Lowell sales for the week of June 24, 2013

It was a busy week at the registry of deeds, especially for sales of property in Lowell:

June 24, 2013 (Monday)

491 Dutton St, Unit 511 for $265,000

361 Hildreth St, Unit 14 for $57,500

3 Florida St for $229,900

72 Fairlawn St for $200,000

165 Ludlam St for $175,000

June 25, 2013 (Tuesday)

59 Starbird St for $180,000

122 Farmland St for $194,130

June 26, 2013 (Wednesday)

74 Washington St for $186,900

349 Pawtucket Blvd, Unit 15 for $85,000

97 Hildreth St, Unit 1 for $152,000

June 27, 2013 (Thursday)

362 Christian St for $225,000

168 Cumberland Rd for $140,000

130 Glenwood St for $390,000

18 Joffre St for $152,000

170-180 Moore St for $360,000

1255 Middlesex St Unit D for $150,000

200 Rogers St Unit 6 for $185,000

June 28, 2013 (Friday)

102 Andrews St for $162,000

5 Devonshire Crossing for $300,000

25 Seventh Ave for $200,000

253-259 Stackpole St for $318,000

105 Agawam St Unit 2 for $80,000

726-728 Lawrence St for $170,000

722 East Merrimack St for $354,000

539 Chelmsford St for $165,000

157 Nesmith St for $118,500 

16 Johnson St for $372,000

Registered Land for the week

1541 Middlesex St Unit 9 for $157,900

246 Moore St for $200,000

The Future of Fannieand Freddie

New York Times columnist and former business writer Joe Nocera has a column about a bipartisan effort in the US Senate to dismantle Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which together guarantee 77% of the mortgages in America today.  Nocera explains that the dual nature of these two entities - they are both publicly traded companies that have a strong govenment proponent - has been part of their problem.  He also points out that the new bill does not eliminate government involvement in the mortgage business.  Instead, it replaces the quasi-governmental companies with an express government guarantee of loan losses beyond the first 10%.  The sponsors of this bill, Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, and Senator Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, contend that government guarantees are essential to the operation of the home mortgage market and it was best to provide that support in a straightforward, transparent way.  Nocera, however, raises the awkward question of whether the federal government should be subsidizing home ownership in the first place and suggests that rather than trying to replace Fannie and Freddie, the country first needs a discussion on whether our national policy should promote homeownership by everyone.

Electronic recording in May

Although June is nearly at an end, here's a look back at our volume of electronic recording during the month of May.  We recorded from all sources 6137 documents in May; of those, 2392 were recorded electronically.  That equals 39% which is just about the percentage we've been hitting each month during 2013.  The proportion of major document types recorded electronically remains consistent.  There were 667 deeds recorded for the district in May; 193 of them (29%) were recorded electronically.  There were 1263 mortgages recorded; 656 of them (52%) were recorded electronically.  There were 1450 discharges; 806 of them (56%) were recorded electronically.

Lowell sales for week of June 17, 2013

The following properties in Lowell sold this week for the amounts indicated:

June 17, 2013 (Monday)

491 Dutton St Unit 520 for $225,000

52 Lawrence Dr Unit M313 for $174,500

260-262 University Ave for $284,900

25 Juniper St Unit 18 for $192,000

June 18, 2013 (Tuesday)

257 Walker St Unit D for $55,000

140 Winthrop Ave for $263,000

160 Avon St for $235,000

23 11th St for $170,125

517 School St for $239,000

June 19, 2013 (Wednesday)

11 Garden Rd for $415,000

201 Thorndike St Unit 1-14 for $62,000

24 Burnside St for $136,000

49-51 Andrews St for $150,000

12 Jenness St for $115,000

88 Prescott St Unit A-1 for $155,000

June 20, 2013 (Thursday)

2 Morton St for $169,000

353 Pawtucket Blv Unit 4 for $75,000

94 Concord St for $360,000

309 Pawtucket Blv Unit 22 for $89,900

305 Gorham St for $650,000

125 Parker St for $125,000

June 21, 2013 (Friday)

200 Market St Unit 214 for $179,500

351 Pawtucket Blv Unit 25 for $70,000

12 Chester St for $190,000

755 East Merrimack St for $250,000

42 Eighteenth St for $145,000

123 Hampshire St for $100,000

12 Whitney Ave for $180,000

34 Nichols St for $240,000

82 Varney St for $135,000

New housing coming to Gorham St

The long talked-about sale of 305 Gorham Street, a portion of the lot where St. Peter's Church formerly stood, by Cooney Development LLC to the Coalition for a Better Acre was recorded today.  The former rectory of St. Peter's parish will remain as home to Cooney Insurance and several law offices, but the northerly portion of that parcel which is bounded by Father Ronan Terrace and Gorham, Elm and South Streets, will soon be home to a six-story mulifamily building that will contain 24 residential units.  According to a special permit from the Lowell Planning Board, phase two of the development will consist of a second building, this one of 5 stories, with an additional 24 units for a total of 48.  The recorded documents give no indication of when construction will start.

"Sovereign citizen" sentenced in tax fraud case

Although we don't see many here at Middlesex North, some of the other registries of deeds in Massachusetts report a fairly regular level of recording activity by adherents of the "sovereign citizen" movement.  The theory has something to do with the law that caused the US to go off the gold standard back in the 1930s.  Adherents contend that by declaring oneself a "sovereign citizen" (or sometimes a "sovereign country") they are no longer responsible for debts that would be payable in US dollars.

The case in point is from Washington state.  An accountant who advised and assisted a number of tax payers is seeking Federal tax refunds in the amount of debt they were purported to owe, was sentenced to 5 years in prison and pay $700,000 in restitution.  A press release from the Department of Justice about the case is here.  The FBI contends that the sovereign citizen movement has been closely affiliated with domestic terrorism and therefore closely monitors such activity.

Mid Month stats for June

District wide statistics for June 1 thru June 15 for 2012 and 2013:

For the first half of June 2012 there were 266 deeds; for the first half of June 2013 there were 252.

For the first half of June 2012 there were 550 mortgages; for the first half of June 2013 there were 553.

For the first half of June 2012 there were 22 foreclosure deeds; for the first half of June 2013 there were 10.

 For the first half of June 2012 there were 34 orders of notice; for the first half of June 2013 there were 5.

Foreclosure auctions this week

I just updated our foreclosure auction calendar which can be viewed HERE. 

There are seven foreclosure auctions scheduled for this week.  Here they are:

Monday, June 17, 2013

• 16 Kevin Rd, Dracut at 10 am
• 175 Willard St Unit 22, Lowell at 11 am

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

• 18 Fourth St, Lowell at noon

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

•  35 Maple  St Units 13 & 14, Lowell at 11 am
• 541 Mammoth Rd, Dracut at 2 pm

Thursday, June 20, 2013

• 850 Princeton Blvd, Lowell at 3 pm

Friday, June 21, 2013

• 44-46 Smith St, Lowell at 2 pm

Lowell real estate sales - week of June 11, 2013

June 10, 2013 (Monday)

40 Sayles St for $185,000

799 Chelmsford St for $231,700

581 Lakeview Ave for $150,000

June 11, 2013 (Tuesday)

309 Lawrence St fro $185,000

23 Read St for $180,000

June 12, 2013 (Wednesday)

45 Jewett St for $90,000

130 Bowden St for $20,250,000

June 13, 2013 (Thursday)

369 Aiken Ave Unit 24 for $102,000

140 Cross St for $167,500

264-266 Gibson St for $360,000

June 14, 2013 (Friday)

14 Wannalancit St Unit C for $92,500

61 Bishop St for $235,000

240 Jackson St Unit 323 for $135,000

688 Beacon St Unit 688 for $109,900

67 Westchester St for $223,900

27 Blossom St for $152,000

200 Rogers St Unit 11 for $183,000

200 Market St unit 3113 for $81,000

19 Almont St for $320,000

Tax Takings

The city of Lowell dropped off a big pile of tax takings to be recorded today - 227 in all, 218 on recorded land (document type TAKE) and 9 on registered land (TAX TAKING).  They are all for FY2012 real estate taxes and most seem to be in the $2000 to $4000 range.

In past years, these documents were treated mostly as ongoing liens on the property to be settled the next time the premises was sold or refinanced.  Last year, however, the city bundled these tax takings up and auctioned them off.  Presumably the same thing will happen again this summer so anyone whose name appears on one of these documents would be wise to contact the city tax collector and try to bring some resolution to the proceedings sooner rather than later.

Median sales prices for Lowell

I calculated the median sales price for deeds for property in Lowell by year since 2002.  Here's what I found:

• 2002 - $185,000
• 2003 - $216,500
• 2004 - $237,900
• 2005 - $254,000
• 2006 - $246,000
• 2007 - $223,750
• 2008 - $180,000
• 2009 - $170,000
• 2010 - $174,950
• 2011 - $165,000
• 2012 - $169,900

May recording stats for Lowell

On Friday, I posted the recording statistics for the entire ten-town registry of deeds district for the month of May. Here are the stats for the city of Lowell for the same time period:

• In May 2012, there were 109 deeds recorded for property in Lowell; in May 2013 there were 170, an increase of 56% 
• In May 2012, there were 224 mortgages recorded for property in Lowell; in May 2013 there were 280, an increase of 25%.
• In May 2012, there were 13 foreclosure deeds; in May 2013 there were 5, a decrease of 74%
• In May 2012, there were 24 orders of notice; in May 2013 there were 9, a decrease of 63%.

May recording statistics

With today being the last Friday of the month and the last day of the month, we expected it to be busy and it was. Here are the statistics for this month compared to May 2012:

• In May 2012, there were 510 deeds recorded; in May 2013 there were 667, an increase of 31%
•  In May 2012, there were 1223 mortgages recorded; in May 2013 there were 1263, an increase of 11% 
• In May 2012, there were 29 foreclosure deeds recorded; in May 2013 there were 9, a decrease of 69% 
• In May 2012, there were 44 orders of notice recorded; in May 2013 there were 20, a decrease of 65%. 
• In May 2012, there were 5906 total documents recorded; in May 2013 there were 6137, an increase of 9%.

Selecting a new computer system

It was eleven years ago this month that a group of five registers of deeds who had been using the Wang computer system working in conjunction with the Secretary of State's office selected the ACS computer system as a replacement. This registry was the first to install that new system, going active with it on July 1, 2002. Eleven years is an eternity in the computer world so it really is time to begin thinking about what comes next. That doesn't mean that anything is imminent and the current system works just fine for our current methods of operation. It's a bit like the Air Force's fleet of B-52 strategic bombers, all of which were built long before the pilots that fly them today were born but which have been continuously updated and improved and so continue to perform their missions today. Still, there are things our system could do better. One simple improvement would be to link plan images to documents using the same "marginal reference" function that we use to link related documents together. Because of the programming architecture of our current system, that's not possible to do. Another function I believe would be of great benefit would be to supplement the current index with the same type of "word search" technology utilized by Google Books. If you're not familiar with that application, log into (or create) a Google account and select "books" from the menu of Google options. Google has already scanned most of the world's books and makes full text of out-of-copyright books freely available on the Google Books website. To see how it works, type "Benjamin Butler" and click "search" and a list of hundreds of books that contain the name of the Civil War general from Lowell will appear. Click on the link to the book and not only will the full text of the book display on your screen, it will be opened to the page containing your search term. Imagine applying that capability to all document images here at the registry of deeds. Again, it would not replace the current index in its traditional uses, but it would be a great supplementary search to find documents containing street or human names (such as a corner street named in the description or the notary or surveyor involved) that don't make it into the index. There are many other features that would be desirable in a new system. From time to time in the coming months I'll write about other possible options. It is better to consider this stuff in well in advance rather than waiting until a formal search process commences. As we see from our current story, once we buy a system it will be with us for a long time.

Home Sales in the News

Both the Boston Globe and the New York Times today have prominently placed stories on improving conditions in the national housing market. The Globe reports that home prices in April rose 14% which is the seventh consecutive monthly increase. One concern is that the number of homes for sale dropped which might lead to a slowdown of the market. I've been writing for a while that perceived improvements in the home sales market are being driven by supply and demand. With interest rates so low, many people are ready to purchase homes but with so many homes still underwater on their outstanding mortgages, not many current owners are able to sell. High demand plus low inventory equals rising prices. The New York Times story addresses this in part, writing that increasing prices are adding to overall consumer confidence. When people feel that trends are positive, it creates what is known as the "wealth effect" meaning people feel wealthier and are more willing to spend money. This in turn improves the economy even more creating an upwards cycle. Anecdotally, one local conveyancer who just left the recording counter mentioned having five closings scheduled already for this Friday which resembled a throw-back to the pre-crisis state of the local real estate market. Hopefully this trend persists.

Pace of foreclosures slows

There are still three days left in May, but I thought I'd take a quick look at the number of foreclosure deeds and orders of notice recorded so far this month. There have been a total of six foreclosure deeds (4 in Lowell; 2 in Billerica) and 19 orders of notice (9 in Lowell; 3 in Tewksbury; 2 in Wilmington; and one each in Billerica, Carlisle, Dracut, Tyngsborough and Westford). For the entire month of May last year, there were 29 foreclosure deeds and 57 orders of notice, so even though the month still has some time left in it, there's no way we'll come close to catching up to the totals seen a year ago. That's good news.

Lowell sales: May 20-24

The following properties sold in Lowell this past week: Monday, May 20, 2013 68 Sherman St Unit 68 for $220,000; 800 Broadway Unit 2 for $135,000; 200 Market St Unit 509 for $177,000; 31 Sycamore St for $262,000; Tuesday, May 21, 2013 92 Central St Unit B1 for $140,000; 144 Adams St for $225,000; 10 Kearney Sq U206 for $200,000; 48 State St Unit 48 for $155,000; 250 Butman St for $203,000; 23 Fernald St for $165,000; Wednesday, May 22, 2013 67-69 Newhall St for $212,000; 114 A St for $262,000; 6 Tower Rd for $229,000; 1508 Gorham St Unit 306 for $107,000; Thursday, May 23, 2013 30 Campbell Drive for $215,000 Friday, May 24, 2013 608 Stevens St Unit E for $76,000; 22 Branch St for $117,000; 192 School St for $250,000; 200 Market St Unit A-9 for $419,000.

Distressed Properties Identification and Revitalization Grant

Last night I spoke at the Lowell City Council meeting to urge the city of Lowell to apply for the Distressed Properties Identification and Revitalization Grant recently offered by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. The purpose of this grant is to fund a position with Gateway Cities (such as Lowell) which would be devoted to addressing distressed properties within the city and speeding their return to productive use. Funding for the grant comes from the nationwide settlement recently entered into by various attorneys general (including Martha Coakley) that resolved litigation with five major national lenders for abusive mortgage and foreclosure practices. Here are the remarks I gave last night:

Thank you for this opportunity to speak. I’d like to provide some background to the Distressed Properties Identification and Revitalization Grant from the office of Attorney General Martha Coakley. Reckless lending practices by major national banks were a prime factor the worldwide real estate market collapse of five years ago. These same national banks made the crisis worse through the use of ineffective and sometimes unlawful foreclosure practices. Last year Attorney General Coakley entered into a nationwide financial settlement with these lenders. Because the abusive practices of these lenders had a direct impact on local land records, Attorney General Coakley and her staff have collaborated with the state’s registers of deeds to determine how some of the proceeds of the settlement might be used to rectify some of the harm that was done. Recognizing that just a handful of troubled properties can drag down real estate values in an entire community, my colleagues and I recommended that the money be used to provide grants to Gateway Cities such as Lowell that were hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis. These grants would be used by these municipalities to hire a person dedicated to attacking these troubled properties and getting them back into productive use. Now throughout this foreclosure crisis I’ve worked closely with many city offices and I know that Lowell is in better shape than most when it comes to dealing with these types of properties but there are still many troubled properties out there. The real estate market has not recovered; it’s just not as bad as it was. By taking advantage of this grant, the city of Lowell will have more resources to devote to remediating troubled properties and as a consequence, will accelerate the recovery of the local real estate market which will benefit everyone.

As the Attorney General's website makes clear, the deadline for applying for the grant is June 13, 2013 with the award to be made on August 1, 2013.

Realistic View of Housing Market in Globe

An op-ed in today's Globe by Paul McMorrow, an associate editor at Commonwealth Magazine, provides a keen assessment of the state of housing in Massachusetts today. Contrary to all of the glowing reports of a vibrant housing recovery in the mainstream media, real estate continues to be sluggish. McMorrow concurs, describing the current state as "less bad news masquerading as good news." He acknowledges that in certain communities, housing is booming but in most of the Commonwealth's cities and towns, particularly those hit hardest by foreclosures, the recovery is lagging. McMorrow does agree that new foreclosures have dropped substantially but he attributes this not to an overall recovery of housing but to the positive consequences of a series of foreclosure-related statutes enacted by the state legislature last year. All amendments to Chapter 244 (Foreclosures), these new laws imposed a number of requirements on lenders prior to foreclosing. Most significant, perhaps, was an obligation on lenders to consider mortgage modifications before foreclosing. Our own statistics here at Middlesex North tend to corroborate this drop in foreclosures. From January through April of 2012, for instance, there were 75 foreclosure deeds recorded for property in Lowell. For the same four months this year, that number dropped to 28. Along with a reduction in foreclosures, I suspect this new law has increased the number of short sales that are occurring. The term "short sale" describes a situation in which the seller owes more money on the mortgage than the house is worth, but the lender acknowledges this and agrees to release the mortgage upon payment of less than the full principal owed at the time of the sale to a third party. A review of home sales in Lowell during April discloses that many of the sales were made by homeowners whose initial mortgage amount exceeded the sales price of the property. While that is not absolute proof that a short sale has occurred, it's a pretty good indicator of one. Short sales aren't great for the market, but they're much better than foreclosures, so this is a positive development.

Website problems

Something is wrong with the Middlesex North portion of the MassLandRecords website. While we can access the site, the appearance of the content is distorted and it is not functioning as it should be. What's weird is that the same problem is not evident on any of the other registry sites on MassLandRecords. The tech support people are working on this but don't yet seem to know what is causing it. I'll update when there are further developments. UPDATE: As of 1130 am, the Middlesex North portion of the MassLandRecords website seems to be working OK, at least on our web-enabled computers here at the registry.