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S U M M E R! Summer started with a bang on Fourth of July weekend and the island is filled with people having fun. We are having the most beautiful weather ever! Luckily, there was no fog for the fireworks (held July 3rd) over Jetties Beach and, although the island seemed to be at maximum capacity, no word of any serious incidents. Folks seemed to be enjoying themselves at the reading of the Declaration of Independence, watermelon and pie eating contests and the water fight on Main Street on July 4th. Real Estate Market Round Up: The numbers for the first half of 2016 confirm what we have been feeling in the field with the number of sales (258) up 32% compared to the first half of 2015 (196). The dollars these sales represent ($428,236,000) are up 26% from the same time period last year ($338,818,000). If history is a teacher, we are on track to exceed 1 billion dollars in real estate sales on Nantucket this year. Activity is being driven by a good amount of quality inventory for buyers to choose from, low interest rates and, perhaps most importantly, confidence in the long term value of Nantucket real estate as an investment. There is no comparable place in the country with the quality of beaches, protected open spaces, history and fine dining and other high level amenities for visitors. Sales by Sectors: There have been 3 properties sold this year over $10 million, each one located on the water. There have been 7 properties sold between $5 and $10 million and 26 between $3 and $5 million. These sales represent 14% of the market volume for the first half of 2016. Between $1 and $3 million there have been 106 sales, representing 41% of the total sales. And, interestingly, there were 105 sales under $1 million. To date there have been only 5 distressed sales so far in 2016, less than 1% of the market as a whole. What is Selling: Residential properties that are selling the most rapidly are those that are either new, or fully renovated and with amenities such as pools. Properties on the water, or with easy water access remain popular as do properties in, or very close to, Town. Continued on Page 2....
Nantucket 2nd Quarter Comparison Sales Dollars in Millions $300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0 Dollars 2nd Q. (000's)
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
$97,170
$79,509
$251,106
$280,298
$238,203
$169,052
$105,941
$62,124
$139,175
$147,671
$185,262
$163,870
$209,818
$154,576
$220,862
M A R K E T
N E W S : 2
Great 2nd Quarter: There were 130 sales for over $220 million during the second quarter of 2016. This compares to 92 for $154 million in 2015 and only 37 for $62 million in 2009 at the depth of the last recession. The increase in volume over 2015 is 29% and the increase in dollars is 30%, both impressive numbers. Average and Median Prices: The average price of a property on Nantucket is now $1,660,000. The average price of a home is $2,043,000 and the median home price is $1,413,000. The average price of vacant land on Nantucket tops out at $1,003,000; the median price of vacant land is $700,000. These average prices are very close to those of the previous height of the market in 2005 and will likely exceed them by the end of 2016. Commercial Sales: There has been a huge rise in demand for commercial property, both rental and sales, especially in the downtown area. To date there have been 9 commercial sales island wide (total of $17,260,000) averaging $1.9 million. This is one of the strongest indicators of confidence in the market. In 2015 there were 22 commercial sales (total of $59,116,000). There has simply been less commercial property available to rent or buy in 2016. Vacant Land: The first thing to sell when folks feel positive about the market is vacant land. There was a marked turnaround in the sale of vacant land in 2012 as developers and spec builders jumped back into the market after the recession. The number of building permits issued by the town of Nantucket for new single family residences is 69 so far in 2016. The total in 2015 was 141 and in 2014 it was 140. Billion Dollar Year?: The three years that total real estate sales exceeded $1 billion had in common first 2 quarters in which sales were close to or exceeded $400 million. We are on track to have the best year ever in Nantucket real estate.
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Nantucket Sales Over $10 Million The first sale of a residence on Nantucket over $10,000,000 was not until May of 2000 and it was a large waterfront property in Eel Point, Dionis, selling for $19,500,000, far outstripping the price of any previous residential sales on-island. The second one was in 2002 and was a water front property with pool located at the end of Hinckley Lane in the Cliff area, selling for $10 million. The third one, also in the Cliff area, on Kimball Avenue, sold in 2003 for $11,300,000. It is no longer an anomaly to have multiple sales north of $10 million in a given year.
These uber high-end sales share some characteristics: the majority of them are located on, or very near, the water. Most have new, or newly updated, homes that average about 6,000 square feet of living space. Many have swimming pools and most have excellent views and some sort of access to the water. The areas in which the properties are selling over $10 million in the past few years include: Brant Point, Cliff, Monomoy and Wauwinet. The first three locations have the advantage of being close to Town. The average time on the market for these properties is approximately 6.87 months. The average selling price as a percentage of list price at the time of sale is 95%. There are currently 31 residential listings on the market over $10 million. Obviously, the pool of potential buyers for these properties is smaller than for the market in general. In ten years will we be writing about the number of $20 million plus sales? Time will tell.
Nantucket: Total Annual Sales Dollars 2nd Q 2016
$1,200,000
$1,000,000
$800,000
$600,000
$400,000
$200,000
$0 Total Sales Dollars
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
$452,913,000
$450,458,000
$613,765,000
$1,065,180,00
$1,186,885,00
$917,238,000
$852,045,000
$574,274,000
$434,592,000
$694,253,000
$531,597,000
$809,846,000
$748,866,000
$1,005,240,00
$882,666,000
$428,236,000
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O U R
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One of the advantages of living in a small island community is that if one chooses to get involved, one can make a real difference in tangible ways. Here are a few examples of what some of us are up to with our volunteer efforts: Meg Ruley is the vice president of the non-profit MUSACK.org. Founded in 2008 by Emmy Award winning comedy writer and Nantucket local Donick Cary, the mission is to provide instruments and instruction to students; to award grants for music related field trips or productions; and to offer college and post secondary scholarships to graduates of NHS. After a rash of teen suicides in 2007, Cary wanted to give back to his community, since being in a band and playing music were big part of what helped him get through the winter months, and MUSACK was created. Meg and Donick, who were voted ‘most musical’ of their Nantucket High School graduating class of 1986, are two of MUSACK’s founding board members. Other board members include Alex Stancioff of Miami, Florida and Donick's long time friend Dave Finkel in Los Angeles. Current programs on Nantucket include drum and guitar lessons at the Boys and Girls Club; Rap Lab and Pod Cast Lab at the Nantucket Community Music Center; gap funding for school music and theater programming, and scholarships. In the past three years MUSACK has expanded its reach into schools in Los Angeles, Appalachia and Haiti. To learn more visit www.musack.org Penny Dey currently serves as a Board Member and Treasurer of the Board of Trustees for the Nantucket Lighthouse School, a small independent school. The NLS is for students pre-K through the 8th grade and recently graduated 10 students in the class of 2016. Penny also serves as the co-chair (with Jane Miller) of the Yuletide Fair, one of the major fund raising events for the school. In addition, Penny recently became involved in supporting Nantucket Community Sailing by volunteering for Nantucket Race Week.
The 4 Natural Dangers on Nantucket
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f pressed, we can probably think of more than 4 but here are the main ones, in no particular order:
1. 2. 3. 4.
Water: be careful to swim where there are lifeguards and watch out for rip tides. Hydrate: drink enough water. Poison Ivy: three leafed, shiny and can cause a lot of trouble. Ticks: check yourself before going to bed. Wear long pants and tuck them into your socks (we know - it looks dumb but it works). Sun: Use protection and wear a hat. Nantucket has one the highest incidences of skin cancers in Massachusetts.
BEWARE ZESTIMATES! “The Zestimate® home value is Zillow's estimated market value for an individual home and is calculated for about 100 million homes nationwide. It is a starting point in determining a home's value and is not an official appraisal. The Zestimate is automatically computed daily based on millions of public and user-submitted data points.” Okay - so there are a few things that jump out at us: “not an official appraisal” and “user-submitted data points”. It is fun to see what various web sites might think our property is worth, but a word of caution: the algorithms used fail to take into consideration all of the most relevant information for pricing, including market conditions, competing listings and comparable sales. The best way to determine the current market value of your property is to work with a local professional who has the ability to evaluate all of the factors that go into accurately determining value.
Ken Beaugrand Honored Ken served passionately and with dedication for 11 years as a Trustee of the Nantucket Historical Association and was most recently the Vice President of the Executive Committee. Ken was very active with his efforts with the Housing and Properties Committee, the Endowment Campaign, Strategic planning, the Hadwen House Master Plan and was a key player in creating the 1800 House Program which offers a wide choice of historic arts and crafts classes. In addition he has taken some of the wood working classes himself and produced a few mighty fine shore birds and whale carvings. Ken was feted at the annual Trustee Meeting in July and received a special framed honorarium. Page 4
Whoa! Significant Zoning Change At the Nantucket Annual Town Meeting last April a little known change was instituted that will have a large impact on a number of Nantucket property owners. Prior to April if your property was undersized for the zoning district, the ground coverage ratio was limited to the percentage allowed under zoning or 1,500 square feet, whichever was greater. For instance if your property is zoned Limited Use General 2 (LUG2) and your lot is undersized, your ground coverage would be limited to 1,500 square feet OR 4% of the total square footage of your lot, whichever is greater. A technical amendment, put forth by the Nantucket Planning Board, now allows for the following: If a property is located in the LUG2 (2 acres) or LUG3 (3 acres) zoning districts and the lot is at least 40,000 square feet in size, you are now permitted to have up to 2,000 square feet of ground coverage instead of the 1,500 square feet previously allowed. This is a significant change that will undoubtedly impact how people use their properties and the value of some real estate going forward.
Sell it Before They See It!
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ost buyers of real estate begin their search online and view multitudes of photos of all of the properties of interest. Pictures can excite a buyer and sell a home. If you are a seller make the most of this by heeding the following advice:
Clean up and stage your house. Diminish your presence in the house. Buyers need to move in mentally and this easier when your personal items are hidden away. Make your home picture perfect. Buyers focus on the homes with the most value for the money, so study the competition and make sure that your home is priced right. Finally, give attention to and market the most distinctive features of your property. Show buyers why your home is unique. These tips will get your home to the top of a buyer’s list before they even walk in the door.
Adding Value to Your Nantucket Home Planning to sell or rent out your Nantucket home? Here are a few tips to add value to your property and keep vacationing tenants returning year after year. 1. Paint! The least expensive improvement with the biggest impact. Choose updated colors that change the look of the rooms. 2. Update the kitchen and baths. Buyers and tenants want fresh, new and clean. 3. Create an open floor plan (this may require moving a wall). People congregate in the kitchen: make the space large and livable. 4. Create an outdoor living space. We live outside in the summer on Nantucket. 5. Turn extra space into another room or cozy sitting area (think attics and basements). 6. Clean/buff the floors. It is one of the first things that people notice. 7. Buy new linens and bedding. Update the bedrooms!
LAST MINUTE LOUIES Every year we have a flurry of rental interest at the last minute. While most of our inventory is usually reserved at this point in the year, we are often able to match up a home that has had a cancellation with a tenant that has been able to free up time for a visit. This year we have also been working diligently to bring in new rentals to supplement our existing inventory. As a result we have several great properties with remaining weeks available in July and August. These properties range from a modest two bedroom, two bath townhouse in Madaket, available for two weeks in the middle of August for $1700/week, to a spectacular seven bedroom, seven bath property on Lincoln Circle available for most of July for $40,000/week. There are also deals to be had. For example, we received a call last week from a homeowner in Sconset who is unable to use her home for the next several weeks. She has decided to lower the rate from her usual $9000/week to $8000/week as an incentive. So if you have been thinking about coming for a visit but thought you wouldn't find a rental at this late date, give us a call, there's a very good chance we have just the right property to fit your needs. Page 5
Nantucket Real Estate Average Selling Price All Properties (000's) Year to Date 2nd Q 2016 2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0 Average Selling Price (000's)
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
475
533
666
970
940
862
1001
1373
1801
1931
2135
2316
1834
1907
1532
1645
1597
1787
1717
1660
Fun Bits So You Want to Sell Real Estate! To become a licensed real estate sales agent in the state of Massachusetts requires 40 hours of pre-licensure salesperson education at any Board approved real estate school, a licensing application and passing an exam. After 3 years of working full-time as a salesperson at a real estate office you may apply for a Broker’s license. This involves completing an additional 40 hours of pre-licensure broker education and passing the Broker’s exam. To keep your license active, all agents are required to complete 12 hours of approved continuing education every 2 years. Get Out on the Water: We support Nantucket Community Sailing and encourage you to check out their programs geared for every age and ability. They teach sailing to everyone from kids as young as 5 up to senior citizens. They have a program called Sails for Old Salts that requires only that a senior be able to get aboard a boat! If you join as a member of NCS you will have the added benefit of access to recreational equipment from paddle boards to sailboats! Check them out at: NantucketCommunitySailing.org
Atlantic East N A N T U C K E T R E A L E S TAT E Heidi Drew, ABR, RSPS, SRS
Penny Dey, GRI, ABRM
Ken Beaugrand; Linda Bellevue, GRI, CBR; Peter DuPont; Alison K. Forsgren, ePro, NAR Green, SRES Mary D. Malavase, ABR, RSPS, TRC, SFR, SRS; Jane Miller, ABR, RSPS; Erikka Perkins, Rental Manager; Meg Ruley, ABR, RSPS Lisa Sherburne, ABR, RSPS; John F. Trudel III, SFR; Melinda Vallett; Christine Whelden, ABR; Geri Walker and Ani Mulcahy, Office Managers
We believe in doing one thing and in doing it well. 82 Easton Street Nantucket MA 02554 t: 508-228-7707 1-800-228-4070
NantucketRealEstate.com Volume XII, Issue 3, Summer 2016