Market Highlights
HIGH-END $2,000,000+ MARKETS HIGHLIGHTS
- Inventory down 29% (175 vs 247 last year).
- Sales volume up 257% (record 116 vs 45 last year).
- Top sale: $10,300,000 – 169 & 181 Sout St, Pocasset.
- Cape Cod’s high-end market continues to perform strongly despite decreasing inventories since Q2 2020.
- COVID-driven demand for refuge and home-work balance remains a factor in the market, as does the strong stock market. As usual special properties, expertly presented, reaching out to a broad market with a strong value proposition, will have a competitive advantage.
Active Listings
At the end of the first half of 2021, the high-end inventory decreased by 29% to 175 listings compared to 247 last year and the record of 271 listings in 2016. Historically speaking, the inventory is significantly lower than the ten year average of 241 listings. Inventories began decreasing in the second quarter of 2020, and continued to decrease thru the year paralleled by an explosive growth in sales.
High-End Sales
Sales volume was up 257% with 116 sales compared to 45 sales in the first half of 2020 and the ten-year average of 48 sales. The Cape high-end market has been strong since 2012, breaking the annual 100 sales barrier for the first time in 2018 and finishing last year with 226 high-end sales. If the COVID-driven demand for refuge properties and a work-from-home lifestyle continues as signaled by a backlog of 54 properties under agreement, 2021 promises to be another record-breaking year.
First Half 2021 – Top Sale
Property: 699 & 181 South Street • Town: Pocasset •Selling price: $10,300,000
Family compound on 9.4 waterfront acres in the Wings Neck Trust. The 12,000 sq ft residence was built in 1885 and completely renovated. The property also includes a pool and pool house, guest house, carriage house, and tennis court, 319 days on market, originally listed for $12,495,000.
Highest & Median Sale
Days on Market
Days on market for high-end sales in the first half decreased to 226 from 251 last year, a ten-year record low, and significantly below the ten-year average of 370. The range in days on market is wide from 1 to 1,609.
Sales by Town
In the first half of 2021, 14 of the 15 towns on Cape Cod had sales at the $2,000,000+ level. The four leading towns, Chatham, Barnstable (mostly Osterville, 12 of 26 sales), Falmouth, and Orleans together had 76 or 66% of the sales compared to 25 sales last year, and a ten-year average of 31 sales. Orleans is particularly noticeable with 11 sales in the first half compared to 5 last year and a ten-year average of 3 sales.
Manchester-by-the-Sea | 1.95 Acres | $14,000,000
For additional information about LandVest’s brokerage, real estate consulting, and appraisal services, please contact:
Stewart Young | (syoung@landvest.com) | 781-405-3174
or click here to view Stewart’s current Real Estate listings.
