Putting it in perspective – a comparative look
An analysis of property values in Aspen, Camden, Fairhope, St. John, and Woodstock reveals that Nantucket’s prices are not as far-fetched as may be perceived
BY MARY LANCASTER

INDEPENDENT WRITER


Fifth in a series Like many highly attractive resort communities,

buying into Nantucket — with its historic architecture, miles of breathtaking beaches, rolling moors, fine dining, shopping and vibrant art and theater scenes — can come at a relatively high price.

In the current real estate listings, there are few homes offered for under $1 million, and even fewer lots available for less than $500,000.

As of June 30, the average price of a home on Nantucket was $1.85 million, a far cry from the $413,000 average selling price just over a decade ago in 1994.

“To get into this market you are knocking on the door of a million dollars,” said Stuart Reid, a real estate agent with Great Point Properties, who noted that the new tennis club and plans for another yacht club are becoming big draws for buyers. “The popular price now is $1.6 to $2.5 million for the first time second home buyer. And, it escalates from there pretty quickly.

“They get a great lifestyle — miles and miles of open beaches, lots of land conservation and amazing appreciation of property values. It’s a lifestyle. It’s very safe. It’s very open.”

But how does the dollar spent on Nantucket real estate compare with what you get for that dollar in other attractive resort communities?

The Independent surveyed real estate agents in Camden, Maine, Fairhope, Ala., Aspen Colo., Woodstock, Vt., and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Inquiries revealed some similarities in price and desirability, as well as significant differences in each location, such as yearround populations and residential property tax rates.

Nantucket Town Clerk Catherine Stover calculated this week that there are 15,000 to 16,000 year-round residents on the island.

She said people not getting married, not planning to vote and foreign nationals do not register with her office. However, in general, town clerks estimate that for every registered voter there is often an unregistered voter in the same household. Nantucket’s property tax rate is $3.30 per $1,000. ST. JOHN, USVI There are

approximately 5,000 year-round residents on the island of St. John, according to the most recent census figures available to American Paradise Real Estate president Joan Sparling.

The property tax is based on 60 percent of assessed value multiplied by one and one-quarter percent, roughly $750 a year per $100,000.

Known for its white sand beaches and unspoiled beauty, St. John is a mecca for wildlife enthusiasts, but also offers amenities such as a few quality restaurants, hotels and yacht supply facilities.

There is a small commercial area, but no airport. Access is by ferry from neighboring St. Thomas. Because of a generous donation of acreage from one of the Rockefellers, two-thirds of St. John and its shorelines are protected national park property.

Sparling said that although many people live full-time on St. John, it is the Baby Boomer generation’s interest in second homes or investment properties that is driving the island’s current real estate market.

“Supply and demand has always kept our prices higher, particularly now, and like Nantucket, it is hard to find a home 2,000 to 2,500 square feet for under a million. Our construction costs are high — many are building masonry homes, because of square foot, and that’s not even highend construction,” said Sparling. “As prices for real estate have increased, it has made it more difficult for teachers and others who are an important part of the island to purchase or rent. Therefore, what is available is expensive, so we are seeing people moving to St. Croix or St. Thomas.”

According to Sparling, few homes on St. John sell for less than $500,000, and those are “very rustic” one-bedroom cottages that may have difficult access routes.

The most expensive home listed is $13 million, a four-bedroom, fourand a-half-bath with 1.85 acres and on a bay. She explained that at any given time, there are usually 55 to 65 homes on the market in the $2 million range. A typical home selling in that range is two or three bedrooms, with a sea view, pool, gourmet kitchen and tasteful furnishings.

“When you buy a house here, it’s a pretty turn-key operation,” said Sparling. “For $1 million, you may not get a pool. A million is more like a year-round resident.”

There are 180 to 200 parcels of vacant land for sale on St. John. The standard lot measures a half-acre and costs between $180,000 and $1.5 million, depending on the neighborhood. The majority in the lowest range are quarter-acre properties. One 2.5-acre lot is selling for $1.4 million, but cannot be subdivided.

While certainly not cheap, the real estate prices in St. John do not pose a deterrent to the many who want to live in what a National Geographic travel magazine called one of the 50 places in the world that “must be seen” during one’s lifetime, said Sparling.

“The word is out, and the fact that it is [a possession of the United States] and easy to get to,” Sparling said of St. John’s popularity, but also stressed that the island is not just a vacation destination or investment opportunity. “St. John is a real community of people that cares very much about its island and its future and about its residents.” ASPEN, COLO. Aspen has a year-round population

of 6,000 and property tax rated at $2,500 per million, said Carmelo “Sonny” D’Anna, chief executive officer of Aspen Land and Homes.

Situated 172 miles west of Denver at an elevation of 7,908 feet, D’Anna said the town has as many visitors in the summer as in the winter.

“The unique thing about Aspen, compared to other northeastern communities, is that it is a real town, not just a ski town,” he said, listing its hiking and biking trails, music and dance festivals, excellent river fishing and golf courses, and summer daytime temperatures at 78 to 84 degrees with low humidity.

But, real estate in Aspen is costly. Much like Nantucket, buildable vacant land is dwindling and the town has strict zoning and planning groups with a goal to protect as much open space and the wildlife it supports as possible.

“It is very well thought out and restricted,” said D’Anna. “It is a very unique real estate community because of its location and what can be built. We are not a mass building community. We still have a lot of open space here, but it’s not going to be buildable.”

Yet, the cost of property in Aspen proper exceeds that of Nantucket. Vacant properties in town start at $1.3 million and go up to $7 million. A parcel costing $1.4 million might measure 6,000 square feet. Land on the outskirts average three-quarters to an acre in size.

Existing single family homes within Aspen are hard to come by for under $1.5 million. Today, the cost is roughly $1,100 to $1,700 per square foot for a two or three bedroom house on a lot.

Mid-range for an 1800 or early 1900 Victorian with two bedrooms and two baths in town is $2.7 million. One 8,000 square foot, five bedroom home on three acres in town is listed for $13.5 million.

On the outskirts of town, prices range from $2 million to $25 million. One 9,000 square foot home on threequarters of an acre recently sold for $9.5 million. A 3,000 square foot home on a quarter-acre sold for $2.7 million.

“It depends on the setting and views and the sun corridors,” said D’Anna. “It just depends on the property.

A small ranch last year sold for $46 million, but it’s on 3,000 acres. And there are some sales here that you never find out about.”

Aspen’s affordable housing in the $200,000 to $500,000 spectrum is limited to small condominiums. Eighteen homes are listed in the $4 million to $6.5 million range.

“There is not an oversupply of real estate available, so that puts a premium on it,” said D’Anna. “We are fortunate to have neighboring towns where homes are more affordable and that are still easily accessible to work in Aspen.

“Our biggest market draw is from Florida, New England, the Chicago area, California and Texas. These are people investing with a second home as well as moving here from other parts of the country. Aspen is pretty pricey all around, but it is a beautiful place to live.” CAMDEN, MAINE Camden has

5,200 yearround residents and a high tax rate of $11.80 per $1,000.

A coastal village situated at the base of the Camden Hills and approximately seven miles from Rockland, it has many lovely mansions, some of which have been made into bed and breakfasts.

Allures include boutique shops, art galleries, boating and fishing. Though it still boasts a leisurely pace, it is becoming “discovered,” as are other attractive resort areas and is beginning to experience the stress of summer congestion.

Patricia Jones, an agent with Green Keefe Real Estate, said of the 39 single family homes that have sold to date this year, the average price was $429,056.

There are 91 homes for sale now, with 23 listed between $500,000 and $1 million, and 12 listed at more than $1 million. The current highest property available is an eight-room, yearround, waterfront bungalow on 2.4 acres with small beach and three bedroom cottage for $3,895,000, Jones said.

On the outskirts of Camden, a onestory, two or three bedroom home circa 1920 may be had for $195,000.

A typical price for a two to four bedroom

home on the edge of town is

$280,000, and is likely to be a farm

house style.

Jones listed eight vacant parcels

for sale in town with the least costly

a 2.68-acre piece in a sub-division for

$95,000. The most expensive is a

12.9-acre property abutting the

Camden Hills State Park and with

mountain views, for $550,000.

“Camden is not an overly wealthy

town, but there is wealth here,” said

Jones. “It certainly isn’t as wealthy as

Nantucket.”

Jim Heard, of the Camden Real

Estate Company, said that although

there is no vacant waterfront property

for sale now, the common prices

for a quarter-acre to an acre and ahalf

on the water run from $500,000

to $750,000.

There are some historic properties here, but people have decided they like the lifestyle and have moved here from urban areas, or it has been a summer resort for generations,” said Heard. “The sense of community is very strong here. We have the rich and famous, but they’re quiet.” WOODSTOCK, VT. Woodstock has a year-round population

of 3,000. Its tax rate, also substantially higher than Nantucket, is $1.93 per $100 for residents, and $1.95 for non-residents. Woodstock, settled in 1765, sits on the Ottaquechee River and is 98 miles from Burlington, Vt.

Long considered one of New England’s most attractive villages, Woodstock’s outlying areas are pastoral, its town has art galleries and small, interesting shops, and its architecture reflects 19th and early 20th century designs.

Much of the town is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Rockefeller family deeded 500 acres around Mount Tom to the Vermont National Park Service. Woodstock draws both summer and winter visitors, but is still relatively affordable.

Laird Bradley, owner of the Williamson Group, said very little of Woodstock’s remaining vacant land is developable because, one way or another, it has been placed in conservation.

There are antique homes selling in a wide price range. Bradley said a Victorian home on a small lot in town is available for $349,000 in the lower category, and between $500,000 and $800,000 in the mid-range.

These are homes in good condition on an acre or less, with many dating to the mid-to-late 1800s. A 10-year-old, 7,200 square foot home with five bedrooms, five baths, three fireplaces, a detached studio, sweeping mountain views, and on 75 acres is listed for $2.8 million.

“We don’t breathe the rarified air [of Nantucket],” Bradley said in comparing real estate prices. “Nothing has proven itself in our market for more than $6 million to $7 million. The top of our market now is $12.9 million for a home on 300 acres, and I think that’s aggressively priced.

“There are some [properties] not on the public market that are higher, with 200 to 500 acres. These [sellers] are people who have such unique properties they don’t need to advertise, and they may be the same buyers you see on Nantucket.”

Vacant land in Woodstock, near the core town area, is fetching $200,000 for 10 acres and $1.5 million for 400 acres. Recently, an eight-acre parcel near town with a new barn sold for $225,000.

Bradley explained that while there are people purchasing large parcels of 300 acres or more, they will only place nine homes on the property, “So that people can have some land to enjoy,” he said.

“Vermont is trying to maintain traditional settlement patterns with larger parcels in the countryside. There is a strong movement to go slow — once you lose that [open space] it’s gone,” Bradley added. “And Woodstock has ridgeline zoning, where someone might want a view of the world, but the world doesn’t necessarily want a view of you or your home. If you don’t use some good planning, you can make a pretty good mess in a hurry.”

But even though Woodstock remains fairly reasonably priced, properties selling in the $250,000 to $350,000 bracket are disappearing.

“It’s a struggle to find it (the affordable home), and you have to stand in line to have it,” said Bradley. FAIRHOPE, ALA. Fairhope has a year-round population of 20,000.

Its tax rate is calculated at $2,106 per $500,000 with a $3,225 assessment for second homes. Re/Max agent Judy Niemeyer said the low tax rate is just one of Fairhope’s selling points.

Fairhope has also become what is known as a “bedroom” community to Mobile, where the majority of buyers in the last few years have been the 30something generation attracted to Mobile’s influx of technology industries and who like Fairhope’s environment for raising children.

Another main buying demographic is retirees, who enjoy the town’s low cost of living, as well as those who spend summers in the north and want second homes in warm climates for winters.

“We haven’t completely priced ourself out of the market,” said Niemeyer. “We have something for everyone.”

Fairhope, less than three hours from New Orleans, was founded in 1894 and is on the Eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Niemeyer said the town was thought of as an island until a causeway from Mobile was built in the 1920s that made access to Fairhope much easier.

This town, as do most successful resorts, offers fashionable boutiques, art galleries, quality inns and restaurants, and an active cultural scene with concerts and community theater. Fairhope bills itself as having plenty of parks, and treasures its slow pace of life.

Real estate prices vary by location, and span a broad range. In the core downtown area, depending on proximity to the bay, a vacant lot measuring 66by-132 feet goes for $300,000 or more. There are, however, only a couple empty parcels on the market today.

Houses in town sell for $350,000 to $1 million. The lower priced home profile is approximately 1,200 square feet, two bedrooms and one bath, which Niemeyer calls “Usually a fixer-upper, but cute.”

For $450,000 to $750,000, a buyer will get a three-bedroom, two-bath single family home in good condition. The $1 million home will generally have a bay view, be 2,000 square feet and have three bedrooms and two baths.

On the water, homes in Fairhope are selling for $1 million to $3.5 million — the current top price. Outside of town, homes in subdivisions are fetching $150,000 for a “decent” 1,800 square foot house with three bedrooms and two baths, to $1.5 million near a prime golf course and with several sub-division amenities.

“The nurse and the teacher still can find a house,” Niemeyer said.

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