If you are a property owner on Martha’s Vineyard and plan on renting your home as a short term vacation rental OR you are planning on renting a vacation home on Martha’s Vineyard this summer then you need to read this:
Houzz is an online tool for all homeowners and a great resource for building or rennovating your home... get ideas and inspiration as well as look up local contractors in your area. We love it!
Check out Tea Lane Associates Houzz "Projects" here.
http://www.houzz.com/pro/tealaneassociates/tea-lane-associates
Martha’s Vineyard Real Estate Market Report - 1st Quarter 2016
Our year-end report summarizing the performance of the Martha's Vineyard real estate market in 2015 was released today. After three flat and stable years from 2012 to 2014, the real estate market on Martha’s Vineyard surged in 2015. Compared to 2014, the number of properties sold in 2015 increased 17% to 602, total dollar volume increased a whopping 39% to $675mm, and the average sales price rose 19% to $1,122,000. You can see the full report including a breakdown for each town on the island on the Market News tab.
Martha's Vineyard 2014 Market Review
2014 marks the third consecutive year at this same level of activity and investment. This stability confirms this market’s recovery from the recession in 2008 which produced a gradual downturn followed by erratic results in the following years. While some primary home markets in the U.S. have seen heated activity over the past two years, Martha's Vineyard, a vacation destination, has had a different experience but does continue to maintain the activity levels of 2012 and 2013 and shows modest growth in 2014. Last year we predicted a “slow but steady recovery now consolidated over two years.” 2014 performance keeps us on this track for the third year running.
The real estate market on the island showed healthy activity in the first three quarters of 2014. Total number of transactions increased 3% over the first three quarters of 2013 (340 sales in 2014 versus 330 in 2013) and total dollar volume was up 7% to $309mm (versus $289mm in 2013). The average sales price rose 4% to $909,000 (from $876,000 in 2013).
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.
New home owners soon discover that the ferry is a busy and critical part of island life. We need it to get to medical facilities, schools, sports events, Logan airport, museums, restaurants, concerts, conferences, and shopping.
Although there are many enjoyable reasons to be on the ferry going off island, the boat is a necessary part of many islanders’ and non islanders’ lives. There are a substantial number of commuters that travel in both directions for work. Some have the same seat or group with whom they have coffee or beer depending on the time of day, while others prefer to enjoy their solitude and read the paper.
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.
This is in contrast to the national housing market, which saw home prices post the highest annual gains in eight years (Yale economist Howard Shiller, December 2013). While the Vineyard, a vacation destination, did not see the heated activity of some first-home markets (New York City, San Francisco), it did maintain the gains it made in 2012. This is particularly significant, as 2012 was a recovery year where the Vineyard real estate market finally showed significant signs of health. Dollar volume in 2012 was at its highest level since 2007 and total transactions were at a level higher than we’d seen since 2005.
After the recession in 2008, and some false starts, it appears that the Vineyard real estate market is gradually recovering. It has been an uneven and unpredictable process. A modest recovery on the Vineyard in 2010 was followed by another downturn in 2011 and then the rally in 2012. The first half of 2013 was sluggish, well behind 2012 first half performance. The lower number of transactions in early 2013 was not surprising, given the intense activity and record number of transactions at the end of 2012 (some propelled by uncertainty about the capital gains tax). Still, the slow start of 2013 suggested more of a roller coaster ride to come. That the market caught up in the second half of 2013 to hold just barely at 2012 levels is positive news. It suggests a slow but steady recovery, now consolidated over two years.
