Monmouth County, New Jersey Court Filings Intelligence

• Filing volume cooling (-14.8%) — last 2 complete months (236 filings) vs prior 2 complete months (277 filings). Excludes the current calendar month (in progress).
• 46.7% off-site owners — share of filings where the owner's mailing address differs from the property address. Could be out-of-state landlords, inherited estates, second homes, or in-transition properties (we don't distinguish; the underlying signal is "not living there").
• Max gross cap rate 4.7% at HUD Fair Market Rent — $27,936/year (2BR FMR × 12) on the $593,500 median estimated market value. Section-8-eligible rent ceiling; real-market rent typically exceeds FMR; excludes operating costs (taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, management).
• 60.5% of filings are Foreclosure — the dominant lead category in Monmouth County during the observed window.

About Monmouth County

Monmouth County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is bordered to its west by Mercer and Middlesex Counties, to its south by Ocean County, to its east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to its north by the Raritan Bay. Monmouth County's geographic area comprises 30% water. The county is part of the Jersey Shore region of the state.

Source: Wikipedia

At a glance

Filing type breakdown

Each row is a distinct case verified for current owner-of-record before inclusion.

Monthly filing activity

Each row reflects new filings entering the dataset that month, after ownership verification. Most recent month may be partial.

Geographic concentration by ZIP

Top 10 ZIPs in Monmouth County account for 42.8% of all tracked filings, showing where distressed real estate activity clusters.

Based on filings with a parseable property address (63% of Monmouth County filings).

Property value distribution

Source: third-party property enrichment (94% coverage on Monmouth County filings). Median $593,500; mean $730,730.

Day-of-week filing pattern

Filings cluster Monday through Friday, with weekend filings essentially absent (court system closed). Computed for 542 filings with a parseable date.

Property characteristics

Parcel-level detail for the 46 Monmouth County filings that match county GIS records:

Source: Monmouth County public parcel data via the county's GIS REST API. Court records are public information.

Housing stock + distress signals

Underlying housing stock and distress indicators across all 269728 Monmouth County housing units, from US Census ACS 5-year data. National reference values shown for context.

Source: US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS 2023 5-year). National reference values are ACS 2022 5-year US totals. Why these matter: vacancy rate is the strongest single proxy for distressed inventory; mortgage-carrying share defines the risk pool exposed to rate environment; pre-1940 stock signals deferred maintenance and renovation opportunity; senior population correlates with probate pipeline depth.

Rent benchmark (HUD Fair Market Rent)

HUD sets Fair Market Rents at the metro area level — the same FMRs apply to every county within the metro. Monmouth County sits within the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (FY 2026). Used to set Section 8 voucher amounts; investors use it as a defensible rent-estimate floor for buy-to-rent underwriting.

Source: US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents (2026). 40th-percentile gross rent including utilities. Why this matters: Section-8-eligible tenants are a baseline demand floor for rental inventory at these price points; FMR is the official ceiling for voucher-eligible rents.

New construction (market momentum)

Annual building permits filed in Monmouth County from the US Census Building Permits Survey. Trend signal on whether new housing demand is accelerating or contracting in this market.

Source: US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, annual cumulative data. Why this matters: permits trending up signals strong demand for new inventory; permits contracting at the same time foreclosure activity rises indicates broader market softening (deals price differently). Multifamily share shows whether the market is densifying or holding to single-family stock.

Macro context: state home prices and national delinquency

Monmouth County filings should be read against the broader housing-market backdrop. New Jersey state home-price trend and the national mortgage-delinquency rate are the two macro signals most directly relevant to foreclosure exposure.

Sources: Federal Housing Finance Agency state house price indices (FRED series NJSTHPI); Federal Reserve Board, Mortgage Delinquency 30+Day Rate on Single-Family Residential Mortgages (FRED series DRSFRMACBS). Updated quarterly. Free public data.

Local-market benchmark

Demographics of the ZIPs where filings cluster, weighted by filing count and benchmarked against Census ACS 2023 5-year:

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year estimates, weighted by Keystone's filing volume across 8 top ZIPs.

Most active foreclosure plaintiffs in Monmouth County

Top mortgage holders and servicers named in foreclosure complaints filed in this county. Lender names are normalized to collapse common legal-suffix variants (e.g. "as Trustee for X Trust", "N.A.").

Source: plaintiff names extracted from Monmouth County foreclosure complaint text. Court records are public information.

Post-filing sale outcomes in Monmouth County

What happens to distressed properties after a court filing? By cross-referencing each filing's property with county assessor and deed-transfer records, we track which properties sold, how long the process took, and at what price. This analysis covers 504 filings (93.0% of all 542 filings) where parcel-level tracking is available.

Time from filing to sale

How quickly do distressed properties sell after a court filing is recorded? This distribution shows where post-filing sales cluster.

Sale rates by filing type

Not all distress types lead to property sales at the same rate. Foreclosures tend to result in eventual sales more often than probate or divorce filings.

How sales relate to the filing

Not every post-filing sale is caused by the court case. We classify each sale's relationship to the original filing so investors can focus on the highest-signal outcomes.

Source: county assessor and deed-transfer records cross-referenced with court filings by parcel ID. Sale outcomes tracked for 504 of 542 filings (93.0% parcel coverage). Timing based on 2 sales with valid filing and sale dates. Prices based on 2 sales with recorded sale amounts.

FEMA flood zone exposure

Are distressed properties concentrated in flood-prone areas? By checking each property's coordinates against FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer, we identify which filings fall in Special Flood Hazard Areas (mandatory flood insurance zones). This analysis covers 504 properties with geocoded locations.

Source: FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL), queried by property coordinates. Zones A/AE/AH/AO/V/VE are Special Flood Hazard Areas (1% annual flood chance, mandatory flood insurance). Zone X is minimal risk. 504 properties checked.

Filing velocity by case type

How each distress category is trending — are foreclosures accelerating while divorces cool, or vice versa? This breakdown is only possible with direct court-record data.

Trend = recent 2-3 month volume vs prior 2-3 months (current partial month excluded). Positive = accelerating; negative = cooling.

Lender concentration analysis

Foreclosure activity is spread across many lenders, suggesting diverse distress sources rather than a single institutional wave.

HHI (Herfindahl-Hirschman Index): <1500 = competitive, 1500-2500 = moderate concentration, >2500 = highly concentrated. Based on 78 foreclosure filings with identified plaintiffs.

Seasonal filing patterns

Court filings peak in Mar and are lowest in Feb. The 6.9x peak-to-trough ratio suggests strong seasonal patterns — investors who time their outreach around Mar can reach more distressed homeowners.

Average filings per calendar month across all observed years. Relative column shows each month as a percentage of the peak month (Mar), with a 6.9x peak-to-trough ratio.

ZIP code distress hotspots

Distress is geographically dispersed across 36 ZIP codes, with no single area dominating.

Top 10 of 36 ZIP codes with filings.

Non-resident owner analysis

Most filings (96%) involve owner-occupied properties. The relatively low absentee rate suggests distress is primarily hitting homeowners, not institutional investors.

Non-resident = owner's mailing address differs from the property address. Could indicate out-of-state landlords, inherited estates, second homes, or in-transition properties.

Distress composition and shifts

Foreclosure share is declining.

Distress diversity score: 1.57 (Shannon entropy; higher = more diverse distress sources). "Recent" = last 2 complete months; "Earlier" = all prior months.

Motivation breakdown

Of 44 filings with a tagged motivation, the most common is High Urgency Pre-Foreclosure (68.2%), followed by Inherited Property (29.5%). This motivation breakdown is captured at the court-filing stage and is not available from property-data aggregators.

Based on 44 filings tagged with a motivation sub-type at the court-filing stage.

Property Value Profile

The median assessed value of properties in court filings is $595,600. Pre-Probate filings involve the highest-value properties (median $757,000), while Tax Sale filings trend lower (median $349,900). The largest segment (46.5%) falls in the $500K - $1M range.

Based on county assessor records for 514 properties with court filings (94.8% of total filings). Values are tax-assessed amounts, not market listing prices.

Investment Opportunity Score by ZIP Code

Across 24 ZIP codes with sufficient court filing data, ZIP 07731 (Howell) ranks highest with an investment opportunity score of 70/100, driven by high filing volume (49 cases). 9 of 24 scored ZIPs are above the average score of 39.

Based on 542 court filings across 24 ZIP codes. ZIPs with fewer than 3 filings are excluded. Property values from county assessor records. Absentee status from property ownership verification.

Distress Capital Analysis

$394,804,613 in assessed property value is currently tied up in 514 court-filed properties. Foreclosure filings represent the largest capital pool ($242,329,213 across 320 properties).

Capital at Risk by Filing Type

Based on 514 properties with assessor valuations (94.8% of 542 total filings). Values are county assessor estimates. Equity calculated from estimated value vs outstanding mortgage balance where available.

Market Absorption & Turnover Analysis

542 court filings tracked with 0 resolved (0.0% absorption rate). The court system is accumulating cases faster than they resolve, creating a growing backlog of 542 active cases.

Resolution by Case Type

Absorption rate measures the percentage of filed cases that have reached a terminal resolution (judgment, dismissal, settlement, or sale). A low absorption rate indicates a growing backlog of active cases in the court system. Resolution timing based on 0 resolved cases out of 542 total filings.

Case Aging & Stall Analysis

0 cases (0.0%) have been active for over a year without resolution. 76 filings in the last <30 days represent fresh opportunities.

Case aging computed from filing date to present for unresolved cases. Resolution classified from court docket entries (judgments, settlements, dismissals, sheriff sales). Cases with a resolution event are removed from the stall count.

Property Age & Distress Profile

516 filings (95.2% of scope) have year-built data. Pre-1960 properties are most common (43%). Newer properties (2000+) average $1,350,060 — 1.9x the value of Pre-1960 stock ($730,513).

Value trend: 2000+ properties average $1,350,060 — 1.85x the value of Pre-1960 stock ($730,513).

Construction year sourced from county tax assessor records. Value is assessed value from the most recent available tax assessment. Resolution timing based on court docket events.

Municipality filing concentration in Monmouth County

Court filings in Monmouth County span 49 municipalities. Howell Township leads with 52 filings (10.5% of total), predominantly Foreclosure (76.9%). Distress is dispersed across many municipalities — the top 3 account for only 27% of filings.

Top 15 of 49 municipalities with court filings. Data from 493 filings (91% of total). Municipality names from county assessor records.

Property Value Distribution

The median property value in distressed filings is $582,900, with the largest concentration (61.3%) in the $500K+ range. Pre-Probate filings have the highest median value ($637,000) while Divorce filings are lowest ($401,200).

Assessed property values from county assessor records for 527 properties (97.2% of total filings). Values reflect tax-assessed amounts, not market price.

Ownership Duration Before Filing

The median ownership duration before a court filing is 11.5 years, with 56.1% of owners holding the property 10+ years (a strong equity signal for investors). Estate cases show the longest tenure (14.8 yr median) vs. Foreclosure (10.7 yr).

Duration calculated from last recorded property sale to court filing date for 490 properties (90.4% of total filings). Longer ownership often correlates with higher equity.

Repeat litigation patterns in Monmouth County

Of 521 unique property owners in court filings, 14 (2.7%) appear in multiple cases, including 4 with 3 or more filings. The most active repeat filer has 6 cases.

Repeat rate by case type

Analysis based on 521 unique owner names across court filings. Repeat filers are property owners appearing in 2 or more distinct cases.

Serial distressed properties in Monmouth County

Of 527 unique properties in court filings, 14 (2.7%) have multiple filings (averaging 2.1 filings per property). Average time between repeat filings: 1 months. Foreclosure properties have the highest repeat rate at 2.8%.

Serial distress rate by case type

Analysis based on 527 unique property addresses across court filings. Serial distressed properties have 2 or more distinct case filings at the same address.

Land vs improvement value composition

Across 515 properties with assessed value breakdowns, the median land share is 57.6% (median land value $308,200, median improvement value $243,300). 349 properties (67.8%) are land-dominant (50%+ land value) — potential teardown or vacant-lot targets. Pre-Probate cases skew most land-heavy (median 63.7%) while Divorce skews most improvement-heavy (50.1%).

Land share distribution

Land share by case type

Analysis of 515 properties (95.0% of filings) with assessed land and improvement value breakdowns.

Prior sale value trajectory

Across 465 properties with purchase and assessed value data, the median value change since purchase is +116.0%. 25 properties (5.4%) are underwater (current assessed value below purchase price). Short-hold owners (<5 yr) show a median +42.6% value change vs +189.9% for long-hold (10+ yr). Divorce cases have the highest underwater rate (16.7%) while Foreclosure has the lowest (4.5%).

Value change distribution

Holding period vs value change

Value trajectory by case type

Analysis of 465 properties (85.8% of filings) with both prior sale price and current assessed value data.

Why these filings are invisible on most public foreclosure sites

The largest public foreclosure-aggregator interfaces surface only post-auction bank-owned properties in New Jersey. Pre-foreclosure court filings are not visible to their non-paying users. Keystone tracks the court filing the day it hits the docket, weeks or months before any property reaches the auction stage those aggregators surface.

Methodology and full audit: Court-vs-aggregator coverage gap report.

Methodology and data sources

• Court filings are collected directly from Monmouth County court records, which are public information.
• Every filing in this dataset has been verified for current owner-of-record. Entity-owned filings (LLCs, trusts, banks) and properties where the named party is not the current owner are excluded.
• Property value figures come from third-party enrichment (94% coverage on this dataset).
• Individual case data, defendant names, and property addresses are not published. Reports show aggregated statistics only.
• The methodology page at /reports/methodology documents data sources, sample sizes, and known limitations in detail.
• This report was generated 2026-07-12 from the live database. Numbers reflect the dataset at that moment.

Top cities for filings within Monmouth County

Where filings concentrate inside Monmouth County, by parsed property city or township.

Share is computed against filings with a parsed property city (not against total Monmouth County filings — addresses missing the city portion are excluded from the denominator). Top 5 shown; smaller cities aggregate into the long tail.

Related New Jersey guides

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