Country Village Rentals and Real Estate Weblog

By:  Brian-Logan Reid, Broker

Well Wine Festival and Memorial Day/Figawi came and went and the inventory continues to grow, despite a handful more properties going under agreement. 

The entry level of the market, those properties under $1mm, appears to be growing in size and I anticipate some price softening as properties stay on the market longer and the would-be buyers who need financing will find it more difficult to secure affordable financing as lenders tighten up their standards. 

The middle of the market, those properties between $1.5mm and $4mm, still shows strength, but only those properties that are priced correctly from the time they get listed; those properties that have been price reduced from inflated levels are not seeing the same action. 

As may be expected, the upper end of the market, those properties over $5mm, looks to be growing in strength as buyers of these types of home buyers tend to purchase without financing and they have enjoyed gains in their other asset portfolios here in the US and abroad. 

Please feel free to contact me if you or someone you know would like to discuss acquiring a Nantucket property.

By Brian-Logan Reid, Broker

Amazingly, the residential tax rate for 2007 is $2.49 per assessed $1,000…that means if you own a property that assesses for $1,000,000 you pay $2,490 in taxes!!  This is the lowest the tax rate has been in the last 26 years…

The year-round residential exemption for 2007 is $376,097, which definitely helps locals deal with rapidly rising property values.

The most expensive residential tax rate within the last 26 years was in 1982 at a staggering $8.88 per assessed $1,000

By Brian-Logan Reid, Broker

Local developer and builder Phil Minella has submitted his preliminary proposal for 22 lots on 4.5 acres off of North Liberty Street in Town.  The land is located in R1 zoning which requires 5,000 SF minimum lot sizes and affords 30% ground coverage and the potential lots would be eligible for second dwellings, bringing the potential total of dwellings up to 44.�

By Brian-Logan Reid, Broker

The renovation of the historic Point Breeze Hotel will not be returned to a hotel as previously thought, but will essentially be converted into a condo-hotel.  There will be 32 private one to two bedroom suites as well as six on-site cottages that will sell for $1 to $3 million.  According to a press release, Palm Beach developer Robert “Bob” Matthews notes the need for such a place on Nantucket.  “On an island where private clubs enjoy considerable cachet and the demand for private homes far exceeds supply, Point Breeze is destined to become Nantucket’s most celebrated address…For a select few, this will be a rare opportunity to enjoy the island’s ultimate luxury retreat.”

The Point Breeze will still operate as a hotel where people can stay and dine at the restaurant, but the rooms will be owned individually and the luxury amenities - world class spa and salon, fitness center, swimming pool, tennis, wine tasting bar, cigar bar, full service concierge, and underground parking - will be enjoyed by the condo owners and members of the club. 

As part of a five hotel/resort project planned by Bob Matthews, the other locations that are being developed besides Nantucket include Aspen, CO, Stowe, VT, Palm Beach, FL, and a 600-acre island in the Bahamas and club members will have reciprical access to the other resort locations’s amenities once the project is fully developed.

For more information, check out The Point Breeze website, or the Nantucket Independent article

Here are the new land and property listings that came on the market today:

By Brian-Logan Reid, Broker

I was in the Grand Union grocery store yesterday and saw Daphne Zuniga (remember Spaceballs!?), which got me thinking about all the VIP’s that own property or frequent Nantucket.  So I thought it would be interesting to compile an unofficial list of the folks that I know that own “houses” or have visited the ‘grey lady’:

Current or previous owner’s of Nantucket real estate:

Eric Schmidt - CEO - Google
Tommy Hilfiger - owner - Tommy Hilfiger Inc.
Jack Welch - former chairman/CEO - GE
Louis Gertsner - former chairman/CEO - IBM
John Kerry/Teresa Heinz - Senator/Heinz Corp. heir
Bob Wright - CEO - NBC Universal
Roger Penske - owner - Penske Corporation/Penske Racing
Michael Kittredge - owner - Yankee Candle
Arie (Coco) Kopleman - president - Chanel
Bill Belicheck - head coach - New England Patriots
Abigal Johnson - Fidelity Investments heir
Lee Iaoccoa – formerly of Chylser Corp.
Michael Egan - former chairman - Alamo Rent-A-Car
Kathy Lee Gifford - celebrity
Jerry & Ben Stiller - actors
Tim Russert - host - Meet the Press
Chris Matthews - host - Hardball
Paul Soros - businessman (brother of George Soros)

Others that have been to or frequent Nantucket:

Bill Clinton - former President
Laura Bush - current First Lady
Bill Gates - chairman - Microsoft
Warren Buffett - Berkshire Hathaway
Jim Carrey - actor
Sharon Stone - actress
Heather Graham - actress
Mike Tyson - boxer
Paul Giamatti - actor
Brian Williams – host – Nightly News
Katie Courac – host – CBS Evening News
Dr. Bob Arnot - chief medical correspondent - NBC
Herb Chambers - owner Herb Chambers (and his 197’ yacht Excellence III)
Jimmy Buffett - musician

These are just the ones that I know…there are probably many others…

Source:  http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/regionalnews/
20070517-frank.html?mod=RSS_Real_Estate_Journal&rejrss=frontpage

By Robert Frank

With summer around the corner, Nantucket is expecting its annual crush of crowds, traffic and outsized wealth. But this year, the Massachusetts island is also bracing for a showdown between fishermen and rich part-time residents that has escalated into a class war.

At the center of the dispute is a small patch of beach on the southeast corner of the island known as Siasconset, or Sconset for short. Some of Nantucket’s wealthiest residents — including cable-TV billionaire Amos Hostetter Jr., businessman Paul Soros (brother of George) and commodities trader Helmut Weymar — have stately summer homes on a bluff overlooking the beach. But with erosion eating away at the shore, some of the houses are in danger of falling into the ocean.To solve the problem, Mr. Hostetter, Mr. Weymar and others have pooled $23 million of their own money to rebuild the beach. Yet local fishermen are fighting the project, saying it will ruin one of their prime fishing spots. They say the beach should be left alone, and that nature should trump money.

“These people have enough money to move their houses or buy another one,” says Josh Eldridge, a lifelong Nantucketer who owns a charter fishing business. “If I lose my fishing business, I lose my house and it’s my only house. Unlike these other people, I don’t have a ski chalet in Aspen or a place in Palm Beach.”

Indeed, what started as a dispute over striped-bass habitats has unleashed broader resentments. Locals have watched their island transformed in recent decades from a low-key, historic summer retreat to a playground for the super-rich. The median home price was $1.8 million last year, according to Realtors, while some houses and properties have recently sold for more than $15 million. Megamansions have been replacing many of the gray-shingled cottages that once defined the 50-square-mile island. Mr. Eldridge says he was saddened recently to see two high-school classmates get on the ferry to leave the island for good, since they no longer could afford to live there. Read the rest of this entry »

Source:  http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/real_estate
/0705/gallery.vacationdream.tal/21.html

21. Spruce Peak at Stowe

Stowe, Vermont

Price: Fractionals from $329,000, full ownership from $1.57 million

Move-in date: Fall 2007

Contact: Country Village Rentals & Real Estate - 800-320-8777

This intimate 35-acre resort–with 38 full-ownership cabins, 244 full-ownership condos, and 34 fractional-ownership (1/8) units–is the latest upgrade to Vermont’s premier ski resort. Automatic membership to the Stowe Mountain Club is offered to fractional-ownership residents, and affords privileges to the exclusive clubhouse at the base lodge (think private locker rooms and concierge services) and two free ski passes per visit. The property also has an 18-hole Bob Cupp–designed golf course and a 21,000-square-foot spa and wellness center. An ice-skating rink and pedestrian plaza for retail boutiques and restaurants are in the works.

More dream vacation homes

Contact your Country Village Agent for more information…

Brian-Logan Reid, Broker 

(Starting today but recurring every month on the 15th, I will post a short market update…so stay tuned and subscribe!)

This is the largest inventory that I’ve seen and prices are softening a little bit, albeit from rather overpriced levels anyway.  I would advise my seller clients who do not necessarily need to sell, to not list their home at the moment to avoid adding to the bloated inventory.  My buyer clients, on the other hand, have ample choices and are taking their time comparing properties.  This upcoming weekend (Wine Festival) and next weekend (Memorial Day/Figawi Race) tends to bring in the spring buyers, so it should be a good indication of the next few months.

• 523 - Total listings on the market 
• 353 - Single family dwellings
• 18 - Multi-family dwellings
• 40 - Condos
• 5 - Co-ops
• 16 - Commercial properties
• 91 - Vacant land listings

Properties under agreement:

• 45 - Total properties under agreement 
• 18 - Properties with Accepted Offers
• 27 - Properties with executed Purchase & Sale Agreements

If you would like to view all the properties listed for sale, send me an email (bl@countryvillagere.com) with your full name and I’ll grant you access to our LINK multiple listing service.