Wednesday, April 25, 2012

What's happening with home sales?

A story in today's Globe has the Warren Group reporting that sales of single family homes in Massachusetts were up 20% over sales in March of 2011.  Our statistics on the number of deeds recorded here at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds tend to corroborate that trend: In March 2011 there were 404 deeds recorded for the district; in March 2012 there were 471 which is an increase of 17%.  In Lowell, the rise was 28% (from 107 to 137) while in the 9 towns in the district, the increase was 12% (297 to 334).

Here's a breakdown of deeds recorded for some of the other towns in the district, showing first the number recorded in March 2011 and then the number from March 2012:

Billerica: 47 - 39
Chelmsford: 62 - 50
Dracut: 58 - 60
Tewksbury: 45 - 69
Tyngsborough: 17 - 10
Westford: 35 - 44
Wilmington: 24 - 43

We must always remember that "deeds recorded" do not equate to "single family home sales" because many of our deeds are between related parties for no consideration.  Still, it is something to count and as long as you remember the limitations on inferences that can be drawn, it is another statistic to put into your analytical mix.

Another way to compare deeds recorded is from month to month.  Here are the numbers for some of the towns in the district showing the numbers recorded in January - February - March all of 2012:

District: 342 - 385 - 471
Lowell: 92 - 112 - 137
Billerica: 36 - 37 - 39
Chelmsford: 43 - 48 - 50
Dracut: 45 - 44 - 60
Tewksbury: 40 - 42 - 69
Tyngsborough: 16 - 12 - 10
Westford: 28 - 34 - 44
Wilmington: 32 - 37 - 43

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