Both Disclosed Whately Sales This Period Involve Credit Union Buyers

WHATELY -- Franklin County Registry of Deeds records show 13 property transfers in Whately between Aug. 7 and Sept. 5, but only two carried a disclosed sale price, and both of those involved a credit union as buyer, a detail that limits what the numbers can say about the town's broader housing market this period.

MARKET OVERVIEW The registry recorded 13 transfers during the period. Of those, only two listed a consideration amount: $64,908 for 116 Christian Lane and $375,200 for 45 North Street. Based on those two figures, the price range runs from $64,908 to $375,200, with a median of $220,054. Because 11 of the 13 recorded deeds carry no disclosed price, that range and median describe only a small slice of the period's activity and should not be read as representative of typical home sale values in town. The raw count of 13 recorded deeds in a four-week span is not unusual on its own, but a closer look at the parties involved shows most of these filings are not conventional buyer-to-seller purchases.

TOP SALES 45 North St. sold for $375,200 on Aug. 11. Seller of record was Thomas D. Sadoski; the buyer was Freedom Credit Union. 116 Christian Lane sold for $64,908 on Aug. 11. Seller of record was Lisa C. Gustavsen; buyers of record were Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. and Holyoke Credit Union. No other transfers in the period disclosed a sale price, so no further transactions can be ranked by value.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN State Road saw the most deed activity of any street, with four recorded transfers during the period: 54 State Rd. (Aug. 27), 60 State Rd. (Aug. 13), 145 State Rd. (Aug. 20) and 188 State Rd. (Aug. 25). Chestnut Plain Road followed with three: 168 Chestnut Plain Rd. (Aug. 18), 170 Chestnut Plain Rd. (Aug. 31) and 178 Chestnut Plain Rd. (Aug. 13). The remaining six transfers were spread across individual streets: River Road, Masterson Road, North Street, Christian Lane, Swamp Road and one parcel listed without a street address. Because only two of the 13 transfers disclosed a price, a price-tier breakdown by street is not meaningful; both disclosed sales, on North Street and Christian Lane, fell under $500,000.

MARKET NOTES Nine of the 13 recorded deeds list a bank, mortgage servicer, credit union or Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. (MERS) as either the grantor or grantee, including transfers at 180 River Rd., 170 Chestnut Plain Rd., 54 State Rd., 188 State Rd., 60 State Rd., 178 Chestnut Plain Rd., 36 Swamp Rd., and the two disclosed-price sales on North Street and Christian Lane. That pattern is consistent with foreclosure-related or lender-to-lender transfers rather than conventional arms-length home sales. Notably, the two transactions that did disclose a price both named a credit union as buyer, Freedom Credit Union at 45 North St. and Holyoke Credit Union at 116 Christian Lane, meaning the only price data available this period comes from that category of transfer rather than a typical purchase between a homeowner and a buyer. One additional transfer, at 145 State Rd., listed the buyer as Whately Town Taxes, indicating a tax-related taking rather than a private sale. Bedroom, bathroom and square-footage figures are not captured in deed records and are not available for any of the 13 transfers, so no price-per-square-foot comparison can be made. Property type (single-family, condominium or multi-family) is also not specified in the deed data provided and cannot be reported.

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.