Town's Single-Day Acquisition of 10 Parcels Dominates Plainfield's July Deeds

PLAINFIELD -- Ten of the 13 property transfers recorded in Plainfield between July 3 and Aug. 1 involved the Town of Plainfield taking ownership of parcels across multiple streets, all filed on the same day, while the town's smaller private residential market recorded three sales with no purchase price disclosed in any of them.

MARKET OVERVIEW

The Hampshire County Registry of Deeds recorded 13 property transfers in Plainfield during the period. None of the 13 deeds disclosed a sale price, so no price range or median sale price can be reported for July. Missing consideration amounts are common in deed records generally, including municipal transfers and family or estate transfers, and that pattern holds for this entire dataset.

Of the 13 recorded transfers, 10 were conveyances to the Town of Plainfield, all recorded July 9. The remaining three were private-party transactions between buyers and sellers unaffiliated with the town, recorded on three separate dates (July 8, July 13 and July 15). Because the bulk of this period's recorded activity reflects a single-day municipal acquisition rather than ordinary buyer-seller market turnover, the raw count of 13 transfers should not be read as a gauge of active private home sales in Plainfield this month.

TOP SALES

No sale prices were disclosed for any transaction this period, so the three private-party transfers below cannot be ranked by price. They are presented by recording date.

Citizens Bank NA and RBS Citizens NA sold 10 Maple St. to Robert E. Mellstrom and Susan B. Mellstrom, recorded July 8. Price not disclosed.

Mark W. Hathaway and Diane M. Hathaway sold a Plainfield property (no street address listed in the deed) to Cathy Shugg, recorded July 13. Price not disclosed.

Country Bank for Savings sold 0 East Main St. to Brian M. Fay and Charlene M. Negron, recorded July 15. Price not disclosed.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN

The Town of Plainfield's July 9 acquisitions touched several streets with more than one parcel apiece. East Main Street had two transfers: 278 East Main St. from Matthew Stowell to the town, and separately, 0 East Main St. was sold by Country Bank for Savings to a private buyer on July 15. West Main Street had two town acquisitions: 780 West Main St. from Raymond R. Tetrault and Dianne L. Tetrault, and 746 West Main St. from Lynne C. Robbins. River Road had two town acquisitions: 184 River Rd. from Jane V. Lemanski and 0 River Rd. from the estate of Lena Dyer. South Central Street had two town acquisitions: 56 South Central St. from David Crowell and 65 South Central St. from Steven Michael Laszczyk.

Single town acquisitions were also recorded at 13 North St. (from Elizabeth J. Wade and Thomas R. Wade), 107 Grant St. (from Wallace B. Stockwell) and 134 West Hill Rd. (from Derek John Ritchie and Maribeth Ritchie). The three private-party sales were scattered individually on East Main Street, Maple Street and an unaddressed Plainfield parcel, showing no street-level clustering among the non-municipal transactions.

MARKET NOTES

Ten of the 13 recorded transfers this period, or about 77%, had the Town of Plainfield as buyer, and all 10 were recorded on the same date, July 9. That concentration is the dominant feature of this month's deed activity and sets it apart from an ordinary month of individual home sales.

One of the town's acquisitions, at 0 River Rd., came from an estate (Dyer Lena Est.) rather than a living seller. Among the three private-party transactions, two involved a bank as seller: Country Bank for Savings at 0 East Main St. and the pairing of Citizens Bank NA and RBS Citizens NA at 10 Maple St. No property type, square footage or bedroom/bathroom data is available in deed records, so no price-per-square-foot or property-type comparisons can be made this period. No sale price was disclosed for any of the 13 transactions, private or municipal, recorded during the period.

Recorded Deeds

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

Jul 6 - Jul 12

Jul 13 - Jul 19

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