With the completion of the 3rd quarter, we have more evidence that the real estate market on Nantucket has turned the corner. The number of sales to date in 2013 is 326, an increase of 12% over last year. The dollars represented by these sales was approximately the same as 2012, confirming that the properties that have sold in the first 9 months of this year included many in the lower price sectors. We are particularly interested to see what the last quarter of the year brings.
Because the majority of higher-priced sales occur in the 4th quarter, the average selling price for the year will likely be higher than it was last year. Another positive indicator is the amount of time a property is for sale prior to going under contract. The average time has dropped to under 8 months, from 9 months in 2012. We have had numerous situations recently when more than one buyer wanted a property, resulting in multiple bids, a good turn of events for a seller. In some cases this happened for properties that had been on the market for longer than one year! The amount of inventory is declining, giving buyers less choice than they had one year ago.
Last year at this time the average selling price was 92% of list price and 105% of the assessed value. This year properties are selling for, on average, 94% of list price and 110% of assessed value. The sale of vacant land has increased considerably this year. In 2012 a total of 79 parcels of vacant land were sold; to date this year, 61 have sold. Because of the reduction in the number of properties for sale, more buyers are willing to buy land and build. This is confirmed by the number of building permits issued for new single family dwellings – up 30% compared to last year. The turn around in the local building economy is palpable as many of the top contractors have work lined up through the next year or two.
The Town and Mid-Island areas have had the largest number of sales so far this year, which is to be expected because there are more properties in these areas. There have been 68 sales in Town and 67 in the Mid-Island area, followed by ‘Sconset with 27 sales to date this year. Surprisingly, a few areas have had no sales at all. These include Pocomo and Fisher’s Landing.
A distinct market trend in 2013 is the speed with which properties are going under contract. More than half of the pending sales were listed for less than 60 days before going under contract.
There are currently over 115 pending sales, with a value of well over $200 million. These properties range from a townhouse unit at Tristram’s Landing, listed for $330,000, to a waterfront property in Brant Point, located on Hulbert Avenue, listed at $16,950,000. With confidence, we can say that we are headed in the right direction once again.