Cape property sales volume drops sharply
Published on Tuesday, December 02, 2008
From Cape Cod Online - Read full story here
By Sarah Shemkus
BARNSTABLE — After two straight months of growth, Cape Cod real estate sales volume plummeted in November, according to numbers released yesterday by the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds.
Last month, 321 sales were recorded at the registry, down more than 34 percent from November 2007, when 489 such transactions were completed.
Real estate sales volume
The total value of all sales was half what it was last November.
The last month to see a decline in volume this steep was August 2006, when sales fell by 34 percent as compared to the same month the previous year.
Registry numbers reflect all commercial, residential and other real estate transactions valued above $50,000.
Last month's plunge was probably due to a combination of factors, said Assistant Register of Deeds David Murphy.
One factor was the credit crunch that hit earlier in the fall, he said. "November was really a good indicator of what happened in September and early October," he said.
The numbers may appear even worse because the month contained fewer business days than usual, he added; the first two days and the last two days of the month all fell on weekends, he pointed out.
Median sales value also took a hit last month, falling to $297,500, just the second time the midpoint price has dropped below $300,000 since the registry began reporting median value in 2005.
In November 2007, the median price was $330,000.
Sales value and volume are also down year-to date.
Volume has fallen 7.8 percent, from 5,864 sales in the first 11 months of 2007 to 5,408 over the same period this year.
Median price through November last year was $345,000; this year that number dropped 10.1 percent to $310,000.
Foreclosure deeds showed signs of stabilizing in November; 37 deeds were filed last month, compared to 35 in the same month last year.
Foreclosures are up 81 percent for the year, however, jumping from 311 through November last year to 560 over the same period this year.
Early indications are that December is unlikely to be much better than November.
"I am not hearing great news going forward, to be honest with you," Murphy said. "It's probably the quietest I have seen it around here in my 10 years."
