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The Island Community Chorus performed Saturday and Sunday April 11th and 12th at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown. Sunday afternoon the audience was enthusiastic and so were the ninety-something members of the choir. They seemed eager to perform and perhaps more confident given that they performed the previous evening. The setting was light, open and intimate offering a nice opportunity to admire again, Margo Datz’ trompe l’oeil work (she completed the mural in 2013) and to appreciate the rich quality of sound.

Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn played at the Martha’s Vineyard Performing Art Center Wednesday April 15th to a full and extremely enthusiastic audience.  For those who do not know this married musical duo, Bela is a gifted banjo player who composes and performs with great musicians from all over the world in a vast range of genres. He has been nominated for 30 Grammy awards and has won 15; Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, his band from the late 80’s, combined blue grass, jazz and rock- he’s a “musician’s musician” and it’s clear that Bela’s mind never stops…

There is a little known and magical waterfront neighborhood on the north shore of Martha's Vineyard called Chappaquonsett. Today there are only 10 homes in this very special area surrounded by protected woodland and beautiful water. It lies directly across Vineyard Sound from Woods Hole and the Elizabeth Islands. Chappaquonsett is an Indian name meaning "where the nets dry".  Not surprising since its most eastern point is now the entrance to Lake Tashmoo which was once the site of a famous and productive herring run before fresh water Tashmoo was connected to Vineyard Sound. A storied piece of this paradise is now available..."The Swindle".

An exceptional 4-acre waterfront property in Aquinnah with private beach, high-end house, guesthouse, and beautiful gardens and grounds, 3 & 5 Skippers View sold on 2/3/15 for $6,500,000. This sets a new high for real estate transactions in this remote, western-most town on Martha's Vineyard. The previous highest priced property sale was 14 Moshup Trail which sold in July 2009 for $3,600,000 and was combined with a $400,000 beach lot for a total of $4,000,000. The house at 14 Moshup was rebuilt after this purchase. This level of investment is somewhat new for the town, but not isolated.  Several other property owners in the area are invested in this range. Skippers View just happens to be the first to sell. As more buyers begin to understand the tranquility of Aquinnah, along with the beach and water access on all sides (it’s almost an island of its own), we may see this investment trend continue.  

$54mm of real estate changed hands on Martha's Vineyard a couple of weeks ago including a $22mm estate on Edgartown Harbor, a $10.85mm oceanfront property in West Tisbury, a $6.5mm waterfront house and guesthouse in Aquinnah, and a $4.425mm three-parcel compound with pool in Chilmark. Tea Lane Associates handled two of these four transactions. These four sales combined with six other transactions to create an extremely impressive week of sales for the island. In the middle of this snowy winter, obviously many people are thinking about and planning for warm days on the beach!

Martha's Vineyard 2014 Market Review

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). Aquinnah, Chilmark, Oak Bluffs and Tisbury all experienced increased activity comparing Q1-3 from 2013 to 2014 with Chilmark seeing the largest increase – 42% increase in the number of transactions from 19 in 2013 to 27 in 2014 and 63% increase in dollar volume from $25mm to $41mm. Also worth noting is the strong activity in the high end: there were 6 sales over $5mm in the first three quarters of 2014 compared to just 2 sales over $5mm in 2013.

Here is a great opportunity in West Tisbury! This 5-bedroom, 3-bath home within walking distance of Lambert’s Cove Beach is priced at $799,000. Built in 1999, this home offers an open floor plan and 2500 square feet of living space plus a full basement, garage and art studio. Located at the end of a quiet road.  This is a truly a great value for a buyer. 

It was a beautiful day to celebrate the summer solstice in Aquinnah at the Light House. Young and old, human and canine, up-islanders and down-islanders gathered to enjoy the longest day of the year and remind ourselves of how important it is to help SAVE THE GAY HEAD LIGHTHOUSE.

It was a beautiful evening under the tents at the Dr. Daniel Fisher House. Many guests were happy to visit with friends and neighbors for the first time this year. Catered by V. Jaime Hamlin the delectable hors d’oeuvres were served seamlessly by her professional team while the shellfish station offering Katama oysters and little necks was conveniently situated for everyone to help themselves.