Half of Swampscott's August deeds carried no disclosed sale price

SWAMPSCOTT -- A $2,925,000 sale on Ocean Avenue was the largest of 12 property transfers recorded in Swampscott between Aug. 7 and Sept. 5, though sale prices were disclosed in fewer than half of the deeds filed with the Essex South Registry during that period.

MARKET OVERVIEW

The registry recorded 12 property transfers in Swampscott during the period, but only 5 of those deeds listed a sale price. Among the disclosed sales, prices ranged from $475,000 to $2,925,000, with a median of $700,000. The remaining seven transfers, more than half the total, were recorded without a stated consideration amount, which is common for family and trust transfers. Because sale prices are disclosed on fewer than half the recorded deeds, the raw count of 12 transfers provides only a partial picture of buying and selling activity in town during this period.

TOP SALES

The top sale was 20 Ocean Ave, which sold for $2,925,000 on Sept. 2. The seller was Abdelhafid Zarouite and the buyer was Zachary McMahon. Bed, bath and square-footage figures were not available in the deed record.

The second-highest disclosed sale was 12 Boynton St, which sold for $740,000 on Aug. 28. The seller was listed as Christopher A. Robinson, trustee, and the buyer was Elsa Fecke White.

11 Bristol Ave, Lot 335, sold for $700,000 on Aug. 28. The seller was Debra Smith Milberg, trustee, and the buyer was Priscilla A. King.

85 Pine St sold for $530,000 on Sept. 4. The seller was Cynthia Jane Cavallaro, trustee, and the buyer was Alba Collective LLC.

A fifth transfer, recorded under the registry's "see record" address listing rather than a street address, sold for $475,000 on Aug. 31. The seller was Susan W. Lerner and the buyer was John Lee.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN

No two disclosed-price sales occurred on the same street during this period, so no single-street cluster stands out. By price tier among the five disclosed sales: one sold under $500,000 ($475,000), three sold between $500,000 and $1 million ($530,000, $700,000 and $740,000), and one sold above $1 million ($2,925,000, the Ocean Avenue property). The seven transfers without disclosed prices were spread across Bar Link Way, Linden Avenue, Cherry Street, Greenwood Avenue, Harrison Avenue, Juniper Road and Jessie Street, with no more than one such transfer per street.

MARKET NOTES

Six of the 12 recorded transfers, exactly half, involved a grantor and grantee with the same name or surname: properties on Bar Link Way, Linden Avenue, Cherry Street, Greenwood Avenue, Harrison Avenue and Juniper Road all changed hands between an individual and a trust bearing that same individual's name, or between family members sharing a surname. None of those six transfers listed a sale price, consistent with the pattern of intra-family or trust-related deed filings. Several addresses in the dataset, including units on Bar Link Way, Cherry Street, Bristol Avenue, Harrison Avenue and Juniper Road, were recorded with unit or lot designations, indicating a mix of condominium and subdivided-lot properties alongside single-family addresses in this period's transfers. Bedroom, bathroom and square-footage data were not available in any of the 12 deed records, so no price-per-square-foot comparisons can be made 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.