Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:01:54 -0400 http://www.marthas-vineyard.com/ Marthas-Vineyard.Com en-us http://www.marthas-vineyard.com/images/logo.gif http://www.marthas-vineyard.com/ info@marthas-vineyard.com http://www.marthas-vineyard.com/Article65.html By Peter Fyler, Exclusive Buyer Agent ~ SplitRock Real Estate, LLC Starting with the premise that commerce is activated by supply and demand, I want to look at what is wrong with the Martha's Vineyard real estate market today. What I discovered was that, in fact, there is nothing wrong with the Martha's Vineyard real estate market; it is just that this market is confusing to many people and even more confusing today given the dire conditions in the financial market and a disparity in seller motivation factors. But first let me establish a few facts as guidelines:  This is not a place people have to be, they want to be here. Martha's Vineyard is a destination and for the most part, a second home market.   This Island is only 20.5 miles long, 87.48 square miles in total land area --- they are not making any more of Martha's Vineyard.   With home prices averaging almost 100% higher than the national average, ranging from $300,000 for a shabby 'fixer-upper' to $25,000,000 and above not everyone can afford to swallow that pill.   The cost of living is about 60% above the mean, so once again living here is surely not for everyone, but that does not diminish its popularity.   There are between 775 and 850 properties on the market, depending upon the method of tabulation used, which is about four times as many properties as there were at the height of the market.   The current inventory is about one-quarter of what we had to deal with after the market broke in 1988, and the population density has increased significantly since 1990. Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:01:54 -0400 http://www.marthas-vineyard.com/Article64.html By Peter Fyler, Exclusive Buyer Agent - SplitRock Real Estate, LLC Looking at the overall picture of the housing crisis, perspective and understanding has been lost as a result of what is essentially a localized crisis in 4 states: California, Nevada, Florida, and Arizona. According to statistics from City-Data.com, 54 of the 101 cities with the largest population increase from 2000 - 2006 are located inside California, Nevada, Florida, and Arizona - the four states most affected by sharply decreasing home values. These four states saw the largest population influx between 2000 and 2006 triggering the need for more housing supply and with that demand, prices started to go up at 15% or more annually. Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:25:03 -0400 http://www.marthas-vineyard.com/Article55.html I've Seen It All On Martha's Vineyard By Peter Fyler, SplitRock Real Estate, LLC For as long as I can remember it has been a mystery to me how some home owners here on Martha's Vineyard decide to sell their family home, hire a seller's agent, agree to pay a fee and put their home on the market but never take the time to clean and fix up their home and property, not even just a little. Sun, 22 Jul 2007 16:15:22 -0400 http://www.marthas-vineyard.com/Article53.html By Peter C. Fyler, Exclusive Buyer Agent, SplitRock Real Estate, LLC For quite some time I’ve been chanting that it’s time to let go --- let go of the notion that a 70-year-old house has enough charm and redeeming factors to be worth saving. With energy concerns becoming more prevalent and the cost of utilities continuing to escalate, we need to change our thinking here on Martha’s Vineyard. Charm is a relative term and there is nothing charming or attractive about a tiny 70-year-old house with little to no insulation, cramped bedrooms, one bathroom with leaky plumbing and a tiny kitchen that is inadequate by today’s standards on a crumbling wet foundation Tue, 08 May 2007 16:28:49 -0400