Typically, the approach of the holiday season brings a slowdown of real estate market activity and October was no exception in Plymouth County, as sales and mortgage numbers for October were less than the recording numbers in September, according to Plymouth County Register of Deeds John R. Buckley Jr.
“We recorded 893 deeds in October, down from the 1,053 deeds recorded in September,” said Buckley. “Mortgages recorded in October also trailed the September numbers. The Registry recorded 2,928 mortgages in October, compared to 3,158 mortgages recorded in September.”
Through the first 10 months of 2021, the Plymouth County Registry recorded 8,921 deeds, compared to 8,580 recorded during the same period in 2020.
“Considering the fact that we have endured a pandemic over the past year, a four percent increase in sales volume is good news,” noted Buckley.
Mortgage activity this year is better than last year. Plymouth County has recorded 16 percent more mortgages this year compared to last year at this time.
“We have recorded 31,846 mortgages this year compared to 27,416 mortgages recorded by this time last year,” observed Register Buckley. “I would note a caveat as the mortgage filings in each of the last four months were less than the recordings in the corresponding four months in 2020,” added Buckley.
Both foreclosure recordings and foreclosure notices lag far behind the pre-COVID-19 numbers. For example, in October 2021, the Registry recorded five foreclosures, In October 2019, the Registry recorded 31 foreclosures. Through the 10 months of the year, Plymouth County recorded 55 foreclosure deeds, representing a 64 percent decrease from the 152 foreclosure deeds that were recorded through this time last year.
“With the moratorium no longer in effect, we are seeing a rise in foreclosure activity,” said Buckley. “The most notable trend in real estate is the continuing climb in foreclosure notices. Since last April, each month’s foreclosure notice recordings were significantly higher than recorded last April to October. It is just a matter of time before the foreclosure numbers catch up.”
Through October 165 notices have been recorded, compared to 220 notices recorded last year at this time. This represents a 25 percent decrease, largely attributable to the recently concluded moratorium.
