Topsfield Home Prices Top $1 Million in Four of Seven Disclosed Sales

TOPSFIELD -- Fourteen property transfers were recorded in Topsfield during the four weeks ending Aug. 29, with disclosed sale prices ranging from $537,500 to $1,375,000. Half of the recorded transfers listed no sale price, a pattern that lined up closely with transfers between people sharing the same last name or between an individual and a trust bearing their name.

MARKET OVERVIEW Seven of the 14 recorded deeds included a disclosed sale price, ranging from $537,500 to $1,375,000, with a median of $1,075,000 among those seven. The other seven transfers listed no consideration amount. A raw count of 14 recorded deeds in a single month indicates a period of ordinary to active deed activity for Topsfield, though the number includes several transfers that do not appear to reflect open-market sales.

TOP SALES The month's highest-priced transaction was 22 Timber Lane, Lot 10, which sold for $1,375,000 on Aug. 21. Seller Stephen V. Majeski conveyed the property to buyer Daniel Keeler.

5 Blueberry Lane sold for $1,300,000 on Aug. 7. Seller Gerard L. McCarthy conveyed the property to buyer Angela Daley.

8 Millbrook Lane, Lot 1, sold for $1,275,000 on Aug. 4. Seller John H. Mitchell conveyed the property to buyer Neil Shea.

189 Ipswich Road, Lot 16, sold for $1,075,000 on Aug. 3. Seller Matthew R. Fullerton conveyed the property to buyer Alexander Rogers.

13 Andrews Road, Lot 13, sold for $906,000 on Aug. 26. Seller identified as Coughlin C. conveyed the property to buyer Stephens C.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN Three streets had two recorded transfers apiece. Kinsman Lane saw sales at 31 Kinsman Lane, Lot 21, and 21 Kinsman Lane, Lot 24, both Aug. 4 or Aug. 20 closings with no price disclosed. Washington Street had two transfers: 188 Washington Street, Lot 4, sold for $800,000, while 192 Washington Street, Lot 2, closed with no price disclosed. Boston Street had two unit sales at the same address, 470 Boston St., Unit 16 and Unit 9, both without disclosed prices.

By price tier among the seven disclosed sales, three fell between $500,000 and $1 million: 24 Evergreen Lane ($537,500), 188 Washington Street ($800,000) and 13 Andrews Road ($906,000). Four sold above $1 million: 189 Ipswich Road ($1,075,000), 8 Millbrook Lane ($1,275,000), 5 Blueberry Lane ($1,300,000) and 22 Timber Lane ($1,375,000). No disclosed sale fell below $500,000.

MARKET NOTES Every one of the seven transfers with no disclosed price involved a buyer and seller sharing a surname, or an individual conveying property into a trust bearing that same individual's name. Examples include 31 Kinsman Lane, where Steven B. Richards conveyed to Christina A. Richards; 8 Birch Lane, where Jill Shapiro-Durand conveyed to Jill Shapiro-Durand, as trustee; 470 Boston Street, Unit 16, where Donna T. Forlizzi conveyed to herself as trustee; 192 Washington Street, where A.F.J. Yeo conveyed to J.A.T. Yeo; 15 Lockwood Lane, where the DiChiara Nominee Trust conveyed to Michele DiChiara; 470 Boston Street, Unit 9, where the Richard A. Jones and Nancy J. Jones Trust conveyed to the Jones Family Irrevocable Income-Only Trust; and 21 Kinsman Lane, where Derek Gustafson conveyed to himself as trustee.

By contrast, all seven transfers with a disclosed sale price involved buyers and sellers with different surnames. Deed records do not indicate the reason for this split, and none should be inferred.

Property types among the recorded transfers were predominantly single-family homes designated by lot number, with two condominium unit sales recorded at the same 470 Boston Street address. Bedroom, bathroom and square-footage figures were not available in the deed data reviewed for this report.

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.