Lowell Deeds

Each month we compare the number of major documents (deeds, mortgages and foreclosure deeds) recorded to the same month a year ago. By that measure, February 2009 wasn’t a bad month. For the entire district, the number of deeds recorded in February 2009 was down 3% compared to the number recorded in February 2008 but the number of mortgages was up 20% and the number of foreclosure deeds rose by 12%. When those same figures are split between Lowell and the nine towns in the district, a slighlty different picture is formed. In Lowell, the number of deeds recorded in February showed no change from 2008 to 2009. The number of mortgages recorded declined by 10% while foreclosure deeds increased 25%. In the towns, deeds were down 6% and foreclosure deeds were down 10%, but mortgages were up 19%. These statistics suggest that there was a refinancing “boomlet” in February in the towns but not in Lowell. The question now is whether this was an isolated upsurge or the start of something more sustainable.