Family Trust Transfers Outnumber Open-Market Sales In Marion's August Deed Filings

MARION -- Only three of the 11 property deeds recorded in Marion between Aug. 7 and Sept. 5 disclosed a sale price, and more than half of the filings show sellers and buyers sharing the same last name, a pattern consistent with trust or estate transfers rather than open-market sales.

MARKET OVERVIEW Eleven deeds were recorded in Marion during the period. Of those, three disclosed a sale price, ranging from $330 to $925, with a median of $400. The remaining eight transactions listed no consideration amount, which is common for trust, estate and inter-family transfers recorded at the registry. Eleven filings is a moderate count for a four-week span, but with fewer than a third of transactions reporting a price, the data offers limited visibility into overall market values this period.

TOP SALES Among the three deeds with disclosed prices, the highest was 62 Front St., which sold Aug. 20 for $925. The seller was MHT Jackson Marion LLC; the buyers were Karen L. Manning and Nancy Lyle Howland. At 56 Oakdale Ave., the property sold Aug. 17 for $400; the sellers were James J. Cattel Jr. and Elaine M. Cattel, as trustees, and the buyer was Steven Hurwitz. At 61 Dexter Rd., the property sold Aug. 12 for $330; the seller was John A. Eklund, as trustee, and the buyer was James Horigan. Bed, bath and square-footage figures were not available from the deed records.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN No two recorded deeds this period shared the same street name. Of the three sales with disclosed prices, one fell above $500 (62 Front St., $925) and two fell below $500 (56 Oakdale Ave., $400, and 61 Dexter Rd., $330). The remaining eight transactions, all price not disclosed, were spread across Olde Knoll Road, Joanne Drive, Stoney Run Lane, Allen Street, an unspecified Marion address, Crapo Street, Mill Street and Nokomis Road. One buyer entity appeared twice: records list a purchase at 44 Stoney Run Lane by "Creative Property Assos LLC" and a purchase at 40 Allen St. by "Creative Property Associates LLC," names close enough to suggest the same company acquired both properties. Both transactions listed no sale price.

MARKET NOTES Six of the 11 recorded deeds involved a seller and buyer sharing a surname or an identical name, a pattern typically associated with trust funding or estate planning rather than arm's-length sales: 97 Olde Knoll Road (Everett to Everett, as trustees), 13 Joanne Drive (Cohen to Cohen, as trustee), an unaddressed Marion parcel (Frederick E. Severance to Ann F. Severance), 32 Crapo St. (Asker to Asker Family Living Trust), 798 Mill St. (John A. Souza Jr. and Marlene A. Souza to themselves) and 6 Nokomis Road (Gaffey to Gaffey, as trustee). None of these six disclosed a sale price. Separately, two of the eight non-family transactions without disclosed prices, at 44 Stoney Run Lane and 40 Allen St., went to what appears to be the same limited liability company. Property type (single-family, condominium or multi-family) could not be determined from the deed data provided, and no square-footage or price-per-square-foot figures were available for any transaction.

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.