Kite antenna of Brant Point and Harbor and Coatue, Nantucket, MA.
J. Greg Hinson, Md, Www.ackdoc.com | moment | Getty Images
The tiny island of Nantucket, Massachusetts is home to around 14,000 year-round residents. Joining them will cost you at least $1 million, according to a new list of luxury real estate markets from Realtor.com.
Nearly all active listings in Nantucket are priced at $1 million or more, with the average listing price at $4.08 million, the real estate platform found. According to the report, the island records an average of $138 million per year.
Vineyard Haven, a community in neighboring Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, has the second-highest concentration of million-dollar listings, with 90% of active listings, with an average asking price of $2.4 million. Jackson, the capital of Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Valley, has the third-highest average price at $1.75 million.
Realtor.com identified 13 U.S. real estate markets where at least half of the active listings were priced over $1 million, but there were fewer than 500 such listings. Anthony Smith, senior economist at Realtor.com, said the list was designed to highlight “pure luxury” markets rather than areas that happen to reflect high regional housing costs.
According to Smith, most of these real estate markets are characterized by scarcity. Top performers Nantucket and Vineyard Haven are prime examples, as they are both on islands.
“There is limited land, strict building and conservation regulations, and this combination adds real value to what is available,” he said.
That scarcity also applies to noncoastal centers like Jackson, he said, where land is plentiful but much of it is set aside for conservation. Only 3% of the land in Jackson Hole is privately owned.
While five of the luxury centers identified by Realtor.com are located in California, the remainder are scattered across the country, from Kapaa, Hawaii, to Hailey, Idaho. A notable inclusion on the list is Petoskey, Michigan, where 53% of active listings are priced over $1 million. Although it doesn’t have the same name recognition as Nantucket or Napa, the Lake Michigan city checks a lot of boxes for deep-pocketed buyers, Smith said.
“If you look at what makes a luxury market, it’s all there: water views of Little Traverse Bay, ski access in the winter, resort-style living,” he said.
He added that Petoskey is one of the more affordable markets on the list, with an average listing price of $1.1 million.
The top 1% of Petoskey homes — representing the ultra-luxury market — start at just under $8 million, while the same threshold starts at nearly $59.2 million in Rifle, Colorado (also on Realtor.com’s list), about 70 miles from Aspen.
As high-income consumers increase spending on travel and other categories, the luxury home market, like the overall real estate market, is showing signs of weakness, Smith said.
The luxury threshold, or 90th percentile, for homes nationwide was $1.25 million in March, down 2.9% from a year ago, while the overall average price fell 2.2% annually, according to Realtor.com.
However, heading into the spring, prices are firming across the real estate spectrum, with the luxury threshold up 3.7% and the overall market up 3% compared to February.
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