Rockport median sale price holds at $650,000 despite wide price swings

ROCKPORT -- Fourteen properties changed hands in Rockport between June 19 and July 18, according to deeds recorded at the Essex County (Southern District) Registry of Deeds, with sale prices ranging from $445,000 to $3.5 million and a median of $650,000 among the nine transactions that disclosed a price.

MARKET OVERVIEW

The registry recorded 14 property transfers during the period. Of those, nine deeds listed a sale price; the remaining five did not disclose consideration, which is common for deed records and does not necessarily indicate the properties were transferred without payment. Among the nine disclosed sales, prices ranged from $445,000 for a unit at 176 Main St. to $3.5 million for a parcel on Beach Street, with a median of $650,000. Fourteen recorded transfers in a five-week window is a moderate pace for a town of Rockport's size, though the raw count alone does not establish whether this represents an active or quiet stretch relative to other periods.

TOP SALES

The month's highest-priced transaction was 15 Beach St., Parcel 1, which sold for $3.5 million on July 9. Laura Elizabeth Moran, trustee, sold the property to Brian A. Salyards, trustee. The second-highest sale was 4 North Rd., Unit 2, which sold for $1,795,000 on July 10; the Lobster Pot-North Star Condominium sold the unit to Babak Movahedi. At 38 & 38R High St., Karen L. Andrews sold to Donna Macletchie for $985,000 on July 10. At 76 Granite St., Ward L. Berry Jr. sold to Russell Garrity Jr. for $800,000, also on July 10. Rounding out the top five, 42 Squam Hill Rd., Lot 3, sold for $650,000 on July 7; Brian L. Heath, trustee, sold to Justin Heath.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN

No street had more than one recorded sale during the period, so no street-level clustering emerged. Sales instead spread across price tiers. Two disclosed sales fell under $500,000: 2 Mt. Pleasant St., Unit 3, at $449,000, and 176 Main St., Unit B, at $445,000. Five disclosed sales fell between $500,000 and $1 million: 1 Charte Ct. ($635,000), 14 Curtis St. ($640,000), 42 Squam Hill Rd. Lot 3 ($650,000), 76 Granite St. ($800,000) and 38 & 38R High St. ($985,000). Two disclosed sales exceeded $1 million: 4 North Rd., Unit 2 ($1,795,000), and 15 Beach St., Parcel 1 ($3.5 million). The five sales without disclosed prices were spread across Highview Road, Broadway, Pleasant Street, Tregony Bow Road and Bearskin Neck.

MARKET NOTES

Deed records do not include bedroom, bathroom or square-footage data, so no price-per-square-foot comparisons are available for this period. Of the 14 recorded transfers, five involved unit numbers, indicating condominium sales: 2 Mt. Pleasant St. Unit 3, 90B Pleasant St. Unit B, 48 Bearskin Neck Unit 3, 4 North Rd. Unit 2 and 176 Main St. Unit B. Two additional transfers were recorded with lot designations -- 11 Highview Rd. Lot 25 and 42 Squam Hill Rd. Lot 3.

A notable pattern in this period's data: five of the 14 transfers appear to be within-family or trust transfers, based on matching grantor and grantee surnames, and none of the five disclosed a sale price. These include 11 Highview Rd. Lot 25 (Shaun J. McDonough, trustee, to Shaun J. McDonough), 67 Broadway (Helen P. Brown to Helen P. Brown, trustee), 90B Pleasant St. Unit B (Heather J. Eldridge, trustee, to Heather J. Eldridge), 0 & 5 Tregony Bow Rd. (S.C. Burr to the Sum C. and Sha L. Burr trust) and 48 Bearskin Neck Unit 3 (George P. Bajoras to George P. Bajoras, trustee). The Squam Hill Road sale among the top five transactions also involved a Heath-to-Heath transfer, though that one disclosed a $650,000 price. This pattern of family or trust transfers is common in deed data and this report does not speculate on the reasons behind them.

Recorded Deeds

Source: Registry of Deeds. Sale amounts shown as recorded; transfers without a disclosed consideration are noted as such.

Jul 6 - Jul 12

Jul 13 - Jul 19

Compiled from official town feeds, community organizations, and local press. Outside reporting is attributed inline.