Monroe County, Pennsylvania Court Filings Intelligence

• Filing volume cooling (-21.2%) — last 2 complete months (917 filings) vs prior 2 complete months (1164 filings). Excludes the current calendar month (in progress).
• Max gross cap rate 7.3% at HUD Fair Market Rent — $18,348/year (2BR FMR × 12) on the $249,801 median estimated market value. Section-8-eligible rent ceiling; real-market rent typically exceeds FMR; excludes operating costs (taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, management).
• 41.1% of filings are Judgment — the dominant lead category in Monroe County during the observed window.

About Monroe County

Monroe County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,327. Its county seat is Stroudsburg. The county is part of the Northeast Pennsylvania region of the state. The county was formed from sections of Northampton and Pike counties on April 1, 1836. It was named in honor of James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States.

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 Monroe County account for 0.1% of all tracked filings, showing where distressed real estate activity clusters.

Based on filings with a parseable property address (0% of Monroe County filings).

Property value distribution

Source: third-party property enrichment (35% coverage on Monroe County filings). Median $249,802; mean $291,897.

Day-of-week filing pattern

Filings cluster Monday through Friday, with weekend filings essentially absent (court system closed). Computed for 44815 filings with a parseable date.

Building characteristics

Per-property details from third-party property enrichment, aggregated across the 14917 filings with characteristic data:

Housing stock + distress signals

Underlying housing stock and distress indicators across all 79458 Monroe 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. Monroe County sits within the Monroe County, PA. 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 (None). 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 Monroe 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

Monroe County filings should be read against the broader housing-market backdrop. Pennsylvania 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 PASTHPI); 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 3 top ZIPs.

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 56 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. 56 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.

Seasonal filing patterns

Court filings peak in Oct and are lowest in Dec. Filing volume is relatively steady year-round.

Average filings per calendar month across all observed years. Relative column shows each month as a percentage of the peak month (Oct), with a 1.5x peak-to-trough ratio.

ZIP code distress hotspots

Distress is geographically dispersed across 18 ZIP codes, with no single area dominating.

Top 10 of 18 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

Contract share is rising. Judgment share is declining. High diversity in distress types suggests multiple independent factors driving court filings, not a single economic shock.

Distress diversity score: 3.24 (Shannon entropy; higher = more diverse distress sources). "Recent" = last 2 complete months; "Earlier" = all prior months.

Property Value Profile

The median assessed value of properties in court filings is $247,725. Stalled Project filings involve the highest-value properties (median $520,715), while Migrated filings trend lower (median $160,750). The largest segment (42.0%) falls in the $100K - $250K range.

Based on county assessor records for 15734 properties with court filings (35.1% of total filings). Values are tax-assessed amounts, not market listing prices.

Investment Opportunity Score by ZIP Code

Across 7 ZIP codes with sufficient court filing data, ZIP 18360 (Stroudsburg) ranks highest with an investment opportunity score of 75/100, driven by high filing volume (15 cases). 2 of 7 scored ZIPs are above the average score of 39.

Based on 44815 court filings across 7 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

$4,596,380,984 in assessed property value is currently tied up in 15734 court-filed properties. Judgment filings represent the largest capital pool ($1,459,588,069 across 5498 properties).

Capital at Risk by Filing Type

Based on 15734 properties with assessor valuations (35.1% of 44815 total filings). Values are county assessor estimates. Equity calculated from estimated value vs outstanding mortgage balance where available.

Property Type Distribution

98.8% of distressed properties are classified as Agricultural, followed by Residential (1.2%).

Property classifications from county assessor records for 12,173 properties (27.2% of total filings). Categories normalized from assessor codes.

Case Aging & Stall Analysis

38,381 cases (85.8%) have been active for over a year without resolution. 313 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

11,966 filings (26.8% of scope) have year-built data. 1980–1999 properties are most common (44%). Newer properties (2000+) average $213,971 — 1.6x the value of Pre-1960 stock ($135,159).

Value trend: 2000+ properties average $213,971 — 1.58x the value of Pre-1960 stock ($135,159).

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 Monroe County

Court filings in Monroe County span 11 municipalities. 02 leads with 9 filings (30.0% of total), predominantly Inherited Property (66.7%). Filing activity is geographically concentrated — the top 3 municipalities account for 63% of all filings.

Top 11 of 11 municipalities with court filings. Data from 30 filings (0% of total). Municipality names from county assessor records.

Quarterly Filing Volume Trends

Filing trends across 18 comparable quarters show 32,473 tracked filings in Monroe County. Most recent quarter (2026 Q2: 1,661) was stable vs prior (2026 Q1: 1,706, -2.6%). Contract shows the largest composition shift, growing share from 13.7% to 25.5%.

Composition shift: Contract filings are growing share, moving from 13.7% to 25.5% of total filings (+11.9 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 $145,445, with the largest concentration (29.7%) in the $100K–$150K range. Professional Liability Action filings have the highest median value ($4,386,250) while Equity Division Sale filings are lowest ($118,900).

Assessed property values from county assessor records for 24,422 properties (54.6% of total filings). Values reflect tax-assessed amounts, not market price.

Ownership Duration Before Filing

The median ownership duration before a court filing is 7.0 years, with 37.5% of owners holding the property 10+ years (a strong equity signal for investors). Inherited Property cases show the longest tenure (11.0 yr median) vs. Equity Division Sale (6.6 yr).

Duration calculated from last recorded property sale to court filing date for 56 properties (0.1% of total filings). Longer ownership often correlates with higher equity.

Repeat litigation patterns in Monroe County

Of 34,139 unique property owners in court filings, 5,288 (15.5%) appear in multiple cases, including 1,320 with 3 or more filings. The most active repeat filer has 141 cases spanning 73 months. Writ cases have the highest repeat rate at 52.9%.

Repeat rate by case type

Analysis based on 34,139 unique owner names across court filings. Repeat filers are property owners appearing in 2 or more distinct cases.

Serial distressed properties in Monroe County

Of 8,364 unique properties in court filings, 2,864 (34.2%) have multiple filings (averaging 2.8 filings per property). Average time between repeat filings: 15 months. Custody properties have the highest repeat rate at 63.6%.

Serial distress rate by case type

Analysis based on 8,364 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 12,161 properties with assessed value breakdowns, the median land share is 17.4% (median land value $25,300, median improvement value $120,480). 220 properties (1.8%) are land-dominant (50%+ land value) — potential teardown or vacant-lot targets. Equity Division Sale cases skew most land-heavy (median 19.9%) while Agreement skews most improvement-heavy (14.1%).

Land share distribution

Land share by case type

Analysis of 12,161 properties (27.2% of filings) with assessed land and improvement value breakdowns.

Prior sale value trajectory

Across 38 properties with purchase and assessed value data, the median value change since purchase is -2.0%. 19 properties (50.0%) are underwater (current assessed value below purchase price). Short-hold owners (<5 yr) show a median -22.0% value change vs +39.9% for long-hold (10+ yr).

Value change distribution

Holding period vs value change

Value trajectory by case type

Analysis of 38 properties (0.1% 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 Pennsylvania. 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 Monroe 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 (35% 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 2026-08-03 from the live database. Numbers reflect the dataset at that moment.

Top cities for filings within Monroe County

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

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

Related Pennsylvania guides

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