REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY DOWN IN 2011, SALES STRONGER IN SECOND HALF

            A decline in certain types of real estate transactions is sometimes a good thing.  That can certainly be said with respect to Plymouth County foreclosure activity in 2011. After recording 1,359 foreclosure deeds in 2010, Plymouth County saw a 28% decline in the number of those recordings, with a total of 985 foreclosure deeds in calendar year 2011.  Notices recorded at the initiation of new foreclosure proceedings fell 30%, from a total of 2,760 in 2010 to 1,930 recorded throughout 2011.

            Register of Deeds John R. Buckley, Jr. nevertheless noted that foreclosure activity is likely to continue at an increased pace for the foreseeable future.  “It is pretty widely considered throughout the real estate industry that the market cannot truly rebound until the foreclosure crisis and its aftermath are behind us.  It may be comforting to see the decline in activity this year, but the current volume of foreclosure deeds and new foreclosure filings is still quite high.”

            The number of Plymouth County sales and refinances also declined in 2011.  Buckley reported 7,144 sales in 2011, down 5% from 2010.  “We have actually seen an uptick in activity over the past several months,” Buckley explained.  “Back in June, we were down 18% in year-to-date sales in comparison to last year.  That gap narrowed each month since, getting into single digits at 9% in October, 7% in November and 5% through the end of the year.”

Refinance activity slowed despite rates repeatedly falling to new historic lows. Plymouth County recorded 21,571 mortgages in 2011, down 11% from 24,251 in 2010.  Interest rates were hovering around 4% for a 30-year fixed mortgage at the end of 2011.  “That will certainly help as the market continues to bounce back,” Buckley said.

             “We continue to see a number of encouraging signs,” Buckley added.  “We saw a strong second half of the year in terms of sales numbers, the National Association of Realtors recently reported a roughly 6% jump in the number of executed sales contracts over this time last year, and perhaps most importantly, we are not seeing a sharp decline in the average sales price. We are hopeful that we see continued advancement and stability in the real estate market in 2012.” 

            If you would like to receive a copy of our monthly report by e-mail, please contact Assistant Register of Deeds Michael P. Holden at holden@plymouthdeeds.org.

REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY THROUGH DECEMBER 2011

COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD IN 2010

All figures are based on sales or mortgages between $25,000.00 and $3,000,000.

2011 sales volume: 7,144

2010 sales volume: 7,550

(5% decrease)

2011 total sales value: $2,196,759,173

2010 total sales value: $2,332,448,273

(6% decrease)

2011 average sales price: $307,497

2010 average sales price: $308,935

(0.5% decrease)

2011 mortgage volume: 21,571

2010 mortgage volume: 24,251

(11% decrease)

2011 average mortgage amount: $249,958

2010 average mortgage amount: $247,595

(1% increase)

2011 foreclosure deeds:    985

2010 foreclosure deeds: 1,359

(28% decrease)

2011 foreclosure notices: 1,930

2010 foreclosure notices: 2,760

(30% decrease)

Foreclosures and Orders of Notice by Town

December 2011