Cape Cod, MA Real Estate News: High-End Market Watch, First Three Quarters, 2013

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Market Highlights

  • A red hot third quarter more than doubled the number of high-end sales thru the first half of the year. After three quarters there have been 51 sales compared to 57 at this time last year.
  • Inventories remain high, especially at the higher end of the price range.
  • The high-end market continues to perform at record levels, driven by significant price adjustments and pent-up demand.
  • Turnkey properties are favored by time-pressed buyers, while renovations and tear downs can struggle without value pricing.

 

Active Listings and Sales, $2,000,000+, Q1-Q3, 2000-2013

CC_active_hrCC_numbers_lrOn Cape Cod, the inventory of high-end listings at the end of the third quarter remains high with 251 listings compared to 211 in 2009 and an all time high of 257 in 2012. While most of the listings (155 of 251 or 62%) are in the $2-3,000,000 range, there are 42 listings above $4 million and 14 listings above $10 million.

Typically the listing inventory grows through the first three quarters and then declines in the fourth quarter as sales are closed and properties are taken off the market. This year there were 213 listings at the end of the first quarter, and 192 at the end of 2012.

High-end sales boomed to record levels in 2012. At year-end there were 92 sales compared to 50 at year end 2011. The first quarter of 2013 started slowly, but the second quarter improved dramatically and finished the first half of the year with 31 sales compared to 27 last year. The improving trend continued in the third quarter with an additional 26 sales, ending the third quarter with 51 sales compared to 57 sales at the same time last year.

 

Highest And Median Sale, $2,000,000+, Q1-Q3, 2000-2013

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According to the Cape and Islands MLS, the top sale on Cape Cod through the third quarter was LandVest’s sale of 42 Church Street in Woods Hole, listed at $14,000,000. The property consisted of 7 acres recently subdivided into 3 waterfront lots. There were two recently renovated 3 bedroom houses as well as two cottages and a boathouse, pier, and beach. The three next highest sales were all in Osterville at prices ranging from $7,650,000 to $9,000,000.
The median value for high-end sales in the first half of 2013 was $2.7 million, about on par with median sale prices over the past decade. The high-end market on Cape Cod is predominately in the $2-$3 million range. Of the 51 sales in the first three quarters, 30 were in the $2 million range, 12 were in the $3 million range, and 9 were in the $4 million plus range.

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Days On Market, Sales, $2,000,000+, Q1-Q3, 2000-2013

Days on market for high-end properties sold during the first three quarters of 2013 increased to 419 days compared to 345 days in 2012 and 533 days in 2011. Since 2009 days on market have been considerably longer than in previous years.
 

Sales by Town, $2,000,000+, Q1-Q3, 2000-2013

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Starting around 2002 the high-end market on Cape Cod broadened as the perennial top markets were perceived as being too expensive and as buyers bid up the prices of special properties in other towns. In the first three quarters of 2013, the geographic spread remains broad with sales in Barnstable (18, 8 in Osterville), Bourne (1), Chatham (9), Dennis (3), Eastham (1), Falmouth (8), Harwich (2), Mashpee (4), Orleans (1), and Provincetown (4).

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Barnstable Harbor Panorama, a waterfront home on 10.1± acres in Barnstable, is currently available for $3,630,000

 

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Colonial Revival residence on 9.1± acres within the Wings Neck Trust in Pocasset is currently available for $3,300,000

 

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Rare development opportunity in the heart of Barnstable Village.
Barrel Hill is currently Under Agreement

Cape Cod is internationally famous as a summer resort area and is increasingly popular for retirement living. It features miles of beaches, natural attractions, historic sites, art galleries, and four star restaurants and hotels. Outdoor activities include world class yachting, coastal and deep-sea fishing, numerous public and private golf courses, and a wide variety of other informal summer sports. The Cape is just 75 miles from Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts and T.F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island. Executive jet services are available at the Hyannis airport and there are several other smaller airports. Cape Cod is divided into four regions: Upper Cape, Mid Cape, Lower Cape, and Outer Cape, each including several towns and villages. Upper Cape towns include Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth, and Mashpee. Mid Cape towns include Barnstable, Dennis, and Yarmouth. Lower Cape towns include Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, and Orleans. Outer Cape towns include Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown.

The LandVest High-End Market Watch is a periodic review of select high-end markets in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the Adirondacks. Market data is collected from Multiple Listing Services and does not include private listings. LandVest makes no representation as to the accuracy of the data and therefore is not responsible for any actions taken as a result of use of or reliance on this information.

For additional information about LandVest’s brokerage, real estate consulting, and appraisal services,
please contact:

Stewart Young | (syoung@landvest.com) | 617-359-8930
or click here to view Stewart’s current Real Estate listings.