May Market Insights - Nantucket Real Estate

MAY ‘23

KEY MARKET METRICS

For the first time in 2023, the Nantucket real estate market surpassed $100 million in monthly sales volume during May. This was led by one of Fisher’s transactions, and the highest sale on record along the island’s south shore, the $27 million sale of 25 Nonantum Avenue. May transactions brought year-to-date figures over $300 million through 91 property sales, a decline of 45 percent for both transaction and dollar volume metrics from 2022. It is the lowest transaction volume for the same period since 2009. While inventory levels had been steadily rising and were 30 percent higher than 2022 levels just one month ago, this gap narrowed to only 20 percent higher in May 2023 versus May 2022. This kept pressure on prices and buyers as seen in the eight properties that sold at 99 percent and up to 139 percent of the last listing price. Interestingly, price adjustments rose, reflecting a potential inconsistency in pricing versus buyer’s perceived value, particularly at the high end of the market. Here are Fisher’s May Market Insights...

NANTUCKET REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY

MONTHLY SALES HIGHLIGHTS

FISHER’S MAY ‘23 REVIEW

Market Insights BY JEN ALLEN

RESIDENTIAL SALES ACTIVITY

TRANSACTION VOLUME DOWN & MEDIAN VALUE SOFTENS

• Single-family home sales (excluding condos, co-ops & 40B/covenant properties) were down 30 percent through May 31, 2023. This is nearly the same decline the market saw during the same year-to-date period from 2021 and 2022 and is reflective of the continued low inventory and a growing lack of urgency on the part of buyers. Dollar volume posted a more severe year-to-year decline (43 percent) not least due to the decline in transaction volume but also the decline in $10M+ transactions.

• May transactions ranged from a $1.385 million sale of a three-bedroom property to the $26.9 million sale of a two-dwelling, two-lot waterfront property in Surfside. The latter marks the first mega-high-end sale of the year, wherein there were two transactions in this stratosphere last year. There were no sales in the $10M-$20M range in May, and only two so far this year, compared to seven transactions at this point last year

• Given the lack of high-end sales to “pull up” the median sales value, the median selling price through May 31, 2023, declined 20 percent to $2.485 million. This doesn’t yet mean there is more affordable inventory as the lowest single-family home available for sale was $1,595,000 for a one-bedroom, in-town property.

RESIDENTIAL

• In reviewing residential sales activity by price point, the most significant increase in transaction activity as a percentage of total activity was for single-family home sales between $2 million and $3 million, which rose eight percentage points from one year ago. Sales between $3 million and $4 million held largely steady at 10 percent of transaction volume, while sales between $1 million and $2 million fell by four percentage points from one year ago.

• As mentioned above, the high-end of the market isn’t quite as vibrant as it’s been in the last few years. While the percentage of sales remains largely steady for the highend, or sales between $5 million and $10 million, the ultra-high-end, or sales between $10 million to $20 million slipped by five transactions and approximately $55 million since this time last year. And the mega-high-end, or sales above $20 million is one transaction and $47 million shy compared to one year ago. This isn’t necessarily due to inventory as the number of available properties in these price points held largely steady from 2022 levels.

PROPERTY INVENTORY & PRICE REDUCTIONS

PRICE REDUCTIONS INCREASE IN THE HIGH-END MARKET

SALES ANALYSIS BY PRICE POINT YTD HIGH-END SALES DECLINE

• As of May 31, 2023, there were 135 properties (residential, land & commercial) listed for sale and the total months’ supply (how long it would take to sell all listings based on trailing 12-month sales) measured three and a half months. As compared to last year, the number of listed properties is higher for the first time in many years for certain price points, most notably the $2 million to $3 million and properties listed between $4 million to $7 million.

• Through the 31 days ending May 31, 2023, there were price adjustments to 20 properties, a 25 percent decrease from the same period last year. The average price discount from the original list price was approximately 13 percent (excluding one severely mispriced property that is now 65 percent lower than the initial list price). Most notably, the price adjustments were not across every price point as we typically see and were all for properties initially listed for more than $5 million.