Doug's November Reflections

Halloween came and went, as did the beautiful full harvest moon of October. The beginning of November is always a quick reminder that winter is soon to arrive.

The sales statistics for “year to date” are encouraging in comparison to the same period in 2009. The total number of units sold so far this year is 324 compared to 238 in 2009. This total already surpasses the total number of sales in 2009! The average price is $979,000 compared to $935,000 in 2009 and the median price is $550,000 compared to $527,500 in 2009. Additionally the average days on market dropped to 308 from 337 in 2009.

There are presently 63 properties “under agreement” on the island.

All of this is good news and a strong indication that we hit the bottom of the market in 2009. Be aware, however, history tells us that once we hit the bottom of the “cycle”, we will stay there for about 3 years before seeing any significant increase in values.

Interest rates continue at historic low levels and should continue to help fuel the market. I anticipate sales for the remainder of 2010 to be steady and this will help for a strong winter/spring market on the island.

Doug's October Letter To Sellers

Happy October greetings from a cloudy, wet Martha’s Vineyard. I am not complaining, however, as we needed the rain.

First I need to make a correction from my September letter. Sales in August were incorrectly reported. There were 23 sales, not 12 as I reported so that is good news -- sales in August were up not down. September sales reported so far, total 15 with an average price of $1.25M and a median price of $675,000. The average days on market are down from 288 in August to 255 in September.

Properties showing under contract in LINK today number at 55, which is promising for a productive 4th quarter. The 4th quarter in 2009 was the strongest quarter last year…let’s hope for the same this year. Of these 55, 23 are over $1M with one topping the $10M mark, so the upper end of the market appears to be strong. One recent sale in Chilmark does, however, show that this current downturn in the market affects all prices ranges. A home along the south shore that sold in 2007 for $8.75M just sold for $5.4M last month.

Interest rates again are offered at historic low rates and continue to help buyers “get off the fence”. This trend is expected to continue through the remainder of the year which is contradictory to predictions from last spring. Just like TV weathermen, economic forecasters can be wrong!

April Musings

We finally have a sunny day on the island…one of the few in the last 30 days. March brought us the rains we usually expect in April; record rainfalls according to the weather reporters.

March also brought us a strong number of sales; 24 to be exact. This is a consistent number when looking at the sales in January and February of this year. The “mean” price for March was $655,000 with 5 of the 24 sales exceeding $2M. This “mean” price is up from $635,000 in February. I find this to be a strong indicator of a busy spring market.

There are many reports nationwide that say we are “set” to come out of this down market. I truly hope they are correct.

You can now visit us on facebook; please become a fan. Also, take a look at our Youtube channel as we are now videotaping our listings and marketing our listings in this fabulous venue.

As a reminder, interest rates are still holding at historic lows although banking standards and underwriting reviews are stricter than before. Loans that used take 3-4 weeks for approval are taking 6-8 weeks in many situations. I find local banks are much easier to deal with than off island lenders.

The first week of April has been quite busy for everyone here at RE/MAX on island. There are plenty of qualified buyers around and many are submitting offers. Also we have just received 2 new quality listings, so please visit our website and take a look. Now is a great time to buy and, if you are selling, a great time to advantage of the many buyers in today’s market.

Martha's Vineyard This Week

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