We have often stated that we won’t know when the bottom of the market was until we are looking at it over our shoulder. In the past 6 weeks there have been some solid indications that a change is afoot in the Nantucket real estate market. There are 30% more pending sales now than one year ago. The value of these pending sales is over $120 million and it is only February. In 2011 the value of property sold on Nantucket was $531 million for the entire year. Properties are going under contract at a much faster rate than in late 2011. We have had numerous situations recently with multiple offers on the same property, a rarity during the depth of the recession. The evidence of a national economic recovery seems to have brought people in from the sidelines to buy. The stock market has gained all of it’s losses from 2011 and interest rates have never, in my lifetime, been lower. And, on top of it all, the weather has been great this winter making it easier for potential buyers to come to the island to start the search.
We are looking forward to the statistical evidence of this increased activity which should be on the books by the end of the first quarter of 2012. In the meantime, if you have been thinking that now is a good time to buy on Nantucket, there may not be a better time to come in the near future. A minor word of caution for sellers: the good market news has not yet translated into appreciation again on Nantucket. But it will – it is only a matter of time.
Penny Dey