Topsfield sales top out at $1.3 million as trust transfers make up half of deeds

TOPSFIELD -- Fourteen deeds were recorded in Topsfield between July 17 and Aug. 15, but only half disclosed a sale price, with the rest reflecting transfers within the same family or into trusts.

MARKET OVERVIEW Seven of the 14 recorded transfers listed a sale price, ranging from $600,000 to $1,300,000. Among those seven, the median sale price was $980,000. The remaining seven entries, exactly half the period's total, involved a grantor and grantee sharing the same last name or a transfer into a trust bearing that name, and none disclosed a price. Based on the seven disclosed prices, sales skewed toward the upper end of the range, with three of the seven above $1 million.

TOP SALES The period's highest-priced transaction was 5 Blueberry Lane, which sold for $1,300,000 on Aug. 7. Gerard L. McCarthy sold the property to Angela Daley. Bed, bath and square footage figures were not available.

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

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

89 North Street, Lot 3-5, sold for $980,000 on July 30. Vincent J. Schettino Jr., as trustee, sold the property to Peter E. Guarino.

37 Colrain Road, Lot 3, sold for $774,900 on July 31. William W. Lord, as trustee, sold the property to Joshua Schoenbrun.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN Ipswich Road was the only street with more than one recorded transfer: 189 Ipswich Road, Lot 16, sold for $1,075,000, while 60 Ipswich Road, Lot 4, changed hands in a same-name transfer from Stephen J. Falivene to Stephen J. Falivene as trustee, with no price disclosed. All other addresses in the period were on separate streets, so the clearer pattern is by price tier among the seven disclosed sales. Three sales topped $1 million: Blueberry Lane ($1,300,000), Millbrook Lane ($1,275,000) and Ipswich Road ($1,075,000). Four sales fell in the $500,000-to-$1 million range: North Street ($980,000), Colrain Road ($774,900), Summer Street ($707,500) and Grove Street ($600,000). No disclosed sales were below $500,000.

MARKET NOTES Seven of the 14 recorded deeds, exactly half, were transfers in which the grantor and grantee shared a family name or the property moved into a trust: 15 Lockwood Lane, 470 Boston Street Unit 9, 21 Kinsman Lane, 14 Andrews Road, 13 Arrowhead Road, 60 Ipswich Road and 4 Aaron Drive. None of those seven disclosed a sale price, consistent with the pattern seen in non-arm's-length deed filings generally. Two of the period's transfers involved condominium units, 470 Boston Street Unit 9 and 3 Summer Street Unit 2; the remainder were identified with lot numbers consistent with single-family or subdivision parcels. Bedroom, bathroom and square-footage data were not available for any transaction in this dataset.

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.