"The reported increase in the number of foreclosures in Longmeadow for FY2008 (ending June 30, 2008) was a very low percentage of the total number of homes (8 out of 5500 = 0.15%) and should not be a concern to Longmeadow homeowners worried about their property values."
Upon checking recently with the Hampden County Register of Deeds website- (this is a free public access database with search capability), there were reported a total of 7 Longmeadow homes foreclosed during the calendar year 2008- which is still a very low percentage (0.13%) of the total number and much lower than the national average. And there was only 1 Longmeadow foreclosure in the last six months of 2008.
This positive piece of information probably needs to be tempered by the fact that there significant number of homes this year that were sold significantly below current assessed values and which probably reflect distressed sales- either short sales or other circumstances.
For some additional information on "short sales" see blog posting by Nyles Courchesne- an experienced local real estate attorney involved with such transactions.
As reported in a recent Real Estate Buzz posting Longmeadow Real Estate sales in 2008 did take a downturn....
- Home sales from January through December 2008 were significantly lower (-19.7%) vs. results for the corresponding period in 2007.
- Median prices dropped in December and the current median sales price ($295,000) was significantly lower (-15.4%) vs. December 2007 ($348,500).
These declines in sales and median prices are similar to the national average reported by the National Association of Realtors.
