Nantucket Island Massachusetts Directory of Real Estate Resources

By Associated Press

NANTUCKET, Mass. - Developer Stephen Karp, who already owns four inns on Nantucket, has bid $55 million for at least 48 additional retail properties in the resort island’s downtown area.

If the deal is approved by the limited partners who currently own the properties, at least 50 percent of all downtown commercial real estate would be in the hands of Karp’s Nantucket Island Resorts LLC, Assessor Debbie Dilworth told the Cape Cod Times.

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How Cheap Dollars And Cheap Flights Are Bringing Average Joes To A Market Near You.

By Rana Foroohar
Newsweek International

May 2 issue - Property, like politics, used to be local. After all, what demands more on-the-ground knowledge than buying a home?

But over the last few years real estate has gone global. Already, there’s a good chance you or someone you know owns a second home abroad. You may even unwittingly own a stake in a Guangzhou office block, via your pension fund. “Over the last five years, both direct and indirect cross-border real-estate investment has been on the rise,” says Tony Horrell, CEO of European capital markets for property-investment firm Jones Lang LaSalle. “By some estimates, half of the world’s wealth …

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but defining what makes a luxury home luxurious depends on more than just your eye. Though personal taste is still the most important factor in finding a luxury home, what makes something a ⦡mp;#8364;œluxury⦡mp;#8364;? home depends on a number of factors. According to several Boston area real estate professionals, location, amenities, and views are all important criteria. Despite the different markets that they serve, those interviewed all agree on one thing: Today, it⦡mp;#8364;™s the amenities that are in a house or condominium that matters, not just its size. What one buyer may consider a luxury, another may not.

People want to create an ease of living that is push button and …

Stephen Karp, owner of Nantucket Island Resorts hotels and president of New England Development Corporation, may soon become the largest holder of local commercial properties if he goes through with a deal to buy numerous properties owned by Sherburne Associates Realty Trust, amounting to better than 70 percent of the Winthrop Financial Associates�€™ portfolio.

Though Karp said on Thursday that he is in the confidentiality period of the process and could not officially confirm or deny his position in the pending transaction, he did acknowledge that two weeks ago a group of his engineers, consultants and attorneys were on Nantucket to perform due diligence on Winthrop�€™s properties, a procedure that investigates whether there are any structural or title issues …

These days the mantra in the real estate world is: Buying beats renting. And when it comes to vacation homes, Americans have been in a buying mode–but that doesn’t mean the rental market is taking a dive.

Second-home sales swelled last year, according to a study released recently by the National Association of Realtors. Sales of vacation properties rose nearly 20% from 2003 to 2004, to a total of 1.02 million. Nevertheless, Washington D.C.-based Travel Industry Association of America predicts that the vacation rental market overall will grow 67% in the next decade.

That means rental prices will only continue to rise. Years ago, a beach house in the Hamptons or Nantucket could be rented from Memorial Day to Labor …

Just got the word - we’ve gone from 350 vacation rental listings to over 700 in one year. And the website hasn’t crashed once with the added stress (although we have a few times)

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�€˜Appraisal inflation�€™ a worry for housing experts
By Jane Wells

It is often referred to as �€œappraisal inflation�€� and it could be the dirty little secret of the housing industry.

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The practice �€” when real estate appraisers bend the numbers to satisfy clients and stay in business �€” is a growing problem, according to real estate experts.

Appraisers say there is pressure on them to inflate home values, and there is concern that if people pay too much for their homes it could lead to more foreclosures if housing prices tumble. And banks could be left holding the bag.

Data show the problem is widespread.

A recent survey of 500 appraisers by the October Research Group, a provider of news and information to the …

A new analysis shows that cash-strapped state and local governments have increasingly come to depend on property taxes to fill revenue shortfalls as other sources of income soured.

Though not an unexpected trend during economic downturns, the reliance on property taxes has lasted well beyond the end of the recession of 2001. Economists say it is has been of greater depth, and likely will have more lasting consequences, than it did during prior downturns.

Read Article on this By RAY A. SMITH Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Some 930,000 new houses were sold in America last year, most of them variations on only a few basic themes. There are good reasons for this: Builders figure Colonials, capes and other traditional styles have the broadest market appeal.

With an modern and unusual house design consider the following:

Expect to be able to borrow less.
Your builder will need some handholding.
Be prepared for sticker shock.
Have some free time.
Size up the neighborhood — and the neighbors.
Be creative about resale.

All that said, you may discover that building a unique home breeds a special kind of attachment. If all goes well with your project, selling will be the furthest thing from your mind.

You can read this article from RealEstateJournal.com for more …