Meredith Murphy, Foundation Title

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Meredith Murphy, Foundation Title NJ Title Company | Residential & Commercial Closings | Serving All of New Jersey

🏡 **FOCUS FRIDAY: New Jersey Home Sales Are Slowing. But Prices Are Still Rising.**Redfin just released its September ho...
10/16/2026

🏡 **FOCUS FRIDAY: New Jersey Home Sales Are Slowing. But Prices Are Still Rising.**

Redfin just released its September housing market report, and the national numbers are getting plenty of attention.

Pending home sales across the country have dropped to their lowest level since 2014, excluding the pandemic shutdown in 2020.

But what does that actually mean for New Jersey?

Here's where things get interesting.

📍 **Newark, NJ Metro**
Pending sales dropped 3.0% compared to last year, but home prices increased 4.0% to a median of $613,591.

📍 **New Brunswick, NJ Metro**
Pending sales fell 7.5%, while prices still increased 1.5% to a median of $583,660.

Meanwhile, new listings increased in both markets.

So while buyers may be taking longer to make decisions, we're not seeing the same story everywhere.

For Realtors, this creates an opportunity to have a different conversation with clients.

Sellers need to understand that pricing and preparation matter, especially as buyers have more homes to consider.

Buyers may have more room to negotiate, but waiting for a major price drop isn't necessarily going to pay off in every New Jersey market.

And for real estate attorneys, a changing market makes communication and careful attention to contract terms, inspections and closing timelines especially important.

**The market is changing. The key is understanding what's happening locally.**

At Foundation Title, we're here to help keep your transactions on track from contract to closing.

**DM Us. Let's Partner Up.**

📊 Source: Redfin, October 12, 2026. September 2026 housing market data.

10/15/2026

Agents — manufactured and mobile homes can be titled more like a car than a house — a certificate of title through the DMV, not a deed through the county.

If it's been permanently affixed to land the owner also owns, it may need to be converted to real property first, on purpose, on paper. Skip that step, and your buyer's mortgage lender may not recognize it as real estate at all.

Know which kind of title you're dealing with before you list.

Foundation Title serves all of New Jersey.

DM Us — Let's Partner Up

Agents, cash deals are usually your fastest path to closing, but there's one step worth double-checking every time. With...
10/14/2026

Agents, cash deals are usually your fastest path to closing, but there's one step worth double-checking every time. Without a lender in the picture, nobody's requiring a title policy. If your cash buyer skips the owner's policy, that gap doesn't just affect them, it can turn into a headache for you if something surfaces later. A quick mention upfront protects the deal and your reputation.

DM Us — Let's Partner Up.

10/13/2026

Agents — if your seller is a foreign national, a federal law called FIRPTA usually requires withholding a percentage of the sale price at closing — sent straight to the IRS, not the seller.

It surprises agents constantly, because it's a closing-day requirement most people have never heard of until it applies to them. It doesn't kill the deal, but it does affect the seller's proceeds and needs planning ahead of time.

Flag foreign-seller deals with us early.

Foundation Title serves all of New Jersey.

(Educational only — not legal or tax advice. Consult a qualified professional for specifics.)

Agents, here's one to have ready before your next buyer signs. The attorney review period in NJ is typically a 3-busines...
10/12/2026

Agents, here's one to have ready before your next buyer signs. The attorney review period in NJ is typically a 3-business-day window where either attorney can cancel, modify, or approve the contract, no penalty involved. Agents who explain this clearly upfront look more prepared, and they're far less likely to get caught off guard by a renegotiation request that comes in during that window.

DM Us — Let's Partner Up.

Good Sunday morning! ☕🏡“Should I wait for the housing market to crash?”That’s a question Realtors may be hearing more of...
10/11/2026

Good Sunday morning! ☕🏡

“Should I wait for the housing market to crash?”

That’s a question Realtors may be hearing more often as affordability gets tougher and buyers try to figure out their next move.

But today’s housing market looks very different from 2008.

In August, the U.S. had an 8.5-month supply of homes. Leading into the 2008 financial crisis, supply reached about 13 months. Homeowners today also have significantly more equity, and lending standards are much tighter than they were before the last crash.

There are definitely signs that buyers are gaining some ground. In August, Redfin reported 58% more sellers than buyers nationally, the largest gap since it began tracking the data in 2013. But high prices and borrowing costs are still keeping many buyers on the sidelines.

Here in New Jersey, the conversation is even more local. Conditions can look very different from one town, county, and price range to the next.

For my Realtor friends, that’s an important conversation to have with buyers who may be waiting for a dramatic drop in prices before making a move.

And when your buyer does find the right home, getting title started early gives us time to identify and address potential issues before closing.

Enjoy your Sunday! ☕🏡

DM Us. Let’s Partner Up.
Source: FinanceBuzz, October 6, 2026

Here's a stat worth knowing: according to ALTA, roughly 1 in 4 residential real estate transactions has a title issue th...
10/09/2026

Here's a stat worth knowing: according to ALTA, roughly 1 in 4 residential real estate transactions has a title issue that needs to get resolved before closing.

Doesn't matter the price point or the market — that number holds up. Old lien that never got released, a name misspelled on a deed decades ago, an estate that never technically closed out.

It's usually nothing dramatic, but it has to get fixed before your buyer takes ownership.

That's why every file gets the same full search, not just the ones that look complicated on paper.

DM Us — Let's Partner Up

(General info here, not legal advice.)

10/08/2026

Agents — selling a home with a reverse mortgage? Different rules apply. 🏡

Heirs often face a tighter timeline than they expect.

Foundation Title serves all of New Jersey.

DM Us — Let's Partner Up




Educational, not legal or financial advice.

Agents, this is a line worth memorizing. The lender's title policy protects the bank's investment, while the owner's pol...
10/07/2026

Agents, this is a line worth memorizing. The lender's title policy protects the bank's investment, while the owner's policy protects the buyer's investment in the home itself. The lender's policy is required. The owner's policy is optional, but it's also the cheapest protection your buyer will ever pass up if they skip it. Being able to explain that difference clearly, on the spot, is the kind of moment that builds trust fast.

DM Us — Let's Partner Up.

10/06/2026

Agents — here's a scenario that trips up more searches than you'd guess.

Your seller has a common name — and so does someone else with a judgment or lien on public record. The search has to prove those records belong to a different person entirely, not your seller.

Skip that step, and a stranger's debt can wrongly cloud your seller's title. It's tedious work, but it's exactly the kind of detail a real title search won't skip.

Foundation Title serves all of New Jersey.

DM Us — Let's Partner Up

Address

3 Becker Farm Road
Roseland, NJ
07068

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+19734775887

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