Monmouth County, New Jersey Court Filings Intelligence

• Filing volume accelerating (+187.1%) — last 2 complete months (781 filings) vs prior 2 complete months (272 filings). Excludes the current calendar month (in progress).
• 42.6% 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 4.8% at HUD Fair Market Rent — $27,936/year (2BR FMR × 12) on the $586,161 median estimated market value. Section-8-eligible rent ceiling; real-market rent typically exceeds FMR; excludes operating costs (taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, management).
• 73.3% of filings are Pre-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 forms part of the New York metropolitan area. Monmouth County calls itself The Place You Want to Be. 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 as recorded on the county docket.

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 32.3% of all tracked filings, showing where distressed real estate activity clusters.

Based on filings with a parseable property address (64% of Monmouth County filings).

Property value distribution

Source: third-party property enrichment (62% coverage on Monmouth County filings). Median $586,161; mean $747,189.

Day-of-week filing pattern

Filings show some weekend activity, suggesting after-hours electronic filing. Computed for 4125 filings with a parseable date.

Building characteristics

Per-property details from third-party property enrichment, aggregated across the 2923 filings with characteristic data:

Property characteristics

Parcel-level detail for the 57 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 10 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 3160 filings (74.6% of all 4236 filings) where parcel-level tracking is available.

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. 80.5% of confirmed sales were directly driven by the filing.

Source: county assessor and deed-transfer records cross-referenced with court filings by parcel ID. Sale outcomes tracked for 3160 of 4236 filings (74.6% parcel coverage). Prices based on 285 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 143 foreclosure filings with identified plaintiffs.

Seasonal filing patterns

Court filings peak in Jul and are lowest in Jan. The 3.4x peak-to-trough ratio suggests strong seasonal patterns — investors who time their outreach around Jul 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 (Jul), with a 3.4x peak-to-trough ratio.

ZIP code distress hotspots

Distress is geographically dispersed across 211 ZIP codes, with no single area dominating.

Top 10 of 211 ZIP codes with filings.

Non-resident owner analysis

39.3% of distressed properties have non-resident owners (the owner's mailing address differs from the property address). These are often rental or investment properties — landlords in distress tend to be more motivated sellers.

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

Probate, Administration share is rising. Pre-Foreclosure share is declining.

Distress diversity score: 1.88 (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.

Court Docket Activity

Across 3042 tracked cases, the average case has 1 docket entries (median 1). 99.0% of cases are in the "early stage (1-5 events)" stage. Pre-Foreclosure cases are the most court-active at 1.2 events on average. Higher docket activity signals that courts are actively processing the case, which can indicate timeline urgency for investor outreach.

Based on 3042 cases with docket event tracking from Monmouth County court records. Docket entries include filings, hearings, orders, and motions.

Procedural Stage Pipeline

Of 18 tracked cases.

Based on 18 cases with 18 recorded stage transitions from Monmouth County court docket entries. Stages identified from docket events: service of process, responses, hearings, judgments, settlements, and dismissals.

Property Value Profile

The median assessed value of properties in court filings is $586,847. Pre-Probate filings involve the highest-value properties (median $757,000), while Pre-Foreclosure filings trend lower (median $580,600). The largest segment (44.5%) falls in the $500K - $1M range.

Based on county assessor records for 2720 properties with court filings (64.2% of total filings). Values are tax-assessed amounts, not market listing prices.

Investment Opportunity Score by ZIP Code

Across 73 ZIP codes with sufficient court filing data, ZIP 07731 (Howell) ranks highest with an investment opportunity score of 65/100, driven by high filing volume (175 cases). 24 of 73 scored ZIPs are above the average score of 33.

Based on 4236 court filings across 73 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

$2,263,176,588 in assessed property value is currently tied up in 2720 court-filed properties. 93% of properties with equity data carry 20%+ equity, signaling owners with real financial stakes in resolution. Pre-Foreclosure filings represent the largest capital pool ($2,048,167,503 across 2466 properties).

Equity Position of Distressed Properties

Capital at Risk by Filing Type

Based on 2720 properties with assessor valuations (64.2% of 4236 total filings). Values are county assessor estimates. Equity calculated from estimated value vs outstanding mortgage balance where available.

Market Absorption & Turnover Analysis

3,082 court filings tracked with 250 resolved (8.1% absorption rate). The court system is accumulating cases faster than they resolve, creating a growing backlog of 2,832 active cases. Resolved cases take an average of 273 days.

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 250 resolved cases out of 3082 total filings.

Property Type Distribution

75.6% of distressed properties are classified as Agricultural, followed by Commercial (24.4%).

Property classifications from county assessor records for 180 properties (5.6% of total filings). Categories normalized from assessor codes.

Case Aging & Stall Analysis

1,821 cases (59.1%) have been active for over a year without resolution. 30 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

2,764 filings (85.4% of scope) have year-built data. Pre-1960 properties are most common (41%). Newer properties (2000+) average $1,152,899 — 2.1x the value of Pre-1960 stock ($558,311). 1960–1979 cases resolve fastest (median 84d) vs Pre-1960 (354d).

Value trend: 2000+ properties average $1,152,899 — 2.06x the value of Pre-1960 stock ($558,311).

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 109 municipalities. Middletown leads with 234 filings (7.6% of total), predominantly Pre-Foreclosure (96.2%). Distress is dispersed across many municipalities — the top 3 account for only 22% of filings.

Top 15 of 109 municipalities with court filings. Data from 3,097 filings (96% of total). Municipality names from county assessor records.

Quarterly Filing Volume Trends

Filing trends across 18 comparable quarters show 2,042 tracked filings in Monmouth County. Most recent quarter (2026 Q2: 402) was rising vs prior (2026 Q1: 228, +76.3%). Pre-Foreclosure shows the largest composition shift, declining share from 99.6% to 83.4%.

Composition shift: Pre-Foreclosure filings are declining share, moving from 99.6% to 83.4% of total filings (-16.2 percentage points).

Only comparable quarters shown (collection ramp-up periods excluded). Filing dates from verified court records. Current partial quarter excluded from trend calculations.

Property Value Distribution

The median property value in distressed filings is $415,800, with the largest concentration (38.2%) in the $500K+ range. Pre-Probate filings have the highest median value ($637,000) while Tax Sale filings are lowest ($352,850).

Assessed property values from county assessor records for 2,746 properties (84.9% of total filings). Values reflect tax-assessed amounts, not market price.

Ownership Duration Before Filing

The median ownership duration before a court filing is 10.4 years, with 51.2% of owners holding the property 10+ years (a strong equity signal for investors). Tax Sale cases show the longest tenure (13.4 yr median) vs. Divorce (6.0 yr).

Duration calculated from last recorded property sale to court filing date for 1,846 properties (57.1% of total filings). Longer ownership often correlates with higher equity.

Repeat litigation patterns in Monmouth County

Of 2,843 unique property owners in court filings, 261 (9.2%) appear in multiple cases, including 37 with 3 or more filings. The most active repeat filer has 19 cases spanning 72 months. Divorce cases have the highest repeat rate at 20.0%.

Repeat rate by case type

Analysis based on 2,843 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 2,717 unique properties in court filings, 180 (6.6%) have multiple filings (averaging 2.2 filings per property). Average time between repeat filings: 15 months. Pre-Foreclosure properties have the highest repeat rate at 7.0%.

Serial distress rate by case type

Analysis based on 2,717 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 2,622 properties with assessed value breakdowns, the median land share is 53.3% (median land value $296,300, median improvement value $259,950). 1,501 properties (57.2%) 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 (51.7%).

Land share distribution

Land share by case type

Analysis of 2,622 properties (81.1% of filings) with assessed land and improvement value breakdowns.

Prior sale value trajectory

Across 2,582 properties with purchase and assessed value data, the median value change since purchase is +38.5%. 929 properties (36.0%) are underwater (current assessed value below purchase price). Short-hold owners (<5 yr) show a median +31.4% value change vs +105.3% for long-hold (10+ yr). Pre-Foreclosure cases have the highest underwater rate (38.5%) while Probate has the lowest (9.0%).

Value change distribution

Holding period vs value change

Value trajectory by case type

Analysis of 2,582 properties (79.8% 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.
• This dataset is the court-filing archive as collected from the county docket. The owner-of-record match and the entity-owner screen are applied to delivered leads, not to these filing counts.
• Property value figures come from third-party enrichment (62% 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 2026-09-28 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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