Seminary Sale Pushes Hamilton's Price Range to $36.4 Million This Period

HAMILTON -- Fourteen property transfers were recorded at the Essex County Registry of Deeds for Hamilton between Aug. 21 and Sept. 19, ranging from a $400,000 sale on Beech Street to a $36.4 million transfer of the former Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary property on Essex Street.

MARKET OVERVIEW

Of the 14 recorded transfers, seven carried a sale price in the registry data as of this reporting; the remaining seven had not yet had a price recorded, which is typical since prices generally post within about a week of recording. Among the seven priced sales, prices ranged from $400,000 to $36.4 million, with a median of $880,000. The wide spread is driven almost entirely by the single $36.4 million Essex Street sale; excluding that transaction, the remaining priced sales fell between $400,000 and $1,175,000. With 14 recorded transfers in a roughly four-week span, the period shows a steady volume of activity, though more than half the deeds represent transfers within the same family or into a personal trust rather than open-market sales between unrelated parties.

TOP SALES

The largest transaction was 130 Essex St, Lots A and B, which sold for $36.4 million. Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary Inc. was the seller and 212 Bridge St LLC the buyer, in a sale recorded Sept. 8.

The next-highest sale was 8 Patton Ridge Rd, which sold for $1,175,000 on Sept. 17. John H. Carroll was the seller and the Heath Smith Family Trust the buyer.

40 Orchard Rd, Lot 8, sold for $900,000 on Sept. 9. Jeffrey M. McKee was the seller and Richard Stafford the buyer.

32 Knowlton St, Lots 12 and 13, sold for $880,000 on Sept. 4. Francis M. Koughan Tr. was the seller and Michael D. Amundson the buyer.

22 Ortins Rd, Lot 5, sold for $750,000 on Sept. 10. Evan Lawler was the seller and Jeffrey R. Rusconi II the buyer.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN

Essex Street saw two recorded transfers in the period: the $36.4 million sale of 130 Essex St, Lots A and B, and a transfer of 504 Essex St, Lot 7, for which a price has not yet been recorded. No other street had more than one recorded transfer.

By price tier among the seven sales with recorded prices: one sale, at 21 & 21R Beech St, closed under $500,000, at $400,000, with Chebacco Park LLC as seller and Luxurious Homes LLC as buyer. Four sales fell between $500,000 and $1 million: 47 Sharon Rd, Lot 4 ($725,000); 22 Ortins Rd, Lot 5 ($750,000); 32 Knowlton St, Lots 12 and 13 ($880,000); and 40 Orchard Rd, Lot 8 ($900,000). Two sales exceeded $1 million: 8 Patton Ridge Rd ($1,175,000) and 130 Essex St, Lots A and B ($36.4 million).

MARKET NOTES

A clear pattern separates the priced and unpriced transfers in this period: all seven deeds without a recorded price involve a seller and buyer who share a last name or are the same individual, consistent with transfers into a personal or family trust. Examples include 286 Moulton St (Peter P. Woodberry to Pamela Woodberry), 42 Forest St, Lot 311 (Judith Leikauskas to Judith Leikauskas Tr.), 504 Essex St, Lot 7 (Andreu Viader to the Andreu Viader & Meghan Elizabeth Viader Living Trust), 21 Savoy Rd, Lot 12 (Susan A. Kalloch to the Susan A. Kalloch 2026 Revocable Trust), 55 Fox Run Rd, Lot 28A (Jordan L. Becker to the Benjamin & Jordan Becker Living Trust), 122 Railroad Ave (Fanning Family Irrevocable Trust to Theresa M. Fanning Tr.) and 37 Junction Ln, Unit 4 (Deborah Ann Bilello to Deborah Ann Bilello). By contrast, all seven sales with a recorded price involve buyers and sellers with different last names or corporate entities.

Unit- and lot-designated properties, a category that typically includes condominiums, made up nine of the 14 recorded transfers. The remaining transfers involved single-family addresses or, in the case of the Essex Street seminary property, a larger institutional parcel.

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.