Dear Ralph,

Commercial real estate appears to be staging a long-awaited comeback, which points to a positive trajectory for the economy in general. A good discipline every spring is to do some house-cleaning on our LinkedIn profiles. Make sure it reflects the climate of the industry and your clients. And, unfortunately, the average New Jersey property tax bill crossed the $10,000-a-year threshold. Trenton HAS to address this issue, as it is making home ownership unaffordable.

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

Founder & President

732.914.1400

Feel free to book a call to discover how we can serve your needs.



NJ Average Tax Bill Hits $10K

by: Anthony DiMaio



What This Means for NJ Homeowners

As a leading title agency serving New Jersey homeowners for decades, Counsellors Title Agency has witnessed the evolving landscape of property ownership in our state. The latest development in New Jersey's property tax saga represents a significant milestone that directly impacts our clients and communities.

A New Threshold Crossed

New Jersey's property taxes, long recognized as the nation's highest, have now crossed a psychological and financial barrier. For the first time in history, the average homeowner's property tax bill in the Garden State has exceeded $10,000 annually, according to recently released data from the state Department of Community Affairs.

The precise figure—$10,095—represents a 3% increase (approximately $300) from 2023's average of $9,803. While this increase aligns with current inflation rates reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it nevertheless places additional pressure on homeowners already navigating a challenging economic environment.

County-by-County Impact

As title professionals working across the state, we at Counsellors Title Agency have observed firsthand how property tax burdens vary significantly by county. The new data reveals that more than 40% of New Jersey's 21 counties now have average property tax bills exceeding $10,000.

Essex County continues to lead with the highest average property taxes at $13,900, closely followed by Bergen County at $13,329. Seven additional counties reported average bills over $10,000:

Morris: $11,813

Union: $11,528

Somerset: $11,428

Hunterdon: $11,346

Passaic: $11,278

Monmouth: $11,087

Hudson: $10,150

Ocean County, where Counsellors Title is headquartered in Toms River, continues to offer relatively more affordable property tax rates compared to northern counties, though still higher than Cumberland County ($4,901) and Cape May County ($6,454), which reported the lowest average bills.

Understanding Property Tax Allocation

As we explain to our clients during the closing process, property taxes fund essential local services. These taxes are levied at the local level by county governments, municipalities, and school districts to finance infrastructure, education, and other community services.

While collected locally, state-level decisions significantly impact these taxes. State aid to municipalities and schools, along with various relief programs, can help reduce the burden on local governments and, consequently, on homeowners.

Relief Programs and Future Outlook

For prospective and current homeowners concerned about these rising costs, we at Counsellors Title Agency regularly highlight available relief programs. Governor Phil Murphy's recently proposed $58.1 billion state budget includes over $3 billion allocated to property tax relief initiatives, including:

The ANCHOR program, offering credits up to $1,500

The new state NJ program is designed to reduce property taxes by half for seniors 65 and older earning less than $500,000 annually.

When applied to the average property tax bill, these programs can provide meaningful relief. For instance, a homeowner with the average $10,095 bill who receives the maximum non-senior ANCHOR benefit would effectively pay $8,595—less than the average bill in 2018.

What New Jersey Homebuyers Should Do

At Counsellors Title Agency, we believe informed homebuyers make better decisions. As you consider property purchases in New Jersey, we recommend:

Researching property tax histories for any potential purchase

Factoring tax relief programs into your affordability calculations

Planning for potential increases in future years

Consulting with tax professionals about potential deductions and strategies

As the state enters an election year with term-limited Governor Murphy departing office, property taxes will undoubtedly remain a central issue in political discussions. We're committed to helping our clients navigate these changes while ensuring smooth, secure property transactions throughout New Jersey.

For more information about title services or to discuss how property taxes might affect your real estate transaction, visit www.counsellorstitle.net or contact our Toms River office at 732.914.1400.

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Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile

By: Anthony DiMaio

1. Make Your Profile Public

Your LinkedIn profile should be easily discoverable by prospective clients, colleagues, and partners:

• Steps: Go to Settings & Privacy > Visibility > Edit Your Public Profile and toggle it to Public.
• Ensure your headline, photo, and summary are visible to everyone.

Tip for Real Estate Professionals: Use a headline like, “Helping Buyers and Sellers Achieve Their Real Estate Goals in [Location]” to capture attention.

2. Enable Creator Mode

Showcase your content and gain followers by activating Creator Mode:

• Navigate to Me > View Profile, scroll to the Resources section, and turn on Creator Mode.
• Add industry-relevant hashtags, such as #RealEstate, #HomeBuyingTips, or #MarketTrends.

Why It Matters: Posting market updates or neighborhood insights positions you as an industry thought leader.

3. Customize Contact Settings

Make it easy for leads to connect with you:

• Go to Settings & Privacy > Visibility > Who Can See Your Contact Info.
• Allow visibility for your email and links (like your website) to Connections or Everyone.
• Include links to your portfolio, property listings, or website.

Pro Tip: Adding your phone number (if appropriate) increases accessibility for time-sensitive inquiries.

4. Enable Notifications

Stay updated to engage quickly:

• Check Settings & Privacy > Communications > Notifications for these options:
• Updates on connections’ posts.
• Mentions and tags to join conversations.

Real Estate Application: Quickly respond to comments or questions about your posts to build rapport.

5. Manage Audience for Posts

Maximize visibility by selecting the right audience for each post:

• Set your default audience to Anyone (Public) when sharing listings, testimonials, or advice.

Tip: Use visuals like photos or videos of properties to grab attention.

6. Open Profile for Networking

Increase outreach opportunities by enabling Open Profile:

• Go to Settings & Privacy > Visibility > Profile Viewing Options and turn on Open Profile.
• This allows anyone to message you without InMail or a connection.
• 
  

7. Adjust Profile Viewing Options

Let others know you’re interested by setting your Profile Viewing Options to Public.

• When you view a profile, they’ll see it and might reach out, sparking potential collaboration.

8. Showcase Skills & Recommendations

Demonstrate your expertise:

• Go to Settings & Privacy > Visibility of Your LinkedIn Activity > Skills & Endorsements.
• Ensure Display Skills is enabled.
• Request endorsements from satisfied clients or colleagues.

What to Highlight: Negotiation, market analysis, and client relationship management.

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Don’t Keep Counsellors Title’s Service a Secret!

We hope you had an exceptional experience with Counsellors Title! If you’ve appreciated our accessible, responsive service, or if our incredible staff of professionals and their wealth of experience in the New Jersey title industry made a positive impact, we’d love to hear about it.



Your feedback not only helps us grow but also helps others discover the value we bring to the table. A quick Google Review sharing your experience can go a long way in spreading the word about the quality and care we strive to provide every day.

Leave Your Review Here

Thank you for trusting Counsellors Title—we’re honored to have been part of your journey!

Commercial Real Estate Comeback:

Insights from Counsellors Title Agency

by: Anthony DiMaio

As we move deeper into 2025, the commercial real estate market is experiencing sustained momentum, primarily powered by the logistics and warehousing sector. This growth is largely attributed to the continued expansion of e-commerce, which shows no signs of slowing down. While leasing activities are gradually returning to pre-pandemic levels and vacancy rates are stabilizing, persistently high rental prices signal an ongoing supply constraint in the market.

Meanwhile, the office sector has reached a new equilibrium, with demand increasingly centered on premium, sustainable spaces designed to enhance collaboration and workplace efficiency. The hybrid work model, once considered temporary, has firmly established itself as a permanent feature of the corporate landscape, fundamentally reshaping requirements for Class A office environments. Though market performance varies significantly by region—with metropolitan centers like New York maintaining healthy occupancy rates — forward-thinking investors are finding opportunities to transform outdated properties through targeted renovations that meet evolving tenant expectations.

As we at Counsellors Title Agency observe the commercial real estate landscape, we're pleased to report that the fourth quarter of 2024 marked a welcome return to positive and broad CRE deal growth after two challenging years. The Federal Reserve's rate reductions coupled with the market confidence inspired by our "developer in chief" president-elect helped push December transactions to their highest level for that month in three years.

This renewed activity has energized price discovery and sector differentiation in the market. While December prices showed a slight downtick after four consecutive months of gains, we're seeing interesting patterns emerge across sectors. According to CoStar data, cap rates for Office and Retail properties rose slightly since Q3, while high-quality Multifamily assets experienced compression. Importantly, distress deals remained insignificant, although we did note delinquencies creeping up for all sectors except Industrial in Q4.

The start of 2025 has brought some uncertainty to transaction activity, influenced by several factors: a jump in treasury yields, questions surrounding the legality and volume of executive orders from the White House, an unexpected increase in January inflation, changing tariff policies, and market disruptions following the Los Angeles fires. The Mortgage Bankers Association projects 2025 originations to expand by 16%, noting: "Given the strong pickup in origination activity at the end of 2024, it appears that at least some borrowers and lenders are ready to move."

From our perspective at Counsellors Title Agency, the fundamentals across all major sectors are strengthening due to declining deliveries. In the Retail sector, 2024 net deliveries fell well below their 10-year average, maintaining vacancy at 4.1% in January. JLL reports that the Industrial sector is nearing the end of its vacancy and rent challenges that resulted from the surge in space. The Office sector showed promising signs in Q4, with vacancy stabilizing at 13.8%, a slowing pace of downsizing, and positive net absorption for the first time in three years. However, we recognize significant transition remains for the Office sector, particularly as the federal government's aggressive return-to-work policy will lead to rightsizing in many markets.

For Multifamily properties, we anticipate the pace of deliveries to ease further in 2025. With current mortgage rates at their highest in over six months, the rent versus buy decision strongly favors renting, which should benefit property owners. Fannie Mae forecasts rental growth to double this year, presenting attractive opportunities for investors.

A Deeper Dive: High Quality, Large Multifamily Developments

Our team at Counsellors Title Agency has observed that Multifamily transactions increased nearly 22% in 2024, making it the target asset class for investors this year. Four- and five-star properties with 50 units or more are particularly in demand. We're closely monitoring regions that were ahead of the declining deliveries curve but maintained strong investor activity – these areas deserve special attention early in 2025.

At Counsellors Title Agency, we are committed to helping real estate professionals navigate these industry shifts with confidence. Contact us today to learn how we can support your business in this dynamic market.

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About Counsellors Title Agency

We are an award-winning agency and one of New Jersey's leading title insurance businesses, based in Toms River. Counsellors is known for its team of knowledgeable service professionals recognized for its exceptional title, settlement and escrow services, for all 21 New Jersey counties. Its glitch-free signature service provides confidence to home buyers, sellers, and industry professionals. The knowledge base of its staff has processed over $17 billion in orders and established itself as a pillar of trust and benchmark of excellence within the real estate community.