Bernardston June Deeds Show Median of $243,750 Amid Surge in Institutional Transfers

BERNARDSTON -- Of 13 property transfers recorded in Bernardston between June 6 and July 5, 2026, only a handful appear to reflect conventional market sales, with institutional lenders and credit unions figuring prominently as buyers or sellers across the month's deed activity.

MARKET OVERVIEW Thirteen deeds were recorded in Bernardston during the period, but sale prices were disclosed in only five of those transactions. Among those five, prices ranged from $50,000 to $399,900, with a median of $243,750. Several of the transfers involved financial institutions — including banks and credit unions — as either buyer or seller, indicating foreclosure, REO disposition, or mortgage-instrument recordings rather than conventional arm's-length sales. The raw transaction count of 13 overstates conventional market activity for the period; the number of identifiable open-market sales is considerably smaller.

TOP SALES The highest disclosed price in the period was $399,900, paid by Connelly Farm Realty Trust — Joseph C. Connelly, trustee — for the property at 727 Brattleboro Rd. The sellers were Delizia and Abdelillah Bouafi. At 87 Cross St., Shirley A. Lilly purchased the property for $243,750 from Wendolyn J. Abramson, represented by attorney Brenda M. Wozniakewicz, in a transfer that may reflect an estate or power-of-attorney arrangement. The property at 47 Gill Rd. recorded a $216,000 consideration, with Mutual of Omaha Mortgage Inc. and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. listed as buyers from David Earl and Rhonda Shippa; the structure of that transaction suggests a mortgage recording rather than a conventional property sale. A deed for 283 Martindale Rd. recorded $355,000 with Greenfield Savings Bank as the named buyer from the Donati family trustees; a second deed for the same address on the same date listed no consideration or buyer, suggesting a simultaneous mortgage and deed recording or a foreclosure-related transaction. At 178 Turners Falls Rd., Franklin First Federal Credit Union acquired the property from Robert R. and Linda M. Raymond for $50,000, consistent with a distressed or institutional transaction.

NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKDOWN Bald Mountain Road accounted for three separate deed entries — at 116, 243, and 269 Bald Mountain Rd. — making it the most active single street by volume, though none of those transfers disclosed a sale price. Martindale Road produced two entries, both at 283 Martindale Rd. on the same recording date, likely representing components of a single transaction. The remaining transfers were spread across Merrifield Road, Cross Street, Hillcrest Drive, Gill Road, Brattleboro Road, Turners Falls Road, and one entry listing only the town name with no street address.

MARKET NOTES The month's deed activity was dominated by institutional parties. At least four of the 13 transfers involved a bank or credit union as either grantor or grantee — including JPMorgan Chase Bank, Freedom Credit Union, Greenfield Savings Bank, Franklin First Federal Credit Union, and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. — a pattern associated with foreclosure proceedings, REO sales, or mortgage instrument filings. One deed entry listed no street address beyond "Bernardston, MA," with Greenfield Savings Bank and an entity identified as "South St Bernardston" as sellers and C Real LLC as buyer; that transfer cannot be tied to a specific parcel based on available data. Of the five disclosed prices, at most two — 727 Brattleboro Rd. at $399,900 and 87 Cross St. at $243,750 — appear consistent with conventional market sales. Readers should interpret the aggregate price statistics for this period with caution given the high proportion of non-arm's-length and institutional transfers.

Recorded Deeds

Source: Registry of Deeds. Sale amounts shown as recorded; transfers without a disclosed consideration are noted as such.

Jun 8 - Jun 14

Jun 15 - Jun 21

Jun 22 - Jun 28

Compiled from official town feeds, community organizations, and local press. Outside reporting is attributed inline.