Merrimack Valley Housing Report

The December 2009 edition of the Merrimack Valley Housing Report is now available online. The Housing Report is a monthly newsletter on housing in the Merrimack Valley, and is a joint venture of the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds and UMass Lowell.

This month's edition includes statistics on home sales, mortgages and foreclosures for Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill and Methuen, an article (by me) on the substantial increase in the number of foreclosures commenced in the towns around Lowell and an article (by UML's Dave Turcotte) on trends in home sales (mostly sales are up compared to the same time last year, except in Lowell and Lawrence where the high incidence of foreclosures may be freezing the home sales market). There is also an article on the ownership trends seen in so-called "REO properties." REO stands for Real Estate Owned (by the foreclosing lender).

The MVHR is free and a quick read. While we often post statistics for the Greater Lowell area, the MVHR provides expanded coverage of the Merrimack Valley's other major cities. Please check it out.