Title Wise
The New Jersey Real Estate News You Can Use
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Greetings!
The percent of first-time buyers getting into this market fell 20% from 2019. Mortgage rates are at record low rates, but home prices are running up by double-digits. Plus inventory shortages don't make this any easier. For the Baby Boomers, the surge in prices is great for their home equity, but not so great when they want to sell their homes and find a place to move to. Markets have a way of correcting themselves; we just hope this correction isn't too disruptive.
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
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Housing Shortage Shutting Out First-Time Buyers |
While Low Mortgage Rates Drive Home Prices to Record Levels
Everyone knows that the residential real estate market is hot; but not all buyers are happy about it. First-time buyers have less inventory to choose from than at any other time in recent memory.
The first-time buyer niche feels like it is getting shut out of this seller-sell-all surge. The number of first-time homebuyers fell in September 2020 to a market share of just 31% of all purchases. This reflects a 2% drop from August 2020, which reported 33% and 20% from August 2019.
This reverses the trend seen back in Q4 2019 when first-time homebuyers represented 39% of all buyers in the single-family housing market, and 55% of all purchase money borrowing. For 2019, first-timers comprised a total of 38% of all single-family purchases.
The Number of Renters is Increasing
And as the number of homes available for sale fell precipitously from 2019 by 43% in the state of New Jersey, the renter population has become more than 100 million strong after a decade of sustained growth, as the number of American renters reached 108.5 million in 2018, up from 99.4 million in 2010.
The National Association of Realtors reported that the sales of existing homes increased by 9.4% in September, representing a higher-than-expected rate, which translates into 6.54 million units. Sales of existing homes climbed 20.9% on an annual basis.
Lower mortgage rates are also contributing to the accelerated rise in home prices. The annual mortgage rate this week fell to another new low.
Mortgage rates in 2020 reflected a 1% lower average rate than rates in 2019.
September Sales by Region
- Northeast sales increased 16.2%, to 860,000 units, with a median price of $355,000, up 17.8%
- Midwest sales increased 7.1%, with the median price climbing to $243,000, up 14.8%
- South sales increased 8.5%, with the median price hitting $267,000, up 13%
- West sales increased 9.6%, with the median price coming in at $471,000, up 17.1%
- Sales of new homes skyrocketed by 43% over 2019.
- Vacation and resort homes sales also reflected a huge increase, climbing 34% annually as the pandemic drove people to less densely populated areas.
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Connecting with Your Neighbors |
Neighborhood Connections
Just a few weeks to Thanksgiving. Once the cold weather hits, it will feel like the entire neighborhood goes into hibernation mode.
One of the things you can do to ensure connectivity with your neighbors, and this is assuming that you have a good relationship, is to create a neighborhood contact sheet.
Some people are great at remembering names. Other people can never seem to remember a person's name after they just met them. Well, there are tools out there and ways to get around such things.
I did some searching around and came up with a neighborhood contact sheet that can be used to keep track of neighbors, their names, their phone numbers, their email addresses, and any other significant dates that would be appropriate.
One of the great things about remembering someone's name is it makes them feel remembered, and everybody wants to feel that you remember them.
One of the great features of the contact sheet is the section for notes. Notes allows you to put in relevant information such as birthdays, job changes, anniversaries, and even neighborhood holidays that are important.
The contact sheet is also a great help when sending out holiday cards, so that you can write into the actual card the specifics that make it personal.
So as we enter this new season and this new time that we've never experienced before, having the names of your neighbors right in front of you will bring everyone closer together.
Another very cool aspect of the contact sheet is that once the winter weather hits and you have to plan your excursions to the store, if some of your older neighbors may have some difficulty doing that, you can offer to pick up some items for them. It's just a great tool to keep everybody together.
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BlueClaws Become Jersey Shore BlueClaws |
The BlueClaws and the Jersey Shore have made great partners over the last 20 years, and on Wednesday night, they officially announced a name change and re-branding to the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. The official name change announcement was made at a VIP event at Seahorse, part of Asbury Park’s historic Convention Hall. As part of the re-branding, the team unveiled an entire new set of logos, on-field caps, and an all-new Jersey Shore BlueClaws home white jersey. The remainder of the uniform set will be announced at a later date.
"The BlueClaws have big plans for fans at the Jersey Shore,” said Klein. "Our goal is to integrate Jersey Shore folklore in the BlueClaws brand, and to create the most legendary entertainment experience in the region."
The new identity depicts a determined crab surfing and boogie boarding, a celebration of the Jersey Store lifestyle. The updated lettering is inspired by lettering seen on Jersey Shore boardwalks.
In an effort to continue the tradition of making the colors representative of the shore, Phillies Red, Dark Atlantic Blue, Crab Blue and Golden Yellow make up the club's new official colors. The BlueClaws are the only professional sports team to use this color combination.
The Jersey Shore BlueClaws unveiled four marks on Wednesday, with each serving as an on-field cap to be worn by the team beginning in 2021:
- Surfing Crab – This feisty crab is surfing with sunglasses perched atop his cap. This mark will don the club’s home hat, a red cap with a red brim.
- Crab Emblem – This “faux-back” style crab is navy blue with baseball seams and sits on the road hat, a baby-blue cap with a red brim.
- Boogie-Boarding Crab – This time with his sunglasses on his head, the crab is excitedly running to the ocean carrying his boogie-board. This mark will be on the team’s batting practice hat, which is yellow with a navy blue brim.
- Sunglasses Mark – These sunglasses reflect a roller coaster and Ferris wheel, two popular Jersey Shore boardwalk activities. Those who look close will see a JS (for Jersey Shore) and BC (for BlueClaws) in the clouds. The sunglasses rest atop a yellow brim on a baby-blue cap.
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A.S.A.P. Attorney Settlement Assistance Program
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Our real estate secretarial services are able to assist you in every aspect of the sale, purchase, refinance or loan closing process. We will directly communicate with all the parties involved in the transaction and coordinate and obtain all the items necessary to bring the matter to closing.
Our ASAP services can be individually customized to fit your needs. These services include:
- Documentation Preparation
- Disbursement of Funds
- Attendance at Closing
- HUD Preparation or
- Post-Closing Matters
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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. |
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. CTA'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.
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Handy Guide to Real Estate Sources |
Here are some of the most widely used governmental websites for the real estate industry.
I look forward to being of service to you, providing you with outstanding real-time information and some humor to make doing business a pleasure.
Sincerely,
Ralph
Ralph Aponte
Counsellors Title
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Counsellors Title Agency, Inc. specializes in providing title insurance, title search services and loan closing services serving attorneys, Realtors, banks and various mortgage companies throughout the State of New Jersey. CTA offers full search and insurance capabilities within all 21 counties of New Jersey for commercial, residential and new construction purchases in our Toms River, Freehold, Chatham, and Union locations.
CTA is equipped with the latest digital technologies to ensure a complete and timely transaction.
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Mr. Ralph Aponte
Our Office: 504 Hooper Avenue,
Toms River, NJ 08753
Phone Number: (732) 914-1400
Fax: 732-914-8898
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