NJ #2 In Education, #8 For Families

CounsellorsTitle.net

April 25th

Title Wise

Title Tips & Tactics for Today's Real Estate Professionals

New Jersey's values continue to ride the crest of its quality of education and family-friendly metrics. Even as existing home sales dropped slightly year-over-year, nationally, prices remain at the present levels. In addition to the start of the spring selling season, the iBuyer Platforms continue to gain more visibility. One reason for this being that Millennials comprise the majority of sales right now.

Please feel free to email me at ralph@counsellorstitle.com

if you have any questions or would like to follow up on any of this edition's articles.

Ralph Aponte

732.914.1400

NJ Ranks #2 in Education and #8 for Families

New Jersey is in the top 10 of states when it comes to raising a family. It also ranks as the No. 2 state in education, according to U.S. News and World Report.

New Jersey also ranks 3rd in Median Family Salary and 4th in Infant-Mortality Rate.

Raising a healthy, stable family sometimes requires moving to a new state. And the reasons for moving are often similar: career transitions, better schools, financial challenges or a general desire to change settings. But wants and needs don't always align in a particular state. For instance, a state might offer a low income-tax rate but have a subpar education system. However, families do not need to make these kinds of tradeoffs. They can avoid such problems by knowing which states offer the best combination of qualities that matter most to parents and their kids.

Best States for Families
Overall Rank
State Total Score 'Family Fun' Rank
1 Minnesota 65.32 13 4

2 Massachusetts 63.58 7 3
3 North Dakota 62.34 35 9

4 Vermont                  61.61          44    1
5 New Hampshire   60.90          43    2
6 New York                59.81            2    17
7 Wisconsin              59.29         19    14

8 New Jersey 58.98 26 13

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March Sale Figures Slow; Inventories Rise

March existing home sales fell by 5.4% on a year-to-year basis, according to the National Association of Realtors. On a month-to-month basis, existing home sales fell by 4.9% from February 2019 sales.

According to the NAR press release, "The median existing-home price for all housing types in March was $259,400, up 3.8% from March 2018 ($249,800). March's price increase marks the 85th straight month of year-over-year gains."

On a positive note, inventories of homes for sale climbed by 2.4% in March increasing to 1.68 million, up from 1.63 million existing homes available for sale in February. March 2018 reported a total of 1.64 million.

Still inventory shortages continue to plague most markets as unsold inventory is at a 3.9-month supply.

There is some sunshine though, as inventory is up from 3.6 months in February and up from 3.6 months in March 2018.

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TRENDS:The iBuyer Platform

The iBuyer platform has arrived. As smart phones, artificial intelligence and video become more integrated, it became just a matter of time before the traditional consumer real estate market began to fuse many of the tools to make buying and selling a home a digital function.

Still, there is no way the physical inspection of a property will be eliminated, but momentum and disruption of the industry had arrived.

The iBuyer category - or buying a house directly from a seller in a simple, online transaction - is also being tested in some markets such as Colorado, Texas and California.

Today, two platforms, Zillow and Perch, are attempting to break new ground.

In a recent announcement, Perch stated that it was looking to provide the complete services package including buying the house from the seller, providing closing services, and mortgages.

A Perch offer to seller differs from what Zillow is offering in that its offer will be valid for six months. By providing this window for the seller, it will enable them to navigate the current market to find a suitable home in which to move. Much of this is driven by the ongoing inventory shortages prevalent in most of the U.S. markets today. Upon the selection of a new property, the sellers then work with Perch to close both deals in the same day. But this doesn't come cheap: the Perch fee is a 6% fee on the seller's home.

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Our Commitment to Excellence

Counsellors Title Agency wants to thank you for the opportunity to work with you and your clients to grow your business. Please feel free to click the link above or here to leave us a review on Google. We appreciate your business.

Careers @ Counsellors

Sales: Leading NJ title insurance agency seeks experienced licensed salespersons to help expand its market share throughout the entire state. Benefits include health insurance, 401k with an employer match, flexible spending account, expense account, & marketing support. Send resumes by fax: 732-914-8898 or ralph@counsellorstitle.com

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Free Online Title Insurance Calculator

Counsellors Title Agency announced its updated Title Calculator for New Jersey home purchases & refinances at: Title Calculator

Loan officers, real estate agents and home buyers can find out how

much title insurance will cost for purchases made in New Jersey.

Easy-To-Use Functionality
This online tool includes many of the endorsements involved in calculating the cost of a title policy in New Jersey. Counsellors Title's Title Calculator is a great tool for real estate salespersons, loan officers, attorneys and those who are buying or refinancing their home.

It calculates the cost of title insurance based upon the purchase price of the home, the loan amount, and the various endorsements that can accompany the loan. The calculator provides the user the scalability of selecting the various endorsements involved in the transaction.

Counsellors Title Closing Services for Attorneys

Counsellors Title provides its Attorney Settlement Assistance Program [ASAP] with the real estate attorney in mind.

The Counsellors ASAP program offers secretarial services to assist in the process of a sale, purchase, refinance or loan closing.

Counsellors will even communicate directly with all the parties involved in the transaction to coordinate and obtain all the items necessary to assist in the close.

ASAP includes:

Documentation Preparation
Disbursement of Funds
Attendance at Closing
HUD Preparation or
Post-Closing Matters

For more information about the attorney services provided by Counsellors Title call our home office: 732.914.1400 or email us at info@counsellorstitle.com.