West Newbury Home Sales Split Between Family Trust Transfers And Sales

WEST NEWBURY -- Twelve deeds were recorded in West Newbury between Aug. 7 and Sept. 5, but only four carried a disclosed sale price, with the rest reflecting transfers of property within the same family or into a trust.

MARKET OVERVIEW The Essex South Registry of Deeds recorded 12 property transfers in West Newbury during the period. Of those, four listed a disclosed consideration amount, ranging from $850,000 to $1,300,000, with a median of $1,000,000. The remaining eight deeds listed no sale price, consistent with intra-family or trust-to-trust transfers rather than open-market transactions. Based on raw count alone, 12 recorded deeds in a single month is a notable volume for the town, though two-thirds of that activity did not represent a change in ownership between unrelated parties.

TOP SALES The highest-priced transaction was 12 Steed Ave., Parcel 1A, which sold for $1,300,000 on Aug. 12. The seller was Roa Rea LLC and the buyer was listed as Hochschwender M K. At 13 Meetinghouse Hill Rd., Lot 1B, the property sold for $1,025,000 on Aug. 26; Craig S. Stearns, as trustee, sold to Brian D. Kelly, as trustee. At 555 Main St., Lot 1, the sale price was $975,000 on Aug. 24, with Timothy Kelleher, as trustee, selling to Alicia Thompson Churchill. The lowest of the four disclosed sales was 53 Crane Neck St., which sold for $850,000 on Aug. 13; the seller was listed as Gagliardi P J R and the buyer as White L M.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN Two streets each saw two recorded transfers during the period. Crane Neck Street had one disclosed sale, the $850,000 transaction at 53 Crane Neck St., and one undisclosed trust transfer at 128 Crane Neck St., where William E. Dawson Jr. transferred the property to the William & Eleanor Dawson Trust. Main Street also had two transfers: the $975,000 sale at 555 Main St., Lot 1, and an undisclosed trust transfer at 278 Main St., where Elizabeth T. Alley transferred the property to herself as trustee. Among the four disclosed sales, two fell in the $850,000-to-$1 million range (53 Crane Neck St. and 555 Main St.) and two exceeded $1 million (13 Meetinghouse Hill Rd. and 12 Steed Ave.). The remaining eight properties, spread across Bridge Street, Captain Pierce Drive, Georgetown Road, River Meadow Drive and Dole Place, carried no disclosed price.

MARKET NOTES Eight of the 12 recorded deeds during this period involved a grantor transferring property to themselves or a family member as trustee, or to a like-named family trust: 278 Main St., an undisclosed transfer noted above; 52 Bridge St., Lot 5, where Kevin A. Johnson transferred to the Johnson Family Trust; 1 Captain Pierce Dr., Unit B, where Timothy Smith Dixon transferred to himself as trustee; 128 Crane Neck St., noted above; 59 Georgetown Rd., where Ramunas J. Svarcas transferred to himself as trustee; 11 River Meadow Dr., Lot 5AA, where David D. Hill transferred to himself as trustee; 24 Dole Pl., Lot A, listed under the same grantor and grantee name; and one recorded under David R. Clancey transferring to himself as trustee. None of these eight deeds listed a sale price. Several of the recorded properties, including units on Bridge Street, Captain Pierce Drive, River Meadow Drive, Dole Place and Steed Avenue, are identified by lot or parcel number rather than a standalone street address, indicating condominium or subdivided-lot ownership rather than single-family parcels. No bedroom, bathroom or square-footage data was available in the deed records for 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.