Bank and Lender Transfers Push South Hadley's August Median to $98,500

SOUTH HADLEY -- Fifteen property deeds were recorded in South Hadley between Aug. 14 and Sept. 12, with disclosed sale prices ranging from $35,000 to $300,000 and a median of $98,500. Most of the period's disclosed-price transactions involved a bank, credit union or mortgage servicer as either buyer or seller, rather than a conventional sale between two individual parties.

MARKET OVERVIEW Fifteen sales were recorded during the four-week period. Of those, eight disclosed a sale price and seven did not. Prices ranged from $35,000 to $300,000, and the median sale price was $98,500. That median is on the low end, a pattern that lines up with the composition of the period's filings: several of the higher-volume transactions were foreclosure deeds or lender-owned property sales rather than open-market transactions between individual buyers and sellers. Based on the raw count of 15 recorded deeds, the period registered a moderate level of activity, though the dataset does not allow a comparison to prior months.

TOP SALES The highest-priced transaction was 21 Rivercrest Way, Rivercrest Unit 21, which sold for $300,000 on Aug. 18. The seller was Maureen B. Ratigan; the buyer of record was Rocket Mortgage LLC and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. The second-highest sale was 10 Easy St at $275,143, recorded Aug. 14, with Robyn Robitaille as seller and Planet Home Lending LLC and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. as buyer. At 197 N Main St, the property sold for $260,000 on Aug. 17; the sellers were Michael Fern and Cheryl A. Fern, and the buyer was Citizens Bank NA. 11 Summit St sold for $108,000 on Aug. 18, with Jane E. Daviau as seller and Polish National Credit Union as buyer. Rounding out the top five, 334 North Main St sold for $89,000 on Aug. 14; the seller was the Annette L. Morris Trust, and the buyer was Florence Bank.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN No single street accounted for a majority of the period's sales, but two street names each appeared twice. Spring Meadows had two filings: 9 Spring Meadows sold for $35,000 on Aug. 17, and 22 Spring Meadows changed hands in the same period with price not disclosed. North Main Street also had two entries, recorded under slightly different formatting: 197 N Main St ($260,000) and 334 North Main St ($89,000). By price tier, two sales fell under $50,000 (4 Ridge Rd at $45,000 and 9 Spring Meadows at $35,000), two fell between $50,000 and $100,000 (7 Skinner Ln at $84,472 and 334 North Main St at $89,000), and four fell between $100,000 and $300,000 (11 Summit St, 197 N Main St, 10 Easy St and 21 Rivercrest Way). The remaining seven sales carried no disclosed price.

MARKET NOTES A notable pattern in this period's deed records is the frequency of banks, credit unions or mortgage servicers appearing as either grantor or grantee. Of the 15 recorded deeds, at least 10 list one of the following as either seller or buyer: Citizens Bank NA, Berkshire Bank, Florence Bank, PeoplesBank, Freedom Credit Union, Polish National Credit Union, Rocket Mortgage LLC, Planet Home Lending LLC or Dart Collateral Manager LLC. Several of the undisclosed-price transactions, including 4 Eagle Dr, 3 Mary Lyon Dr, 53 Prospect St, 22 Spring Meadows and 144 Old Lyman Rd, list a bank or credit union as the seller with an individual as buyer. Two records fall outside the typical buyer-seller pattern: the filing for 29 Pynchon Rd lists a declaration of homestead rather than a conventional grantee, and 133 Mosier St was transferred to the town of South Hadley. No property in this period was identified as a condominium unit other than 21 Rivercrest Way. Bedroom, bathroom and square-footage data were not available in the deed records for any property in this period.

Recorded Deeds

Source: Registry of Deeds. Sale amounts shown as recorded; transfers without a disclosed consideration are noted as such.

Compiled from official town feeds, community organizations, and local press. Outside reporting is attributed inline.