AGENT MLS HOME FINDER

Some of the iconic examples of Cape Cod real estate have started to close down in light of the nationwide economic downturn. Even relatively stable and well-known establishments have been forced to short-sell or submit to foreclosure. According to an October 12, 2009 article from the Provincetown Banner, “Townsend Lobster & Seafood, at 87 Shank Painter Road, has been forced to close because the current owners of the building have filed for bankruptcy to stop a bank foreclosure auction.” The article, which was written by Pru Sowers, continued to say that “Townsend had planned on keeping the operation open until Halloween but was forced to close last week after Debra Silva filed for bankruptcy one day before the day holding the mortgage was scheduled to auction off the property for non-payment of the loan by the Silvas.”

Numerous Cape Cod homes for sale are foreclosures, as noted by the Milford Daily News. The article, written by David Riley on October 16, 2009, found that “Massachusetts foreclosures spiked 128 percent in January 2008 over January 2007, according to Spika’s office. There are some signs the pace is slowing. The Warren Group, publisher of Banker and Tradesman, said 34.5 percent fewer properties were foreclosed on in Massachusetts in August this year, compared to August 2008. But as of September, lenders had filed 19,108 petitions to foreclose so far this year, up 31.6 percent from 14,521 last year, the Warren Group said.”

The Cape Cod Association of Realtors noted that there are is a myriad of problems as well as some encouragement facing real estate in Cape Cod. According to an article in the Cape Cod Times published on October 10, 2009, “In the real estate numbers released yesterday by the Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors, there is bad news, good news and everything in between, said the organization’s president, Lynette Helms.” The piece continued to note that “The negative news has become familiar over the past several months: Both sales volume and median price for single-family homes were down last month compared with the results from September 2008…The number of homes sold in September dropped 7.4 percent, from 297 transactions last year to 275 this year.”