Essex Street Sale Anchors Wide Price Spread in Salem's Latest Deed Records

SALEM -- Fifteen properties changed hands in Salem during the four-week period, with recorded sale prices ranging from $290,000 for a Derby Street condominium to $1,565,000 for a commercial property on Essex Street.

MARKET OVERVIEW The Essex County Southern District Registry of Deeds recorded 15 property transfers in Salem during the period. Of those, 11 included a recorded sale price, ranging from $290,000 to $1,565,000, with a median sale price of $513,000. The remaining four transactions do not yet show a price in registry data; that typically appears within about a week and does not indicate the amount was withheld. With 15 recorded sales over four weeks, deed activity in Salem held a steady pace; the dataset does not include prior-period totals for a direct comparison.

TOP SALES 395 Essex St. sold for $1,565,000 on Sept. 17, the period's highest-priced transaction. Raymond LLC sold the property to 395 Essex Street LLC. 22 Strongwater Drive, Lot 121, sold for $1,040,750 on Sept. 16. Osborne Hills Realty Trust sold the property to Scott C. Knapp. 184 Lafayette St., Lot A, sold for $725,000 on Sept. 17. North Shore Heritage Associates Inc. sold the property to SEH Property 1 LLC. 93 Ocean Ave. sold for $680,000 on Sept. 18. Maureen M. Twomey, as representative of the estate, sold the property to Gina Holland. 4 Upham St. sold for $640,000 on Sept. 18. Priscilla A. King sold the property to the Hyde Beneficial Trust.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN No street had more than one recorded sale during the period, so transactions are grouped by price tier instead. Under $500,000: five sales, including 12 Woodbury Court ($475,000), 1 Fletcher Way, Unit 128A-B ($499,000), 12 Linden St., Unit 4 ($475,000), 23 Summer St., Unit 9 ($414,000), and 149 Derby St., Unit A ($290,000), the period's lowest-priced sale. Between $500,000 and $1 million: four sales, including 50 Freedom Hollow, Unit 403 ($513,000), 4 Upham St. ($640,000), 93 Ocean Ave. ($680,000), and 184 Lafayette St., Lot A ($725,000). Above $1 million: two sales, 22 Strongwater Drive ($1,040,750) and 395 Essex St. ($1,565,000). Four additional sales, at 59-61 Dunlap St., 8 Lovett St., 47 Cavendish Circle and 38 Boardman St., have no price yet on record.

MARKET NOTES Condominium units, identified by unit numbers in the deed records, accounted for eight of the 15 recorded sales, roughly half of all transactions. The four sales without a recorded price so far share a pattern: in each case, the same individual appears as both seller and, through a trust bearing their name, as buyer, at 59-61 Dunlap St., 8 Lovett St., 47 Cavendish Circle and 38 Boardman St. Two of the five top-priced sales, at 395 Essex St. and 184 Lafayette St., involved a limited liability company as buyer, seller or both, pointing to commercial or investment activity among the period's larger transactions.

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.