MARKET NEWS: 2016 Mid-Year Market Update.

2016 Mid-Year Market Update

The number of real estate transactions on Martha’s Vineyard remained flat from the first half of 2015 to the first half of 2016 – from 245 in 2015 to 246 in 2016. However, the total dollar volume decreased 21% from $289mm in the first half of ’15 to $227mm in the first half of ’16. This significant decrease in dollar volume was due to slowing of the high end market. In 2015, there were 10 sales over $5mm in the first half of year, including 4 over $10mm, with the highest sale coming in at $22mm. In the first half of this year, there were only 3 sales over $5mm, the highest being $6.1mm. The lower end, under $1mm, was exactly flat from first half 2015 to first half 2016 with 191 sales under $1mm both years.

A six-month snap shot rarely tells the whole story and we hesitate to extrapolate from just two quarters.  Summer and fall are often very active and the Vineyard may well see stronger high end activity in the second half of 2016. In a market where the high end consists of  just a small number of sales, it only takes a few to change the story . Still, it is worth noting that the high end was unusually strong in 2015. For the first time since the 2008 recession, high end activity matched that of the market peak 2005-2007. Based on the first six months of 2016, the high end segment in the second half of 2016 will have to gain significant ground to match last year’s performance. Meanwhile, the rest of the Vineyard market remains strong and is sustaining the gains of 2015 as we head into summer.

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