West Newbury sales top out at $1.8 million as median holds at $1 million

WEST NEWBURY -- Thirteen properties changed hands in West Newbury between July 31 and August 29, but only six of those transactions disclosed a sale price, with the top sale reaching $1.8 million on River Meadow Drive.

MARKET OVERVIEW Of the 13 recorded deeds, six carried a disclosed sale price, ranging from $800,000 to $1,800,000. The median sale price among those six was $1,000,000. The remaining seven transactions, more than half of the period's total, listed no consideration amount, consistent with property transfers into trusts or between family members rather than open-market sales. Based on raw count alone, 13 recorded deeds in a one-month span reflects a active pace of paperwork moving through the registry, though the mix of disclosed and undisclosed transfers makes it difficult to characterize overall market conditions from price alone.

TOP SALES The highest-priced transaction was 15 River Meadow Dr Lot 60D, which sold for $1,800,000 on July 31. Joseph F. Wojdak was the seller and Caitlin D. Van Berkel the buyer. 12 Steed Ave Pcl 1A sold for $1,300,000 on Aug. 12. ROA REA LLC was the seller and M.K. Hochschwender the buyer. 13 Meetinghouse Hill Rd Lot 1B sold for $1,025,000 on Aug. 26. Craig S. Stearns, as trustee, was the seller and Brian D. Kelly, as trustee, the buyer. 555 Main St Lot 1 sold for $975,000 on Aug. 24. Timothy Kelleher, as trustee, was the seller and Alicia Thompson Churchill the buyer. 53 Crane Neck St sold for $850,000 on Aug. 13. The seller was listed as P.J.R. Gagliardi and the buyer as L.M. White.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN Two streets recorded multiple transactions in the period. River Meadow Drive had two sales: the $1.8 million Lot 60D transaction and a separate transfer at 11 River Meadow Dr Lot 5AA from David D. Hill to Hill, as trustee, with no price disclosed. Crane Neck Street also had two transactions: the $850,000 sale at 53 Crane Neck St and an undisclosed-price transfer at 128 Crane Neck St from William E. Dawson Jr. to the William & Eleanor Dawson Trust. Among sales with a disclosed price, three fell in the $800,000-to-$1 million range (350 Middle St, 53 Crane Neck St and 555 Main St) and three exceeded $1 million (13 Meetinghouse Hill Rd, 12 Steed Ave and 15 River Meadow Dr).

MARKET NOTES Seven of the 13 recorded deeds, more than half, transferred property from an individual to a trust or entity bearing that same person's name: 52 Bridge St Lot 5 (Kevin A. Johnson to Johnson Family Trust), 1 Captain Pierce Dr Lot B (Timothy Smith Dixon to Timothy S. Dixon, trustee), 128 Crane Neck St (William E. Dawson Jr. to the Dawson trust), 59 Georgetown Rd (Ramunas J. Svarcas to Svarcas, trustee), 11 River Meadow Dr Lot 5AA (David D. Hill to Hill, trustee), 24 Dole Pl Lot A and 26 Coffin St Lots 3 & 4 (each recorded with the same trustee name on both sides). None of these seven transactions disclosed a sale price. A separate transfer at 350 Middle St from Maureen L. Knowles to Samuel Knowles did disclose a price, $800,000, despite the shared last name. Beds, baths and square footage were not available in the deed records for any property 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.