Cape Cod real estate market is bouncing back

BARNSTABLE — In the mind of Ali Maloney, potential property buyers are coming out of hibernation.

Maloney, owner of AMG Realty in West Barnstable, started seeing commercial property buyers leaving their hesitations behind in 2011. And things only improved last year, with leasing and sales increasing.

"Just people's whole attitudes," Maloney said. "They are very positive. They are upbeat. There is no longer that doom and gloom."

That sunny outlook lines up with the latest numbers released Monday by the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds.

The number of property sales valued at more than $50,000 jumped nearly 39 percent last month from December 2011. Individual property transactions, including both commercial and residential properties, increased 23.5 percent in 2012 from 2011. And the median sales price was up, too, from $290,000 overall in 2011 to $300,000 in 2012

"We had a great year," Register of Deeds John Meade said.

The highest median sales value last year was in December, when it was $334,000. The previous highest month, at $315,000, was November. The December 2011 median sales price was $300,000.

Uncertainty regarding the capital gains tax rate likely spurred some of the December deals, including commercial property sales, Meade said.

"There was a number of high-end transactions that occurred that would indicate a lot of 'Get the deal done before the end of the year' transactions were done," he said.

Pam Peters, a sales associate with William Raveis in Falmouth, said closing prices are inching up.

"I think a lot of people want to get on with their lives," Peters said, as buyers and sellers seem more amenable to making deals.

Peters, who has been in the industry for 23 years, said more people were willing to buy homes last year.

"I had more transactions in 2012 than I ever had," she said.

The number of sales in December was 715, according to the registry, compared with 516 for the same month the previous year.

"We finished strong," Meade said. "Our overall traffic in here (registry offices) has increased. It's indicative of a little more life in the real estate market. It's anyone's guess if that's going to hold."

The number of deeds recorded during 2012 was 6,977, compared with 5,650 in 2011. The total sales value for all the transactions last year was $3.1 billion, compared with $2.3 billion in 2011.

The number of foreclosures fell last year to 398 from 488 in 2011. There were 15 last month compared with 29 in December 2011.

Chandler Crowell, a sales agent for Cape Cod Realty in Wellfleet, said he saw transactions increase last year across the range of home values. He focuses on Wellfleet, Eastham and Truro.

"Sales are picking up, but prices haven't increased a great deal. We seem to be in an area where sellers don't have to sell and buyers don't have to buy," he said. "It's kind of a standoff."

But, more and more, buyers and sellers are getting deals done. "We've had quite a bit of activity."

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