CounsellorsTitleAgency/

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Home Prices Rise Moderately

Published May 14, 2019 | By Ralph

According to a report published by CoreLogic, home prices nationally rose by just 3.7% annually in March. This is a slight reduction from the 4% annual increase reported by CoreLogic in February 2019 year-over-year.

According to the report, homes are staying on the market for longer periods of time nationally, while in New Jersey, the days on market metric has not changed year-over-year and stands at 75 days. In addition, inventory statewide continues to fall by 7.0% on a year-to-year basis from 35,559 to 33,068.

Some very hot markets such as San Francisco are actually showing reductions in the average sale price. New York City is also showing a cooling with respect to their pricey average sale.

As we wrote in an earlier blog post, more people continue to rent due to the high cost of buying a home. High rents continue to represent at least one barrier to entry to home ownership, according to the CoreLogic report.

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

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Counsellors Title Continues Expansion of Freehold Office

Published May 13, 2019 | By Ralph
Counsellors Title’s new branch office in Monmouth County, located in Freehold, continues to ramp up its operations, and add to its sales team. Currently the office includes the sales team comprised of Ken Sikorski and Daniel Shea, both of whom are industry veterans with over 3 decades of title experience each.

The Counsellors Title Agency Freehold office is located at 54 Hudson Street, Suite 201b, Freehold, New Jersey. Its phone number is 732-813-0484.

The market right now in Freehold Township is very active, showing 360 properties for sale.

According to Redfin, the asking price for homes for sale in Freehold has increased 10.1% since April 2018, while the number of homes for sale has increased by 27.3%.
Zillow’s calculation for Freehold is not as strong, with their estimates putting the home values increasing by 4.7% over the last year. Zillow is predicting that Freehold prices will increase by 3.3% within the next 12 months. According to the Zillow report, the median list price per-square-foot in Freehold is $201, which is $80 less per square foot than the New York-New Jersey metro area of $281.
This type of market liquidity and value makes for a very strong reason for Counsellors Title to open up an office in Freehold, where the median home price is $375,000.

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

LET’S CONNECT ONLINE!

Connect with Ralph on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CounsellorsTitleAgency/

Connect with Ralph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphaponte/

Mother’s Day Facts

Published May 10, 2019 | By Ralph

■ Anna Jarvis organized the first Mother’s Day observances in Grafton, West Virginia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1908. As the annual celebration became popular around the country, Jarvis became the driving force behind Mother’s Day and asked members of Congress to set aside a day to honor mothers. She succeeded in 1914, when Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
■ More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. Approximately 122 million calls are made on the second Sunday of May.
■ Flowers are purchased by 69% of those celebrating Mother’s Day, spending an estimated $2.6 billion.
■ Greece was the first nation to celebrate a Mother’s Day as a spring celebration in honor of Rhea, the goddess of fertility and motherhood.
■ Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants. According to the National Restaurant Association, in 2018 about 87 million adults made plans to go to a restaurant for Mother’s Day.
■ Women are more likely now to become mothers than they were a decade ago. The share of U.S. women at the end of their childbearing years (ages 40 to 44) who had ever given birth in 2016 was 86%, up from 80% in 2006.
■ Over the past 20 years, highly educated women have experienced particularly dramatic increases in motherhood. In 2014, 80% of women ages 40 to 44 with a Ph.D. or professional degree had given birth, compared with 65% in 1994. The shares of women who were mothers also rose among those with bachelor’s or master’s degrees during this period, while rates of motherhood remained steady for women with less than a bachelor’s degree, at 88%.
■ As of 2014, there were 43.5 million moms in the States. These women are between the ages of 15 and 50, and have collectively mothered 95.8 million children.

Lease Renewal Procedure Part 2

Published May 9, 2019 | By Ralph

In the first case, if the landlord is choosing not to renew the lease, they need to inform the tenant and proceed with a notice to vacate at the conclusion of the lease.

In the event that the owner has decided to continue to move forward with a lease renewal, the first step then is to reach out to the tenant with the proposed new rental agreement and provide for them a window to review the new agreement or make arrangements to vacate.

It is recommended that the landlord should contact the tenant 90 days before lease expiration. This provides both landlord and tenant an acceptable amount of time to determine what both parties believe is in their best interests.

Provide the tenant a specific time frame within which they need to get back to the landlord with an answer.

Once the answer is given from the tenant, the landlord then can proceed to either provide for them a completed lease with changes or begin to prepare to re-list the apartment or property for rent.

So these are the three outcomes:
1. Provide the tenant a lease renewal form.
2. Prepare for the tenant vacate and relist the property.
3. Send current tenant a notice to vacate.

Should the landlord and tenant agree upon a month-to-month arrangement many property managers encourage increasing the rent slightly.

Another factor that should be considered upon agreed are the times between the landlord and tenant to allow the showing the apartment or the property prior to the tenant moving out. Such an agreement is important to maintain good relations between the current tenant and the future tenant. It will also minimize the amount of time that the apartment or property is vacant.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only.  Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. Readers of this website should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

LET’S CONNECT ONLINE!

Connect with Ralph on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CounsellorsTitleAgency/

Connect with Ralph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphaponte/

Lease Renewal Procedures Part 1

Published May 8, 2019 | By Ralph

Lease Renewals
When it comes to lease renewals, there is a process and an objective that needs to be considered with each lease.

The purpose of all processes is to mitigate uncertainty and problems that may arise due to lack of planning. With lease renewals, there are decisions that need to be made by the property owner and the tenant which involve planning and the actions that will accompany those decisions.

Some of the concerns with a lease renewal are delays, miscommunication, and even unnecessary costs.

The key to keep any kind of disruption manage the foreseeable through a tested and proven planning process.

It is important to stay in front of the process so that there is a consistent flow of communication between the landlord and tenant in order to ensure that decisions being made are in-line with the present lease and if there needs to be a change, for the future tenants.

■ Is the property owner happy to offer the current tenant a renewal?
■ Is the rent price going to be increased or remain the same?
■ Is there a possibility that the tenant will want to go on a month-to-month basis?

After these questions have been dealt with and answered, the landlord needs to reach out to the tenant for the purposes of initiating a discussion.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only.  Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. Readers of this website should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

LET’S CONNECT ONLINE!

Connect with Ralph on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CounsellorsTitleAgency/

Connect with Ralph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphaponte/

3D Moves Further Into Real Estate

Published May 7, 2019 | By Ralph

The whole technology known as 3D was first introduced into theaters in September 1922, almost 100 years ago. Now, 3D appears to be moving into the real estate business, as Zillow announced its rollout. Zillow posted that it would be bringing 3D tours to a much wider audience, looking to leverage it as a home selling tool at a much cheaper price. For Free!

Zillow made the move and announced that it will allow all listings to have 3D tours, contingent upon the agents or other sellers using an iPhone.

Zillow believes that by making 3D home tours available for sellers and agents to capture and add to any listing, for free, it will in the U.S. and Canada empower sellers, agents and buyers to function more and more on a digital platform. Prior to this announcement, the 3D On-Demand platform was usually used for high-end properties, with high-end price tags. Not anymore.

Basically, what Zillow is trying to accomplish is an on-demand experience for consumers. Zillow believes that an agent will be able to ‘film’ the entire house in about 20 minutes, at a much lower cost!

What Zillow believes the 3D On-Demand tour will do is attract more potential buyers, gain higher listing views and result in an acceleration of the buyer decision to move forward with a potential offer.

As noted above, users must have an iPhone to create the 3D home tour. Zillow’s 3D tour is created through an app (of course), which is currently available for iOS devices. The app works by capturing 360-degree panoramic images. “When using an iPhone, photos are shot within the app as on-screen instructions provide guidance for capturing the best possible images,” according to Zillow.

The 3D tours are immediately available in a “My 3D Home” dashboard to edit, share privately, or add directly to a listing on Zillow.

Zillow statement: “Today’s nationwide launch of 3D Home follows other steps in Zillow’s journey toward fundamentally transforming the way people buy and sell homes, including the launch of Zillow Home Loans, and the ongoing rapid expansion of the company’s home-buying and selling program, Zillow Offers.”

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

LET’S CONNECT ONLINE!

Connect with Ralph on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CounsellorsTitleAgency/

Connect with Ralph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphaponte/

Rentals Key to 2019 Market Liquidity

Published May 6, 2019 | By Ralph

The 2019 real estate market is not going to be a rehash of the frenzied buying that we had seen in 2018, with bidding wars and sellers receiving the full listing price.

In some cases, on a year-to-year basis, there will be some modification, even some weakness in the average and median prices for homes, but as the rental market continues to increase and the average rent rising by 2-3%, renters will be pushed into pulling the trigger, changing camps from renter to owner.

Nationally, single-family rents have increased by 2.9% year-over-year from February 2018 to 2019, according to the CoreLogic Single-Family Rental Index. The index measures rent changes among single-family rental homes, including condominiums.

The rise in single-family rents has continued unabated from 2010. The trend over the last 12 months has ranged between 2.7% and 3.1%.

According to the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales increased 3.8% year-to-year in March as mortgage rates fell, bringing buyers back into the market.

Transactions in the Northeast did far better than in the Midwest, South and West, which fell 5%, increased 0.7% and fell 1.6%, respectively, year-to-year.

One good indicator for the real estate market is the rise in mortgage applications.

CoreLogic’s national rent index was up 36% in December 2018 compared with December 2005.

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

LET’S CONNECT ONLINE!

Connect with Ralph on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CounsellorsTitleAgency/

Connect with Ralph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphaponte/

Top Keywords for Real Estate SEO

Published May 3, 2019 | By Ralph

Here are some of the best keywords for SEO that can be employed on your real estate websites and in your home selling blogs:

■ Best Realtor near ________   

■ Top Realtor for buying a new home

■ Top real estate agents in ____

■ Selling a home

■ Sell a home fast

■ Fastest way to sell a home in _

■ Home selling tips

■ Cost of selling your home

■ Marketing your home

■ Ways to sell your home

■ House staging tips

■ How to stage your home

■ Foreclosure

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

LET’S CONNECT ONLINE!

Connect with Ralph on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CounsellorsTitleAgency/

Connect with Ralph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphaponte/
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