Register John R. Buckley, Jr. reports that for the first time this year Plymouth County saw more mortgage closings than the corresponding month in 2020 and 2021.
Plymouth County recorded 936 deeds in June 2022, less than the 1,127 closings in June, 2021, but more than the 836 closings recorded in June 2020. This represents a significant drop in sales compared to last June, 17 percent, but it does represent the most monthly sales seen this year, said Buckley. Through the first half of this year, Plymouth County recorded 4,389 deeds, down from 4,981 recorded during the same period in 2021.
Sale prices continue to increase. The average sales price in 2022, is 12 percent higher than the average sales price of a home in 2021. The average sales price for a home in 2022 is $596,797. The average sales price at this time last year was $532,214.
“We’ve seen sale prices rise steadily for a number of years,” noted Buckley, “so we certainly are watching as the increases appear to be moderating a little bit.”
In terms of commerce generated through Plymouth County real estate sales, the total value sales through June of this year reached $1.619 billion.
Buckley also reported on the continuing decline in refinance activity. Plymouth County recorded 1,811 mortgages in June, down from the 3,115 in June, 2021. Through the first half of the year, Plymouth County recorded 11,320 mortgages, representing a 44 percent decline from the 20,121 mortgages recorded through the same period last year. At the same time, the average amount of each mortgage has increased 2 percent, from $343,805 through June 2021, to $351,598 this year. In total, Plymouth County has recorded almost $4 billion in mortgages through June of this year.
As it does throughout the country, new foreclosure activity continues to pick up with the end of the moratorium. Buckley reported 29 notices to foreclose were recorded in June 2022. That figure brings the total number of notices recorded in 2022 to 208, representing an increase of 129 percent over the 90 recorded during the first half of 2021.
Actual foreclosures, however, still have not caught up with pre-COVID numbers. Thus far this year Plymouth County has recorded 48 foreclosure deeds. Although this number is significantly more than the 30 deed foreclosures recorded last year at this time, it trails the 108 foreclosure deeds recorded through June 2020.,
With the close of Fiscal Year 2022, the Registry of Deeds provided the primary revenue stream for the county. Over the last several years the Registry has brought in from 60 percent to 70 percent of all Plymouth County revenues. This past fiscal year the Registry brought in more than $7 million. Over the last three years the Registry has distributed approximately $21 million dollars to Plymouth County operations.
