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The Moore property at 3 Oxcart Road in Aquinnah was just listed this week for $2,350,000. It’s a 1.5 acre property beachfront on the Vineyard Sound  with a year-round 3-bedroom home. This area of Gay Head has been quite active in the recent past. There have been 4 sales in this neighborhood in the past year and a half ranging from $700,000 for a simple summer camp to $2,250,000 for a beautiful waterfront two-bedroom home. There are currently  3 properties on the market on Oxcart Road. It’s a desirable area due to the classic island landscape of beach grass dunes and the excellent swimming and fishing on this stretch of coastline. All owners and renters in Aquinnah have access to Philbin Beach as well on the Atlantic side of town and Aquinnah offers two town beaches on Menemsha Pond for kayaking, paddle boarding and mooring boats. Buyers are discovering all the beach and water access in Aquinnah, and combining that with a waterfront property makes for a heavenly situation.

This generous welcoming water front home in West Chop inspires the vision of early morning swims, picnics on the rolling lawn, and cocktails on the porch as the waves lap rhythmically. With all the charm of a family home of earlier times, and the comforts of today, one can enjoy family and friends easily with a substantial living dining area, huge open kitchen, waterside porch that extends along the length of the house, and bedrooms that are intelligently distributed for guests. Every room has a spectacular view of the Sound and the activity of the ferry, sail boats and Falmouth across the water. This is a rare and unique experience.

Once again, people lined up as far as the Court House to enter the huge tents at the Dr. Daniel Fisher House for the annual Taste of the Vineyard Gourmet Stroll hosted by Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust. Young and old, traditionally and eclectically dressed, year-rounders and summer folks picked up their plastic trays and wine glasses and confirmed their strategies for navigating the course. As always, food and beverage vendors were lined up with their signs and their creatively arranged delicacies throughout the three tents and although a few areas were a little tight with too much “traffic”, most folks managed to enjoy sampling, sipping, walking and talking.

The Howe parcel at 4 South Abels Hill Road in Chilmark sold last week. This is a strong sale which gives key information for the Chilmark land market. This 1.2-acre parcel had strong water views and easy walk to Abel’s Hill ocean beach. The property was originally listed for sale in July 2008 at an asking price of $2,250,000. Due to the economic collapse in 2008 and perhaps the parcel’s location on South Road, this property was on and off the market for several years. It was finally listed in January 2013 at $1,695,000 and sold 6/4/14 for $1,500,000. This is a benchmark for other waterview and walk-to-water parcels in Chilmark this summer.

We call him Owl Man. Well, I call him Owl Man. And not out loud. Philip Hunsaker leads one of the best activities at Felix Neck, the organized evening owl walk. It begins with people of all ages gathering in the main teaching room to listen to Philip, the resident owl expert, explain the unique characteristics of owls.

“No one with cancer needs to be alone.” This is the mission statement of the Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group. Hosting their Evening Under the Stars event Thursday evening, May 15th, members and supporters mingled, wined and dined at Farm Neck Golf Club to celebrate over 26 years of helping Islanders with cancer get through their challenges.

Another transition new Martha’s Vineyard home owners experience when spending time on island is the role of the ferry. As a vacationer it is almost competitive to acquire the perfect reservations to arrive and depart on Saturdays in August. The Bourne Bridge, the rotaries, the green Steamship Authority signs all trigger the anticipation for the Vineyard… Kids are bouncing in the back seat and parents are smug that they are pulling into the terminal at just the right time, not too early but with time to use the bathroom, pick up a schedule, and buy an ice cream cone.

Another winter ritual on Island is having dinner at the Newes Friday evenings with Mike Benjamin.  Formally called The Newes from America Pub at the Kelly House, this Edgartown pub and restaurant is popular for all the right reasons.  The building is one of the oldest on the Vineyard, built in 1742, and its exposed bricks, warm hearth and colonial character beckon people right in.

The real estate market on Martha’s Vineyard remained essentially flat in 2013 compared with 2012. The number of properties sold in 2013 decreased just 1% to 502, total dollar volume decreased similarly 1.5% to $472mm, and average sales price fell just 0.6% to $941,000.

One of the gratifying aspects of being in real estate on the Vineyard is watching new home owners plunge into island life. Often focused on making changes to their new property, they need recommendations for builders, landscapers, or painters, and have an excited energy in making the property “theirs”.