2022 Plymouth County Real Estate Trends Continue Into 2023

Filed Under: More News, Real Estate

What lies ahead for the spring real estate market? The industry is looking for some positive signs.

One good, albeit small sign was that the average sales price for homes in Plymouth County, which had been declining over the past few months, saw a slight increase in January, from $553,451 in 2022 to $564,195 in 2023.

However, sales volume in January 2023 was lower than the sales volume in January 2022. This January, 513 deeds were recorded. In January 2022, 661 deeds were recorded. This represents a 22 percent decrease in sales, reported Register of Deeds John R. Buckley Jr.

“The real test will be the upcoming spring market,” he said.

In January, Plymouth County recorded fewer than 1,000 mortgages, specifically 958, for the first time since February 2014. This represents a 50 percent decline from the 1,920 mortgages recorded in January, 2022. Declining mortgage activity started last year and remains a concern for 2023, Buckley said. As interest rates continue to rise, refinance activity too will likely continue to slow.

This past week the Federal Reserve raised the interest rates by a quarter of a point, which represents a slowdown from the December half point increase. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell made it clear that additional increases were likely.

Plymouth County recorded 10 foreclosure deeds in January compared to five recorded last January.