Plymouth County has recorded 8,028 deeds through September, up from 7,378 deeds recorded through September 2020, representing a 9 percent increase in recordings.
The average Plymouth County sale price through the first three quarters was $544,854, representing a 14 percent increase over the $478,914 average for the same period in 2020.
Refinance activity has continued its red-hot streak. Plymouth County recorded 3,158 mortgages in September, exceeding the 3,020 mortgages recorded in August.
“It seems likely that the Fed will soon be raising interest rates, which will slow down the refinancing recordings,” noted Plymouth County Register of Deeds John R. Buckley Jr. “At some point everyone eligible to refinance will have done so and the filings will decline, but I’m not sure that we have yet to reach that point, given the September numbers.”
Overall, the number of Plymouth County mortgages is way up from last year. Through the first nine months of 2021, the Registry recorded 28,918 mortgages. At the end of last September, that number was 23,969. This calculates out to a 21 percent increase in recordings in 2021.
Through the first three quarters of 2020, Plymouth County recorded 141 foreclosure deeds. This year, that number fell 65 percent, to 50 foreclosure deeds recorded in Plymouth County. In September there were eight foreclosure deeds recorded. Last September there were only two foreclosure deeds recorded.
There were 25 foreclosure notices recorded during the month of September. This represents the highest number of new notices recorded since March 2020, when the foreclosure moratorium was passed. With the expiration of the moratorium, the number of foreclosures and notices of foreclosures will rise. Through September 2021, 133 foreclosure notices were recorded, compared to 211 foreclosures recorded in the first nine months of 2020.
“With three quarters of the year now behind us and the holiday season not too far off, we expect a slow-down in real estate activity here in Plymouth County,” said Buckley. “However, given the terrific activity throughout the last 18 months, when we were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, I am hesitant to predict real estate’s future.”
