A snapshot of recent sales

There were more closings than usual conducted here at the registry this past Friday which, since it was the last Friday of the month, was not completely unexpected. While the volume was nowhere near what it would have been during the 2003-2007 real estate boom, there was nevertheless enough to keep us busy. To get a sense of what was going on, I scrutinized the deeds recorded Friday. Here is what I found:

There were 46 deeds recorded in all. 4 in Billerica, 9 in Chelmsford, 4 in Dracut, 1 in Dunstable, 11 in Lowell, 3 in Tewksbury, 8 in Tyngsborough, 3 in Westford and 3 in Wilmington. Besides the location of the properties involved, I tried to discern the purpose of the deed. Thirty-three of the 46 appeared to be arms-length sales; none involved homes that had been obtained by the grantor through foreclosure; one involved a divorce; three established life estates in the grantors; four conveyed property into trust; and five were for other purposes.

Especially noteworthy was the sales prices for many of the homes, particularly those in Westford and Tyngsborough. While I had no prior sales to use for comparison, the raw sales prices were impressive in the context of the overall condition of the real estate market. With tomorrow being the last day of the month (August 31), I expect another busy day, so statistics for the month will be forthcoming in Thursday's post.