Plymouth County Register of Deeds John R. Buckley, Jr. says the spring real estate market has been a busy one. Sales are up, refinances are up and there are signs that the COVID-19-stayed foreclosure recordings may be on the rise.
There were 923 sales in May, compared to 647 sales last May, and 2,951 mortgages recorded this May, compared to 2,727 recorded in May 2020.
“This represents a 43 percent increase in sales activity and an 8 percent increase in mortgage activity,” said Buckley.
The total sales volume for 2021 year-to-date is 19 percent higher than 2020 sales. Thus far in 2021, there have been 3,854 sales in Plymouth County, compared to 3,239 sales for the same time period in 2020. The average sales price of a home jumped 16 percent compared to last year with the average sale price $520,565 through May, compared to an average sales price of $450,614 through May, 2020. Brokers continue to note the lack of inventory contributing to a seller’s market.
Through May 2021, 17,006 mortgages were recorded, compared to 11,474 mortgages recorded through the same timeframe last year. This represents a 48 increase in mortgage recordings.
“The refinancing activity continues.,” Buckley explained. “Even as rates have started to creep up a little, they remain low enough to entice borrowers to take advantage of the rates.”
Foreclosure activity has been impacted by the year-long moratorium put in place as a result of the pandemic and related job losses. The emergency legislation ends this month and there are signs that lenders are becoming more aggressive in the filings. Plymouth County only recorded four new foreclosure deeds in May, but there were 19 new foreclosure notices recorded at the Registry. Last May, lenders recorded just one foreclosure notice. Year-to-date there have been 28 foreclosure deeds recorded and 73 foreclosure notices recorded.
“We will watch with interest the number of foreclosure notices recorded in the coming months as these filings will provide us with an idea as to how many foreclosures will be coming, now that the stay is being lifted,” said Buckley.
