Happy Fall to one and all. Despite the intermittent wet spells we experienced throughout the summer, the Island and her patrons still managed to enjoy all that summer brings. And a delightful stretch of Indian Summer has now fallen upon us.

Shortly after the new year, the local market was more active than expected given the time of season, with competition for quality properties coupled with the desire to front-run the rising mortgage rate climate continuing to press transaction activity on-Island through early summer. The fundamental market conditions have not changed, in that the local inventory remains constrained, continues to work from a deficit, while demand remains persistent.

The annual consumption of residential property continues to outpace the replenishment rate during the past nine years. And this condition does not appear to quickly resolve itself since our natural channels of inventory re-stock come primarily from life events such as death, divorce, and family economics rather than from new construction efforts. However, given the fewer choices and higher lending rates, the trajectory of our micro-market has certainly moderated too.

Not surprising, summer is a busy period for real estate activities when many prospective buyers are on-Island visiting and more readily available to investigate properties of interest. And while rising mortgage rates have chilled some segments of the housing market, Martha's Vineyard has not suffered as significantly compared to how many primary markets reportedly have.

Unlike last year, the waning weeks of September have presented a few more late season listings that were activated to participate in the truncated, "fall market". However, there are still only 167 residential properties currently available for sale Island-wide, whereas pre-Covid there ordinarily would have been more than 250 available opportunities.

For sellers, market momentum has remained in their favor given the persistent low inventory condition. However, that should not embolden them to command outrageous prices at resale. Mortgage lenders learned their lessons well from the last recession and have become highly vigilant with respect to appraisal and credit risk issues associated with transaction prices.

The exuberant excesses we recall from the last housing bubble are not present today, nor are the same contributing factors. However, location, amenities, condition and market segment will continue to be significant pricing variables affecting the consideration and urgency to transact real estate on-Island.

Please consider the following;

         • Year-to-date 232 residential properties have sold on Martha's Vineyard, which is down 10.4% from the 259 sold for the same period in 2022.

         • Q3 alone, however, has conveyed 83 residential properties, which is up 5% from the 79 sold in 2022 for the same period.

         • Year-over-year median home sale prices have modestly increased 1.3% from $1,382,000 to $1,400,000 with average home sales prices also

            increasing 4.1% from $2,011,000 to $2,094,000.

         • On average, year to date home sales island-wide have transacted at 96% of their asking price while realizing 165% of their tax assessment.

           This correlation suggests that property sale prices are exceeding the respective tax assessed values more broadly throughout our

           micro-market and reflect the continued scarcity of available properties to purchase.

Please visit www.mvlandmarks.com to view all available listings  on-Island. And as always, do not hesitate to contact us with your questions and curiosities concerning those properties of interest and Martha’s Vineyard real estate topics in general.