Belchertown's Highest Disclosed Sale Reaches $240,000 as Prices Vary Widely

BELCHERTOWN -- Belchertown recorded 17 property transfers in the four weeks ending Aug. 1, but only six of those deeds disclosed a sale price, ranging from $70,000 to $240,000 with a median of $95,750.

MARKET OVERVIEW The Hampshire County Registry of Deeds recorded 17 property transfers in Belchertown between July 3 and Aug. 1. Six of those listed a sale price, ranging from $70,000 to $240,000, with a median price of $95,750. The remaining 11 transactions, and several of the priced ones as well, did not follow the pattern of a conventional owner-to-buyer sale: five of the six disclosed-price transfers named a bank, credit union or mortgage company as the buyer, and four of the 17 recorded documents were a declaration of homestead, an order of conditions or an estate-tax affidavit rather than a property sale. The raw count of 17 recorded documents suggests a routine volume of registry activity for the period, though the mix of foreclosure-related deeds and non-sale filings limits what can be concluded about the strength of the conventional home-sale market from this data alone.

TOP SALES The highest-priced transaction was 34 Kopec Ave., which sold for $240,000. Judith A. Shattuck was the seller; Citizens Bank NA was the buyer. 366 Allen Rd. sold for $225,000. Daniel Walker and Daniel Q. Walker were the sellers; Country Bank for Savings was the buyer. 344 Ware Rd. sold for $103,500. Jayashree Suryanarayanan and Sankar Surya Narayanan were the sellers; Rocket Mortgage LLC and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. were the buyers. 511 Allen Rd. sold for $88,000. Cynthia LaMacchia was the seller; Freedom Credit Union was the buyer. A Belchertown property sold for $80,000; the recorded deed did not list a street address. Stephen R. Setkewich and Darlene R. Setkewich were the sellers; Daniel R. Beaudette was the buyer.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN Allen Road accounted for two of the six disclosed-price sales this period: $88,000 at 511 Allen Rd. and $225,000 at 366 Allen Rd. No other street had more than one disclosed-price sale. By price tier, three of the six disclosed sales fell under $100,000: $70,000 at 224 West St., $80,000 at the unlisted Belchertown address, and $88,000 at 511 Allen Rd. One sale, $103,500 at 344 Ware Rd., fell between $100,000 and $200,000. Two sales topped $200,000: $225,000 at 366 Allen Rd. and $240,000 at 34 Kopec Ave.

MARKET NOTES Deed records for this period do not include bedroom, bathroom or square-footage figures, so no price-per-square-foot comparison is possible. Five of the six disclosed-price transfers listed a bank, credit union or mortgage lender -- Country Bank for Savings, Citizens Bank NA, Freedom Credit Union, and Rocket Mortgage LLC together with Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. -- as the buyer. That pattern is typically associated with foreclosure filings. The lone disclosed-price sale between two individual parties was the $80,000 transfer from Stephen R. and Darlene R. Setkewich to Daniel R. Beaudette. Several other recorded documents from the period were not property sales. 145 Rockrimmon St. and 383 North Washington St. were declarations of homestead. 50 Federal St. was an order of conditions involving the Belchertown Town Conservation Commission. 89 Green Ave. was an affidavit regarding estate tax tied to the estate of Elaine A. Lydon. At 81 North St., the seller list included John H. Fuller Jr. and the buyer list included Mary D. Fuller, indicating a transfer within the same family. No price was disclosed for that transaction.

Recorded Deeds

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

Jun 29 - Jul 5

Jul 6 - Jul 12

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